U.S. Representative Michelle Bachmann, leader of the Tea Party movement, announced that she will not seek re-election, and will retire from the House of Representatives, Bloomberg reported.
"I have decided next year I will not seek a fifth congressional term," Bachmann announced on her website. "My future is full, it is limitless and my passions for America will remain. This decision was not impacted in any way by the recent inquiries into the activities of my former presidential campaign."
Bachmann was the first Republican woman elected to represent Minnesota in the U.S. House, and made a name herself in Congress by staunchly opposing President Obama's health care law, and one of the main leaders of the the Tea Party.
Democrats hailed Bachmann's decision to retire from Congress and held her up as an example of what is wrong with the Republican Party.
"Michele Bachmann's Tea Party brand of extremism and obstruction have infected the entire Republican Congress and her influence shows no signs of waning," said Emily Bittner, a spokeswoman for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Bachmann promised to "continue to work overtime for the next 18 months in Congress defending the same Constitutional conservative values we have worked so hard on together. There is no future option or opportunity, be it directly in the political arena or otherwise, that I won't be giving serious consideration if it can help save and protect our great nation," Bachmann said.
