Goodlatte announces he won’t run in 2018

Republican Rep. Bob Goodlatte won’t run again.

Goodlatte, R-Va. — chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and senior member of the House Agriculture Committee — said he won’t run again after serving 25 years in Congress.

Goodlatte said he still wants to accomplish several legislative goals in the next year, including bolstering enforcement of immigration laws, reforming the legal immigration system, simplifying the tax code, repealing Obamacare and more.

In October, Goodlatte introduced the Agricultural Guestworker Act, to replace the H-2A guest worker program operated by the Department of Labor with a program renamed H-2C and under the oversight of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. An amended form of that bill passed the Judiciary Committee by a 17-16 vote and awaits action by the full House.

Robert Guenther, senior vice president for public policy for the United Fresh Produce Association, said in an email that the group will continue working with Goodlatte through the end of his term on legislation to give agriculture an adequate workforce.