Republican Rep. Ed Royce says he will not seek re-election

WASHINGTON -- Republican Rep. Ed Royce of California says he will not seek re-election after serving out his 13th term.

Royce is the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. He says he wants to fully focus his final year as committee chairman on the "urgent threats facing our nation."

Democrats had targeted Royce's district in Southern California as one they were hoping to flip in their midterm effort to take control of the House. He won with 58 percent of the vote in 2016.

Royce cites the tax cut bill passed in December and the crackdown on the global ivory trade as some of his accomplishments in a press release announcing his retirement.