GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — For almost four decades, Southwest Michigan constituents have known only one congressman: Fred Upton.
But this past spring, Upton announced that after 36-years serving the region in Washington, he was retiring.
Upton didn’t explicitly say so at the time, but newly drawn congressional lines— the result of a voter approved redistricting commission— decimated the area he represented since 1986. It was one of the most drastic district changes in the entire state, and Upton would have been pitted against another longtime Michigan representative, Republican Bill Huizenga, had he not drawn the curtain on his political career.
“It was out of our hands, I mean, it is what it is,” he said. “Our district had to grow by about 20,000 people. [The commission] made changes that were over 350,000 so that was really the deciding factor.”
Upton had no desire to represent an area that didn’t even slightly resemble the 6th district he had served reliably for so many years. Twenty-five contested elections yielded 25-consecutive wins for the 69-year-old. But one of his most recent decisions in office proved to be one of his most controversial. After the attack on the Capitol building on January 6th, 2021, Upton was one of only a handful of Republican lawmakers, including freshman Michigan Representative Peter Meijer, to impeach former President Donald Trump for his involvement in the day’s deadly events.
“I’m convinced that we came within minutes of having a massacre on the House or Senate floor,” said Upton, describing how he watched the mob move up the streets of D.C., past his office and to the Capitol, and picking up bits of broken glass in the building later in the night.
“I thought it was important to follow the facts and follow the testimony, and it’s pretty evident to me, so far, that in fact [Trump] really did try to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power,” he said. “Here we are, two years later, no one has provided the evidence that showed that those states that were in question, that the vote would’ve been overturned.”
“I don’t have any regrets,” he added. “We made the right decision.”
Thinking back on his legacy in Congress, Upton points to his shining accomplishment: the passage of the 21st Century Cares Act in 2016. The act allowed for expedited approval of important drugs and medical devices, and just four years after it was passed, helped shepherd along speedy approval of the nation’s first COVID-19 vaccine.
“That approval wouldn’t have come for six, eight, ten months later so we literally saved hundreds of thousands of Americans,” said Upton, who noted he’s seeking an extension of the act in Congress before he leaves office at the end of the year.
Rep. Upton also points to his work restoring jobs to the state’s vital auto industry and his work to protect the Great Lakes. In fact, a bill named for him and Michigan Congresswoman Debbie Dingell ensures the Great Lakes' safety against issues caused by pipelines below its surface.
Starting his career in politics working for the Office of Budget Management in the administration of President Ronald Regan, Upton says he’s seen a great change in politics since he first arrived in Washington. Bipartisanship cripples legislative efforts, and even Michigan’s political landscape has changed drastically.
“We lost at least five Congressional seats,” Upton said. “So that’s five electoral votes, that’s committee representation on, whether it be ways and means or appropriations, or energy and commerce. Our baseball bat’s not as big as it used to be.”
Upton chaired the House Energy and Commerce Committee from 2010-2016, sat on the House Health Subcommittee since 1991, and is a founder and vice-chair of the Problem Solvers Bipartisan Caucus – a caucus that works to gain bipartisan traction on important bills including the recently-passed CHIPS Act.
It’s something he’d like to see more of after he leaves, and is telling incoming lawmakers as much.
“My advice is, find some friends on both sides of the isle,” he said. “Friends you can trust, and you can accept their word.”
As for what comes next for Upton, even he isn’t sure. He says more time with family – and possible a ski trip – are immediately in order after his term expires. After that, his only plan is to stay close to the area that he represented faithfully for 36-years.
“This is my home; this is where I’m going to be,” he said with a smile. “So as they say in Hamilton, ‘I’ll be back.’”
