'I won't miss everything about the circus': John Yarmuth gives final House speech

U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth, who has represented Louisville on Capitol Hill for 16 years and served for a good chunk of that time as the sole Democrat in Kentucky's congressional delegation, bid his farewell Wednesday with a final House floor speech.

Yarmuth, who is 75 years old, announced last year he would not seek reelection, expressing a desire to "spend more of my golden years with my family in Louisville," including two grandsons. State Sen. Morgan McGarvey, a Democrat whom Yarmuth backed to succeed him, will take office in January after defeating Republican businessman Stuart Ray in the Nov. 8 election.

Following several colleagues who gave their final addresses Wednesday morning, Yarmuth began his nearly five-minute speech by mentioning how he asked a former House member if he missed the time in office.

"I don’t miss the circus. I miss the clowns," Yarmuth said the unidentified ex-lawmaker told him.

"Now that I'm in my final days as a member and I’ve reflected on my 16 years here, I'm going to tweak that line," Yarmuth said Wednesday. "I won't miss everything about the circus, and I will miss many, but not all of, the clowns.

"I will miss the feeling that I'm part of history, if not always history I would brag about," Yarmuth added. "I will miss the constant reminder that I have served in the same body as Abraham Lincoln, John Kennedy, John Lewis and so many other amazing Americans. I will miss the serious, thoughtful and often noble discussions about how we can make a positive difference in the lives of so many Americans, even if we rarely make as big a difference as we'd want. And I will miss the give and take of policy debates, even though I know there was never a chance the debates would change anyone's mind."

Yarmuth then shared some of the things he will not miss, including "the reality that most of our rhetorical firepower is preaching to our respective choirs and that too much of what we say comes from the devils and not the angels of our natures."

"I won't miss the constant emphasis on raising money and the apparent conviction of some that only gobs of money can persuade enough voters to win elections," Yarmuth said. "I won't miss the frustrating reality that we rarely move quickly enough to deal with the challenges of a fast-moving world and the fear that if this body doesn't figure out how to work more expeditiously, we will continue to frustrate our citizens."

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But he said he "will miss many of my colleagues, some of whom are now among my best friends, and yes, even some from across the aisle."

"They have broadened my perspective and reinforced my belief that with all our flaws, we are essentially decent and caring people who try to find better ways forward for our country," Yarmuth said. "...They are definitely not clowns."

He also thanked staffers, constituents and his family, including his grandsons, JD and Rory, "for being constant reminders that what we do here has implications far beyond the moment."

"Thanks to the Capitol Police who protect and defend us and who showed the world on Jan. 6, 2021, how brave and selfless they are," Yarmuth added, referring to the violent riot at the U.S. Capitol.

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Lastly, Yarmuth became visibly emotional as he thanked his chief of staff, Julie Carr, noting she "has been with me every minute of my 16 years in the House."

"I often said that if she left me, I wouldn't return the next day. Luckily, she stuck with me," Yarmuth added. "And now she will also leave the House after 25 years of service to me and others. The citizens of Louisville are, unbeknownst to them, much better off because of her work. And I was a better member because of her intellect, judgment, dedication and friendship."

McGarvey, like Yarmuth, will be the only Democrat in Kentucky's six-member U.S. House delegation. The only other Bluegrass State Democrat to serve in Washington, D.C., during Yarmuth's tenure was Ben Chandler, who represented central Kentucky as the 6th Congressional District representative from 2004 to 2013.

Yarmuth is leaving as Republicans have once again taken over control of the House following the November elections, which continued a trend of the party that wins the White House losing seats in the the subsequent midterms. President Joe Biden may have slightly more support for his agenda, meanwhile, in the Senate, which is split between 49 Republicans, 48 Democrats and three independents.

Yarmuth, who founded the alternative newspaper LEO Weekly in 1990, first took office by upsetting five-term Republican incumbent Anne Northup in the 2006 election to represent Kentucky's 3rd Congressional District, which includes Jefferson County.

He wasn't always a Democrat, though, as a younger Yarmuth initially identified as a Republican who even worked alongside Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on ex-GOP Sen. Marlow Cook's first Senate campaign. Yarmuth switched parties in the 1980s due to a dislike for President Ronald Reagan and "how the religious right was basically influencing policy," as he told The Courier Journal last year.

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Yarmuth gained more influence in 2018, when Democrats took control of the House in the midterm elections and he became chair of the House Budget Committee, the first Bluegrass State Democrat to hold a leadership role in the lower chamber since U.S. Rep. William Natcher of Bowling Green briefly served as appropriations chairman until 1994.

Yarmuth's Budget Committee post took on added significance with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, as he would sponsor and help pass the American Rescue Plan Act, a $1.9 trillion relief package that, among other provisions, provided stimulus checks to Americans and several rounds of funding to local governments and businesses to recover from the public health crisis.

Yarmuth called passing the American Rescue Plan "my proudest moment."

In his final speech Wednesday, Yarmuth closed by saying, "I will leave the House proud of my work. grateful for the opportunity to serve here and committed to continue to serve our great country and its people."

Reach Billy Kobin at [email protected]

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: U.S. Rep. John Yarmuth of Louisville gives final Congress floor speech