- January 27, 2026
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Ten-term U.S. Congressman Vern Buchanan of Florida District 16 announced today that he will retire at the conclusion of his current term after 20 years. Buchanan, vice chairman of the House Ways & Means Committee, will leave office as the longest-serving Republican to represent Southwest Florida in the U.S. House of Representatives.
District 16 represents eastern Hillsborough County and all of Manatee County. His term comes to a close in 2027.
“Serving the people of Southwest Florida has been the honor of my lifetime,” Buchanan said in a news release. “I came to Congress to solve problems, to fight for working families and to help ensure this country remains a place where opportunity is available to everyone willing to work for it. After 20 years of service, I believe it’s the right time to pass the torch and begin a new chapter in my life.”
Early in his Congressional career, Buchanan was appointed to the House Ways & Means Committee, which writes the nation’s tax, trade and health care laws. He has served as chairman of the Ways & Means Tax Subcommittee and as a member of the Joint Committee on Taxation, which developed implementation of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Buchanan also worked directly with the White House to pass the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA).
Buchanan serves as chairman of the Health Subcommittee, where he has advanced bipartisan efforts to protect Medicare, expand access to care for seniors and veterans, and lower prescription drug costs. For more than a decade, he has served as co-chair of the Florida Congressional Delegation.
Over his career, 51 of his bills and legislative initiatives were signed into law under four presidents — George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Donald Trump. He was also instrumental in securing $27.8 million to design and build a national veterans cemetery in Sarasota.
The Longboat Key resident was recently honored by the town, which named its planned library and community center for the lawmaker and his wife.
Until the boundaries of his district were shifted, he represented a large segment of Sarasota County as well.
