Texas may swap US House seniority for staunch conservatism

AUSTIN (AP) — Four veteran Texas Republicans are quitting Congress, meaning the country’s largest red state will be trading House seniority for newcomers who could prove even more conservative and willing to buck their party’s leadership on Capitol Hill.
Sam Johnson, an 87-year-old Vietnam veteran and member of the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, announced in January he was retiring next year. Now, fellow Texans Jeb Hensarling, 60, who chairs the influential House Fina