SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Representative Chris Stewart (R), Utah, will officially resign from his seat in Congress in about a month.

He joins us this week on Inside Utah Politics to discuss the decision to step away.

“It was actually very difficult, and then there was this added layer to it and that has to do with my wife’s health. She’s a very private person, and she doesn’t want the whole world knowing, but she had a stroke about a year ago and as time went by it just became more and more evident it was just very unfair for her,” Stewart said.

Stewart says once that decision was made he’s never looked back.

“I didn’t want to leave Congress. I certainly didn’t want to leave in the middle of a term. I really thought we could serve out the rest of this term. But, we know it was the right decision and I’ve never second guessed that. Not for a second.”   

As he reflects on his time in office, he says the 988 suicide prevention hotline is one of the things he’s most proud of.

“When I went to Congress, I did not know that I’d be involved with suicide prevention, and with mental and emotional health. Veterans drew me in, suicide among our youth was the thing that kind of got me even deeper. And, 988 took us five years to do. A bipartisan effort, but still was not easy. It has saved hundreds of thousands of lives,” said Stewart.