Kevin Yoder is leaving Washington. He showed the best of Congress — and sometimes the worst
Rep. Kevin Yoder will end his service to the Kansas 3rd District in just a few days. The Republican says he’s leaving Congress without regret, proud of his work for the state.
“I love this job,” Yoder told The Star editorial board in an exclusive interview.
Much of Yoder’s record in the House is commendable. He helped Sunayana Dumala, an Indian immigrant, stay in the Kansas City area after her husband was brutally murdered. Her case led to an important discussion about easing the backlog for thousands of highly-skilled immigrants.
Yoder fought for increased email privacy. He worked to obtain National Commemorative Site status for the Quindaro ruins in Kansas City, Kan. He argued for the Kelsey Smith Act, a bill that would make it easier for police to find a missing person’s location using cellphone data.
In 2015, he was a leading voice to increase federal spending on medical research.
Yoder’s work on these matters didn’t always result in signed legislation. But his efforts reflect the best of what Congress can be — a place where a lawmaker focused on his or her district or state can take the lead to ensure that real problems are discussed and addressed.
At his best, Yoder was that congressman.
Yet much of Yoder’s work was lost in the 2018 campaign. Sharice Davids, a Democrat and a political newcomer, beat the four-term Republican in a race defined for months by President Donald Trump.
“All politics are national,” Yoder said, explaining the challenge he faced this year. “It is red team, blue team.”
Yoder is right. And he bears at least some responsibility for that unfortunate state of our national government.
This isn’t just about Trump’s approach. Yoder says he made decisions independent of the president but that criticizing Trump’s style would have been “impossible.” That’s Yoder’s decision to make.
But the descent of Congress into dysfunction began long before Donald Trump. It was the predictable result of countless show-votes, and last-minute government shutdown crises, and political debt ceiling votes, and a thousand other examples of raw politics interfering with good government.
Kevin Yoder was a part of that. He criticized President Barack Obama relentlessly. He supported a proposal to sue the White House over the Affordable Care Act.
Like many mainstream members of the majority, he watched as hyper-conservative House Republicans hijacked the government, turning Congress into a non-functioning TV show.
“I’m not a bomb thrower,” Yoder told us. But politicians of good faith should object, loudly, when their colleagues throw bombs.
If Yoder ever did so, it was in a voice too quiet for most Kansans to hear.
Davids could learn an important lesson from this. Kansans, like many Americans, are tired of partisanship and show-votes. They value independence. They will punish party-line politics at the polls. She should act accordingly.
We don’t think we’ve seen the last of Kevin Yoder, and that’s a good thing. The congressman worked hard to serve his district, and his nation. We applaud his efforts, and wish Yoder and his family well.
“I gave this job everything I could,” he told us. “I don’t know what’s next.”
This story was originally published December 20, 2018 at 11:44 AM.