McKeon’s office denies he’s decided to retire

House Armed Services Committee Chairman Buck McKeon’s (R-Calif.) office is denying a local report that he’s decided to retire and will announce the decision on Thursday.

“The Congressman has stated that he plans to make a decision shortly and will announce after that decision has been made.  As of now that decision has not been made,” McKeon spokeswoman Alissa Curley tells The Hill via email.

A reporter at The Flash Report, a Southern California political news site, tweeted “Thursday Rep. @BuckMcKeon will announce his retirement, setting up a @TonyStrickland v @stephentknight showdown. #LAMEDUCKBUCK” on Tuesday afternoon.

Rumors have swirled for months that McKeon is likely to retire. Two local Republicans, former California state Sen. Tony Strickland and California state Sen. Steve Knight, have already said they’d run if he doesn’t, a strong signal he’s not likely to run again. Democrats are hopeful they can compete for McKeon’s slightly Republican-leaning district if he does retire.

A number of other longtime House members have announced their retirements in recent weeks.