Mike Enzi announces that he will retire from the Senate after 2020

Wyoming Sen. Mike EnziMichael (Mike) Bradley Enzi The besieged senators fill their coffers before 2020 The Hill's Morning Report – The Trump cleaning house on border security Judd Gregg: Praise Mike Enzi MORE (R) announced Saturday that he would retire from the Senate at the end of his current term, ending his 22-year career in Washington.

Enzi, who currently chairs the Senate Committee on Budgets, made the announcement during a speech at the Gillette Town Hall, Wyo., Where he has previously been mayor.

"I have a lot to do in the next 18 months," he said, according to the Star-Tribune Casper.

"I want to focus on budget reform, I do not want to be overwhelmed by the distractions of another campaign, and after this year I will find other ways to serve."

Enzi was first elected to the Senate in 1996 and was re-elected in 2014.

Enzi talked about the financial crisis in the country and was one of the main proponents of the GOP tax reduction plan adopted in 2017.

Prior to chairing the Budget Committee, he headed the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Work and Retirement, of which he is still a member.

Enzi, on Saturday, extolled his record in Washington, particularly with regard to mine safety and pension protection, while participating in the fight against the AIDS epidemic in Africa.

"Most of my projects have 15 or fewer votes in opposition, which is considered very bipartisan," he said, according to the Tribune.

Fellow Wyoming Sen. John BarrassoJohn Anthony BarrassoThis week: Barr is back in the spotlight after the report by Mueller Sanders, Klobuchar among the five most popular senators: poll African women can change a continent: will Ivanka give them all its support? MORE (D) congratulated his colleague in a statement, stressing that "Enzi's character, courage and credibility have made him a respected moral leader in the US Senate".

"In the Senate, he has never failed in his commitments to God, his family or Wyoming," Barrasso said. "The Senate and Wyoming will miss the valuable leadership of the trusted leader of our Congressional delegation."

Before coming to Washington, Mr. Enzi spent 10 years in the Wyoming legislature, both in the House and in the Senate. He was also Mayor of Gillette for two terms.

Enzi's retirement creates the first vacancy in the Wyoming Senate for over 10 years. The Republican group to replace him could be very extensive in a state that reelects Enzi by more than 50 points in 2014 and supported President TrumpDonald John TrumpNorth Korea fires projectiles at short range. Kim Kardashian helps release criminals convicted of drug-related offenses, says South-Souther Kim Kardashian: "We are killing the economy" CONTINUED more than 45 points in 2016.

representative Liz CheneyElizabeth (Liz) Lynn CheneyCatherine's advice to her daughter: "Do not miss it" Rep. Cheney: Socialism "at the center of the Democratic Party's program" A legislator proposes a tool to "fill the gaps" of the Green New Deal PLUS (Wyo.), Currently Republican ranked third in the House, could sit, which would mean however to leave his high pole in the lower house. And a power struggle between the leaders of the House of Representatives of the House of Representatives could possibly give him the opportunity to run for the presidency of Parliament if the Group resumes its functions in the House next year.

Dave Dodson, who unsuccessfully challenged Barrasso in 2018, could potentially mount another candidacy in the Senate. Superintendent of Public Education, Jillian Balow, has also been nominated as a potential candidate.

Cheney on Saturday released a lengthy statement congratulating Enzi after announcing his retirement, saying the long-time Senator "never forgot where he came from and what he has always put Wyoming's interests first, consistently defending our Western way of life. "

"I am privileged to have had the opportunity to work by her side for the people of Wyoming and I am proud to call her a friend," she said.