Retiring House Republican: We’re talking about porn stars and the president instead of taxes

Rep. Ryan Costello (R-Pa.) said he is leaving Congress partly because people are focused on issues such as President Trump’s alleged affair with adult-film actress Stormy Daniels instead of policy items.

Costello, who announced Sunday that he will not seek reelection, told MSNBC’s Kasie Hunt that he is always overshadowed by controversies and shakeups at the White House when he tries to get messages out about policy proposals he supports.

{mosads}“That is actually one of the reasons why I think it’s the right time for me to perhaps consider another line of work, at least temporarily,” Costello said. “Because we’re talking about porn stars and the president rather than about tax policy or what we need to get done by the end of the year or what should have been in the omnibus.”

Costello also said that it’s hard to be a centrist Republican in the current political climate.

“What I found is that no matter how much you speak out, those who don’t support the president are — it’s not going to be enough for them,” Costello said. “And at that moment in time, you get really stridently pro-Trump Republicans bothered at you because you’re not defending the president.”

Costello said that the criticism he is facing from both ends of the party, paired with the recent Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling that struck down congressional district lines for the state, led him to the conclusion that 2018 is not the right for him to run for re-election.

The court decision was “obscene,” Costello said, arguing that having his district turn 10 points bluer made it hard for him to run again.

Following his announcement that he won’t seek reelection, the Cook Political Report moved Costello’s district from “toss up” to “likely Democrat.”