Rep. Kevin Brady to retire after quarter century in Congress

After a quarter century representing the citizens of Texas's 8th Congressional District, Kevin Brady is relinquishing his seat - a position from which he rose to chair the powerful House Ways & Means Committee and in 2017 authored the biggest tax cut in American history.

Minutes after announcing his retirement, the 66-year-old father of two spoke with FOX 26 about the landmark legislation.

"It changed so many lives and the trajectory of the country, both for lifting so many people out of poverty, the lowest poverty rate really in history for individuals and families. Got our economy going again, created opportunities we haven't had, raised wages for workers who had been stuck for a decade and really brought so much back to America, so yes, that's what I am proudest of, " said Brady.

Brady's 25 years on the Hill have been replete with filled with accomplishments.

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He rode herd on long over-due reform of the IRS, crafted new methods for Americans to save, negotiated the end of a 40-year ban on American oil exports, played a key role in the Mexico-Canada Trade pact, and most recently rallied bi-partisan support for the initial Coronavirus relief package.

"We are capable of solving big things when we put our heads together," said Brady of his Democratic colleagues in Congress.

That said, Brady believes President Biden's plan to reverse the Trump era tax cuts on corporations will backfire on an economy still hobbled by the pandemic.

"No country, certainly no President has ever raised taxes on job creators while trying to rebuild an economy and what I think we'll see is not just slower hiring, less investment here, we are going to see a second wave of companies moving overseas," said Brady.

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As for the decision to close his Congressional career, Brady says he and wife Cathy are comfortable with their call.

"We've talked about this for some time and 25 years, it's been terrific, but it's time, it's time to move to a new adventure. I don't know what that is, but I'm ready," said Brady.

Brady will serve out the remainder of his term which expires in January of 2023.