By Emily Drooby
Days after announcing he would not seek re-election in 2020 Congressman Peter King returned to Brooklyn’s St. Francis College, the school that helped shaped him.
The 14-term Republican reflected on his life in public service and how his faith helped guide him in office.
“When you are in the day to day of real life you’re not always as perfect as you want to be, but it gives you at the very least a conscious that you have to respond to,” said Congressman King who after attending St. Francis as an undergraduate went on to enroll in law school at the University of Notre Dame.
A champion for Catholic values, a staunch defender of life and a member of the Knights of Columbus, the congressman isn’t worried about what will happen after he leaves Washington.
“Don’t give up. The world isn’t going to end with me leaving Congress,” he said.
Instead, King described his stepping down as an opportunity for someone else to step up.
“I think it’s important for people who feel strongly about these issues to be heard and to let it know that they want a candidate who reflects those views. I tried to do that during the time I’ve been in Congress,” he said.
“Again, it’s never 100 percent because you have to make different compromises, but I think if you’re coming from that perspective of having a firm set of beliefs, you’re more likely to get things done the right way.”
The congressman is the twentieth Republican so far who won’t run for re-election next November. King is looking to spend more time with his family, but he’ll still be in the U.S. House for at least one more major vote: the impeachment of President Trump
“To me impeachment is one of the most drastic revenue to be used. I see nothing at all remotely impeachable. With the call to the Ukraine or the whole area around it,” he said.
When it was time to impeach Bill Clinton in 1998, Congressman King voted no.