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WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 26: Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) (C) is joined by fellow Republican members of the House while talking to reporters outside the White House West Wing March 26, 2019 in Washington, DC. The House Republicans met with President Donald Trump to talk about trade policy, including prospects for the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 18: Chairman Rep. Vern Buchanan,(R-FL), (L), chats with Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) during a House Human Resources Subcommittee hearing on Capitol Hill, May 18, 2016 in Washington, DC, DC. The Subcommittee was hearing testimony on the Heroin epidemic and parental substance abuse. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 18: U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) cast his vote as the House of Representatives holds its second round of voting for a new Speaker of the House at the U.S. Capitol on October 18, 2023 in Washington, DC. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) failed in his bid to become Speaker of the House on Tuesday after all Democrats and 20 members of his own party declined to vote for him. The House has been without an elected leader since Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) was ousted from the speakership on October 4 in a move led by a small group of conservative members of his own party. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 19: U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) leaves a meeting with House Republicans at the U.S. Capitol Building on October 19, 2023 in Washington, DC. The Republicans held hours-long meetings to consider empowering Speaker Pro Tempore Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) but Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) says he will seek a third vote to become Speaker after failing to get enough support in the first two votes. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 30: Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) speaks during a hearing with the House Committee on Ways and Means in the Longworth House Office Building on April 30, 2024 in Washington, DC. During the hearing U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen greets answered a range of questions pertaining to U.S. President Joe Biden's tax and spending policies and additionally issues related to the cost of living. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

'Pass the torch': Southwest Florida's longest serving GOP Rep. Vern Buchanan to step down

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 26: Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) (C) is joined by fellow Republican members of the House while talking to reporters outside the White House West Wing March 26, 2019 in Washington, DC. The House Republicans met with President Donald Trump to talk about trade policy, including prospects for the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

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