U.S. Rep. Will Hurd announced in a statement Thursday he will not seek reelection to represent the 23rd District of Texas, which spans from San Antonio along the U.S.-Mexico border to El Paso.
The Republican is serving his third term in Congress, following a career as an undercover officer in the CIA.
He’s the only black Republican in the House and the only one representing a district along the U.S.-Mexico border. He criticized President Donald Trump in the past, including his border wall plan and his tweets attacking four Democratic congresswomen of color. However, he has said he would vote for Trump in 2020.
In his statement Hurd addressed the biggest problems he sees in the U.S., including poverty, economic opportunity and “unbearable pressure on our borders” stemming from violence in Central America.
“After reflecting on how best to help our country address these challenges, I have made the decision to not seek reelection for the 23rd Congressional District of Texas in order to pursue opportunities outside the halls of Congress to solve problems at the nexus between technology and national security,” he wrote.
Hurd is the third Texas GOP House member to announce in the past week that they aren’t seeking reelection.
Hurd narrowly won reelection to the swing district in 2018, defeating Democrat Gina Ortiz Jones 49.2% to 48.7%.
There are three Democrats running for the seat: Ortiz Jones, Rosalinda Ramos Abuabara and Liz Wahl. There are no Republicans in the race.