The US House of Representatives lost a member last week when Christ Stewart of Utah resigned due to his wife's health (a stroke).

Stewart’s departure sets off a race to replace him on the Appropriations Committee, right as lawmakers feud over stopgap plans to fund the government before the month is out.

With his name already gone from his office door, Stewart left the Capitol on Thursday before the final votes of the day. In an interview with Roll Call on his way out of town, he shared his next moves (including buying some cows) and recalled his “somber” mood in 2013 during the first shutdown of his career. “We did what we thought was right at the time, and it didn’t work,” Stewart said.

A special Republican primary to fill his seat was held in the Beehive State last week, where his former aide, Celeste Maloy, clinched the nomination and is heavily favored to win on Nov. 21.

His replacement won't be there until after the November special election, so the House has only a four member GOP margin.

Trump will no doubt be dabbling in that kind of race, still trying to line up ducks to support him. As Rachel Maddow says, "#WatchThisSpace