Sen. Lamar Alexander, a leading Republican on health legislation, will not seek reelection

WASHINGTON — One of Washington’s most influential health policymakers, Sen. Lamar Alexander, will not seek reelection in 2020, he announced Monday.

The Tennessee Republican has chaired the powerful Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee since 2015, where he presided over a number of high-profile health care bills, including the 21st Century Cures Act, and the Republican party’s eventually abandoned effort to repeal Obamacare.

Alexander’s departure will ultimately set up a fight for the gavel of that committee, which wages outsized influence on Washington’s health care agenda. Next in line for that position is Sen. Mike Enzi of Wyoming, who already chairs the powerful Senate Budget Committee and would have to relinquish that post to replace Alexander. Behind Enzi is Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina.

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