Washington – Rep. John Katko said Tuesday that former president Donald Trump’s promise to help oust him from Congress had nothing to do with his decision against seeking a fifth term this year.
Katko, R-Camillus, said he was confident that he would have been reelected in a new 22nd Congressional District that heavily favors Democrats and where President Joe Biden won by 18 points in 2020.
Katko, the top Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee, made his comments near the end of a Washington Post Live interview about U.S. cybersecurity concerns regarding Russia.
When asked if Trump’s call to get rid of all 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach him played a role in Katko’s retirement decision, the four-term congressman replied, “Not at all.”
In fact, Katko said, he was optimistic about his reelection prospects, even if it meant having to win a Republican primary and run in a deep-blue district that added the cities of Ithaca, Geneva and Cortland to a large Democratic base in Syracuse.
“I was quite certain, even with the redistricting that was done in New York state, that I had a path to victory,” Katko said. “And I had a very good path to victory.”
It was the most detailed public comment Katko has made about his decision to retire from Congress since he announced his plan on Jan. 14.
Katko, a former organized crime prosecutor in Syracuse, said in the Washington Post interview Tuesday that he would like to stay involved in U.S. security matters by working with a private company after leaving Congress.
“Quite frankly, I’ve been in government service for 32 years, since I was 28 years old,” he said. “There’s never a good time to leave (Congress) and there’s unfinished business. But there’s things that I want to do on the private side.”
Katko, 59, didn’t elaborate about what types of jobs he would seek, except to say he wants to be “doing things about helping keep our country safe.”
Earlier in the interview, Katko repeated his criticism of Trump’s divisive rhetoric and said again that he doesn’t believe the former president should be the Republican Party’s standard bearer.
Katko was asked if he agreed with Trump ‘s comment last week that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a “genius” for his strategy involving the invasion of Ukraine.
“No,” Katko replied with a smile. “I don’t think either one of them are.”
Trump took credit in January for Katko’s decision to leave Congress. In June, the former president offered to back a Republican and Conservative Party primary challenger against Katko.
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