Hoyer Statement on Retirement of Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen

WASHINGTON, DC - House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement today after Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen announced that she will retire at the end of the 115th Congress:

“Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen has spent her more than three decades in public service working to build consensus and forge compromises that benefit Floridians and all Americans. Her unwavering support for Israel in Congress and her leadership on issues of national security and diplomacy have won her praise from both sides of the aisle, and her tenure as Chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee was one characterized by bipartisanship. She demonstrated her political courage when she crossed party lines to support marriage equality, the first Republican in the House to do so.

”The first Latina and first Cuban-American elected to Congress, Rep. Ros-Lehtinen has lent her powerful voice to critical debates over immigration and civil rights.  During the years we’ve served together, we’ve developed a friendship that I know will last beyond her tenure in office, and I join in thanking her for her service.”