In an increasingly polarized political climate, understanding the sources that influence the behavior of institutional actors is essential to understanding the outcomes and dy namics that emerge from our institutions as a whole. While much has changed over the years, the core motives shared by members of Congress largely remain the same- though changes in the political environment force members to adapt their behavior to best sat isfy those objectives. The secular belief shared by many social scientists and the public at large is that members are chiefly motivated by reelection, and they are willing to do any thing to secure it. The increased rate of voluntary departures from the institution testify to the potency of other objectives that factor into the member career calculus. Examining the patterns of voluntary congressional retirement from 1973 to 2023, I find evidence that members consider their effectiveness and influence as legislators when determining if it is worth seeking reelection. Beyond intrinsic features that influence member behavior, external factors such as the President of the United States are also able to impact both be havior and the political fates of legislators. Presidents have long used their "bully pulpit" to engage with and ultimately influence Congress. President Trump’s use of Twitter, and its amplified media coverage, maximized his pulpit. I study how he used the platform over the length of his tenure in office as a political tool towards members of Congress exploring who he talked about, how and when he did so, and finally, some of the conse quences faced by his copartisans as a result. While the medium, scale, and tone departed fromhispredecessorsintheOvalOffice, Trump’stacticsstillbearsemblancetotraditional executive-legislative relations.
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