WASHINGTON — Veteran Wisconsin Republican congressman Jim Sensenbrenner says he is retiring from the House.

First elected in 1978, the conservative and former House Judiciary Committee chairman is the chamber’s second-longest serving member.

Sensenbrenner says in a statement Wednesday that he will not seek re-election in November 2020. The 76-year old says he’d always known “when it was time to step back.”

Sensenbrenner was a chief author of the anti-terrorism USA Patriot Act enacted after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

He becomes the third House member to announce retirement on Wednesday. Texas Republican Bill Flores and California Democrat Susan Davis also say they will not return in 2021.

Of current House members, only Alaskan Republican Don Young has served longer than Sensenbrenner.

Sign up for Daily Newsletters Manage Newsletters

Copyright © 2020 The Washington Times, LLC.