GOP Sen. Johnny Isakson To Resign At End Of Year

(The Hill) Jordain Carney 08/28/19 10:41 AM GOP Sen. Johnny Isakson (Ga.) announced Wednesday that he will step down from the Senate at the end of the year citing health issues. After much prayer and consultation with my family and my doctors I have made the very tough decision to leave the U.S. Senate at the end of this year. I have informed Georgia Governor Brian Kemp today that I will resign my Senate seat effective December 31 2019 Isakson said in a statement. Isakson 74 was reelected to the Senate in 2016 but his political future has been the subject of speculation for years. He underwent two back surgeries in 2017 and fractured his ribs during a fall in his Washington D.C. apartment last month. In his statement on Wednesday he cited ongoing health issues as his primary reason for stepping down early. I am leaving a job I love because my health challenges are taking their toll on me my family and my staff. My Parkinsons has been progressing and I am continuing physical therapy to recover from a fall in July. In addition this week I had surgery to remove a growth on my kidney Isakson said. Isakson first joined the Senate in 2005 after spending six years in the House. He currently chairs the Senate Ethics and Veterans Affairs committees and serves on the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions Finance and Foreign Relations committees. He sent a letter on Wednesday to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp notifying him of his decision to leave the Senate early. I am therefore am notifying you that I am resigning my U.S. Senate seat effective Dec. 31 2019. While it pains me greatly to leave in the middle of my term I know it is the right thing to do for the citizens of Georgia Isakson wrote. Isaksons term runs through 2022 and Kemp under state law is allowed to fill the vacant Senate seat.