JUST IN: Colorado Rep Ken Buck to resign from Congress next week reducing GOP majority

On Tuesday, Colorado GOP Rep. Ken Buck announced that he will be leaving Congress on March 22. This comes after his announcement that he would not be seeking re-election in November.

With Buck's departure Republicans now have 218 seats to the Democrats 213, with four vacancies. 

"It has been an honor to serve the people of Colorado's 4th District in Congress for the past 9 years," Buck wrote in a statement posted to X. "Today I am announcing that I will depart Congress at the end of next week."

"I look forward to staying involved in our political process," he added, "as well as spending more time in Colorado and with my family." 

"I was surprised by Ken's announcement," House Speaker Mike Johnson said. "I look forward to talking to him about that."

When asked whether he knew in advance," he said he did not.

Buck first announced in November that he would not be seeking reelection, citing the direction he felt the party was headed.

"Too many Republican leaders are lying to America, claiming that the 2020 election was stolen, describing Jan. 6 as an unguided tour of the Capitol and asserting that the ensuing prosecutions are a weaponization of our justice system," he lamented, per the AP.

Since then he has ramped up his criticism of former president and current GOP nominee Donald Trump.

"I am not going to lie on behalf of my presidential candidate, on behalf of my party," he added during an interview earlier this month, "and I'm very sad that others in my party have taken the position that as long as we get the White House, it doesn't really matter what we say."

This is a breaking story and will be updated.