Meadows, Trump ally, will not seek reelection

WASHINGTON — One of President Donald Trump’s most loyal supporters, Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., announced Thursday that he would leave Congress at the end of his term in January 2021.

“For everything there is a season. After prayerful consideration and discussion with family, today I’m announcing that my time serving Western North Carolina in Congress will come to a close at the end of this term,” Meadows said in a statement. “My work with President Trump and his administration is only beginning.”

“This was a decision I struggled with greatly,” he said.

Friday is the deadline to file for reelection in Meadows’ congressional district.

Meadows’ announcement comes a day after he voted against two articles of impeachment against the president. Ultimately, the Democrats won the vote and impeached Trump over his pressure campaign against Ukraine, making him the third president to be impeached in U.S. history.

After the vote Wednesday, Meadows wrote in a Twitter post, “Today will be remembered as the day your House Democrat majority voted to impeach President @realDonaldTrump for a crime they couldn’t find and a case they couldn’t prove. You won’t forget. And neither will we.”