Republican Senator Bob Corker on Tuesday announced he will not run for reelection next year, and will retire at the end of 2018 .

“After much thought, consideration and family discussion over the past year, Elizabeth and I have decided that I will leave the United States Senate when my term expires at the end of 2018,” Corker said in an emailed statement.

The Senator, who last year was ranked the 23rd richest member of Congress with a net worth of roughly $18 million...

... and who as recently as March of last year was the subject of an insider trading probe which predictably has gone nowhere, said that “I have always been drawn to the citizen legislator model, and while I realize it is not for everyone, I believe with the kind of service I provide, it is the right one for me.”

Corker also said that “the most important public service I have to offer our country could well occur over the next 15 months, and I want to be able to do that as thoughtfully and independently as I did the first 10 years and nine months of my Senate career.”