Mass. Rep. Barney Frank to retire
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U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass.
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WASHINGTON -- Rep. Barney Frank of Massachusetts, an unapologetic, acid-tongued Democratic warrior for liberals and a favorite target of conservatives, said Monday he will not seek re-election next year, ending a more than three-decade career in Congress.
Mr. Frank, 71, played a key role in the federal government's response to the meltdown of the financial markets in 2008. Then the chairman of the powerful House Financial Services Committee, he was a key player in negotiations with President George W. Bush's administration that produced the bailout of Wall Street banks and financial institutions.
Mr. Frank later was the co-author of legislation, along with then-Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., that tightened the regulatory net on those same institutions, an act that has been savaged by Republican presidential candidates this year as a drag on job creation. Republicans also have frequently blamed Mr. Frank for the subprime mortgage crisis because of his close ties with mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, a charge that Mr. Frank has regularly denied.
At a news conference Monday in Newton, Mass., Mr. Frank cited the redrawn congressional map in Massachusetts as a factor in his decision to retire after 16 terms. The revised district -- along with voters' anti-incumbent mood -- might have triggered a difficult re-election fight that would have demanded the kind of intense fundraising that Mr. Frank said he dislikes.
Mr. Frank is also the best-known openly gay politician in America. He revealed his sexual orientation early in his career, almost 25 years ago. In 1990, he was formally reprimanded by the House for his association with a male prostitute.
Mr. Frank lost his chairmanship of the Financial Services committee when the GOP reclaimed the House last year. Rep. Maxine Waters of California, considered to be less hospitable to business interests than Mr. Frank, is in line to succeed him as the panel's top Democrat.
Mr. Frank flashed some of his trademark caustic wit at his news conference, when he ripped the governing House Republicans and the partisan divide in the chamber.
"The Republican Party today in the House," he said, "consists half of people who think like Michele Bachmann and half of people who are afraid of losing a primary to people who think like Michele Bachmann. And that leaves you very little ability to work things out."
Mr. Frank vowed to remain active on several issues, including gay rights and tougher financial regulation, but vowed, "There is no way I will be a lobbyist."
First Published November 29, 2011 12:00 am
