title: JUST IN: Senior GOP Rep Announces His Retirement…A BIG LOSS
text: Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R., Texas) announced Tuesday he will not seek another term in Congress in 2018, telling supporters he has  already stayed far longer than I had originally planned. Hensarling, the chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, was first elected to the House in 2002 and is described by the Dallas Morning News as a  staunch Constitutional conservative. PASSED OVER FOR TREASURY SECRETARY:Hensarling s future has been a source of speculation for months. He was passed over to be Trump s Treasury Secretary, a gig that ended up going to Steve Mnuchin. And Hensarling s term as House Financial Services chairman will expire at the end of next year.HENSARLING TRIES TO ROLL BACK OBAMA REGS:Hensarling in June saw the House OK his roll back of far-reaching banking regulations created under President Barack Obama   but the Senate has not moved on the bill. He s also been unable to get much traction on his plans to overhaul a beleaguered flood insurance program. I HAVE ALREADY STAYED FAR LONGER THAN I HAD ORIGINALLY PLANNED Today I am announcing that I will not seek reelection to the US Congress in 2018. Although service in Congress remains the greatest privilege of my life, I never intended to make it a lifetime commitment, and I have already stayed far longer than I had originally planned,  Hensarling wrote to supporters on Tuesday.He added,  Since my term as Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee comes to an end next year, the time seems right for my departure. Although I will not be running for reelection, there are 14 months left in my congressional term to continue the fight for individual liberty, free enterprise, and limited constitutional government the causes for which I remain passionate. Hensarling s retirement announcement comes as Democrats look to 2018 as their best chance to take back the majority since losing the House in 2010.ONE OF THE NOTABLE THINGS HENSARLING TRIED TO DO:Texas Republican Rep. Jeb Hensarling told a conference of mortgage bankers Wednesday his 2013 bill that would have ended Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac still remains the best path forward for reform of the housing finance market.Appearing at a meeting of the Mortgage Bankers Association Wednesday morning in downtown Washington, the conservative chairman of the House Financial Services Committee said the legislation  still represents the best vehicle for reform. The bill cleared the committee with Republican votes in 2013, but failed to advance in the House thanks to finance industry skepticism.Notably, it would have dissolved the bailed-out mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In their stead, it would have created a privately-run utility to facilitate the creation of mortgage-backed securities and support a secondary market for home loans.The bill would have removed government backing for mortgage-backed utilities, though. At the time, many industry groups, including the Mortgage Bankers Association, argued eliminating the government backstop for mortgage-backed securities would make 30-year fixed-rate loans unavailable.READ MORE: DALLAS NEWS