WASHINGTON, D.C. — Bob Gibbs will be the first to tell you that being a hog farmer-turned-politician is unusual, but he credits the Ohio Farm Bureau with launching his second career.
What You Need To Know
- Ohio Rep. Bob Gibbs will retire in January after 12 years in Congress
- Gibbs was a hog farmer before entering politics
- Gibbs discussed his career, legacy, and support for Donald Trump in a wide-ranging interview with Spectrum News
- He said he does not plan to run for political office again
“That’s where I got my public policy experience. I didn’t go to college for political science or anything like that, where a lot of people did,” Gibbs told Spectrum News in a lengthy sit-down interview on Capitol Hill this week.
Gibbs began raising pigs in northeast Ohio in the 1970s after studying agriculture at Ohio State.
He joined the Farm Bureau to help learn more about the industry, and he eventually served two terms as its president.
That provided a springboard into politics. Gibbs served eight years in the Ohio legislature and then ran a successful campaign for Congress in 2010.
After 12 years in the U.S. House, the 68-year-old is stepping away from elected office.
“Not looking for a full-time job, not looking to run for something,” Gibbs said. “But if there’s a place for me to be of assistance to [do] whatever, I’m open to those kinds of things.”
Gibbs initially launched a re-election bid last year, but announced in April he would retire after Ohio’s messy redistricting process drastically changed the shape of the 7th District and pitted him in a primary against former Donald Trump aide Max Miller.
Gibbs told Spectrum News he always envisioned serving 12-16 years in Congress anyway, so the decision to retire felt natural. He’s met with Miller, who will take office in January, and wishes him the best.
“Our founders said you come here, serve, and you go back home and you live with the laws you passed, right?” Gibbs said with a chuckle.
Gibbs spent his time on Capitol Hill trying to limit the size of government.
He has served on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee all 12 years and played key roles in developing water policy.
He’s also a member of the highly political Oversight Committee, where Gibbs defended then-President Trump through both of his impeachments.
“I think he’s really trying to do the right thing,” Gibbs said of Trump. “You know, some people come here for other reasons, and I think he’s really concerned about what’s happening in the country.”
After the Capitol was attacked by Trump supporters on Jan. 6, 2021, Gibbs still voted against certifying Arizona and Pennsylvania’s electoral votes for Joe Biden.
He continues to push unfounded claims of widespread fraud in the 2020 election.
“No, I don’t regret it,” Gibbs said, when asked about the vote.
He later said: “Something’s not right here. So I was just trying to raise the red flag here and say I can’t support this because there’s just too many issues coming up that don’t make sense and don’t seem right. Let’s get it fixed and do it right.”
Gibbs filed articles of impeachment against President Biden last year over his handling of the U.S.-Mexico border and the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan.
He still stands by Trump, but isn’t sure he should be the Republican nominee in 2024.
“He’s been attacked every which way — every way possible,” Gibbs said. “Any normal person would’ve walked away from it. That’s why I think, when I said earlier, he’s really concerned about the people in this country. I honestly, sincerely believe that. Now, him running in ‘24? I don’t know. I do say one thing, the Republicans have a great bench.”
Gibbs acknowledges the GOP has changed a lot in the decade since he campaigned for Mitt Romney and his running mate, Paul Ryan, in the 2012 presidential race.
But Gibbs said he hopes he has maintained a reputation as a “model citizen-legislator,” something Ryan described him as at a campaign stop.
Gibbs said his approach to the job has been to focus on constituent services and stay out of the spotlight while fighting for Republican values.
“You try to take the emotion out,” he said. “Let people live their life. You don’t need government telling you what to do. Let Americans live their lives.”
Now, Gibbs will return to his life as a private citizen in Ohio.