What Barney Frank’s retirement means for Democrats and Wall Street (VIDEO)

When Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) announced he would not run for re-election, Democrats in the House knew they would suffer the loss of one of the chief reformers of the financial system.

Frank announced he would retire on Monday, placing some of the blame on the difficulty of a reelection due to newly redrawn district lines, the Associated Press reported.

“I was planning to run again, and then the congressional redistricting came, and this decision was precipitated by congressional redistricting not entirely caused by it,” said Frank during a press conference. “I’ve been ambivalent about running not because I don’t continue to think the job is important but because there are other things in my life I would like to do.”

Frank, 71, has spent 30 years in Congress and now hopes to spend more time teaching and writing. He told several of his aides he “did not want to die in Congress,” Reuters reported.

Read more at GlobalPost: Barney Frank will not seek reelection

President Barack Obama praised Frank’s 16 terms in congress and for his co-authorship of Dodd-Frank Act, a banking reform aimed at preventing Wall Street excesses that fueled the most recent financial crisis in a 2,300 page report of Washington’s rules for Wall Street, Reuters reported. Frank worked on banking reforms during President Obama’s first term in office and led the Financial Services Committee during the 2008 credit crisis. He was also instrumental in passing the $700 billion bank bailout, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

It is believed that his departure could make it more difficult for Democrats to win back control of the House, which Republicans took over in midterm elections. With Frank’s retirement, it may be easier for Republicans, who almost unanimously opposed Dodd-Frank, to weaken the regulations set up in the act, which the banking industry views as too intrusive, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Frank’s departure also brings forward the question of what happens to the money Wall Street donated to his upcoming campaign, The New York Times reported. In February Frank had announced he would run for re-election. Frank noted these funds in his press conference on Monday, which pretty much said that bankers could received a refund on their investment.

“Once I have paid out remaining expenses and wound down the campaign, I will refund contributions to anyone who requests it, in a proportionate amount to what is left,” he said in a letter to donors, The Times reported. “Obviously I did have legitimate campaign expenses up until now, and there will be some expenses in winding things down.”

Read more at GlobalPost: Clawing back bad banker pay

Federal election law requires Frank to reimburse donors and if there is any remaining money left, Frank has said he will transfer it “to other candidates who share my perspective,” The Times reported.

Frank entered the House of Representatives in 1980 and was one of the first openly gay politicians to serve at a national level, Reuters reported. During his many years in Congress, he has been an advocate for gay rights, cuts in defense spending, and a strong government role in housing for low-income people, constantly triggering Republican critics, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.