Esty decided against running for re-election last year following criticism from Connecticut Democrats about how she handled an abusive staffer. Esty did not terminate the staffer for months after she learned of his abuse and gave him severance and a favorable job recommendation.
Elected in 2012 to represent the sprawling northwestern 5th congressional district, Esty was sworn into Congress shortly after the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, which is in the district.
Esty became a co-chair of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force. On Monday, the retiring lawmaker’s successor, Representative-elect Jahana Hayes, said she planned to join the task force in the next Congress.
Esty did not mention the circumstances that prompted her to leave office. Instead, she spoke of her work promoting STEM education for women, seeking to improve her district’s infrastructure and working with others to pass legislation that would help veterans.
“If you look for and build on common ground, you can get things done even with people with whom you disagree with on many issues,” Esty said.
Esty has said she planned to take a few months to decide what she will do after leaving Congress.