Meadows won't seek re-election to Congress

Republican 11th District Congressman Mark Meadows said Thursday that he won’t run for re-election in 2020.

Meadows has been one of President Donald Trump’s top allies. In a statement, he said his work with Trump "is only beginning."

"This President has accomplished incredible results for the country in just three years, and I’m fully committed to staying in the fight with him and his team to build on those successes and deliver on his promises for the years to come," Meadows said. "I’ve always said Congress is a temporary job, but the fight to return Washington, D.C., to its rightful owner, We The People, has only just begun."

Meadows decried the House’s vote of impeachment Wednesday night.

“When all is said and done, when the history of this impeachment is written, it will be said that my Washington Democrat friends couldn’t bring themselves to work with Donald Trump, so they consoled themselves instead by silencing the will of those who did, the American people,” he said during the House debate.

Trump was impeached on two charges: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

Meadows has represented the 11th District, which covers western North Carolina, since 2013.

In a statement, North Carolina Republican Party Chairman Michael Whatley called Meadows an "incredible representative" for his district.

"He has stood strongly in support of the President with an unmatched tenacity for the Second Amendment, preservation of life and reining in Washington," Whatley said. "It has been an honor to call him a friend, and I wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors.”

Meadows is the third North Carolina Republican to drop out of the 2020 elections, joining 2nd District Congressman George Holding and 6th District Congressman Mark Walker. Both of their districts were redrawn by state lawmakers this fall to be more favorable to Democratic candidates to resolve a lawsuit challenging the state's congressional district map as a partisan gerrymander.