Coburn reaffirms term-limit pledge, won't run in 2016

Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) on Monday reaffirmed that he would not run for a third Senate term in 2016, thereby sticking to his pledge to serve only two Senate terms.

Speaking at a town-hall meeting in Enid, Okla., Coburn urged his constituents to demand that politicians tell the truth, and said politicians should be fired when they fail.

"But you can't fire me, because I'm not running again," he said, according to the Muskogee Phoenix.

Coburn first made a term-limit pledge when he was a member of the lower chamber. He served just three terms in the House before leaving voluntarily, then successfully ran for the Senate in 2004.

Coburn is a member of the Senate "Gang of Six" that ultimately proposed $4 trillion in combined spending cuts and new revenue, and on Monday reiterated his support for some higher taxes on the wealthy to help the government dig its way out of debt. This position put him at odds with most House Republicans earlier in the year, although Democrats are expected to once again press for new taxes as part of the effort to trim the deficit by another $1.5 trillion.

The senator has clashed with the GOP leadership on previous occasions and earned the nickname "Dr. No" for repeatedly blocking legislation. And despite his strong conservative leanings, he's a close friend of President Obama's.

In the meantime, Coburn criticized the debt-ceiling deal for failing to make real spending cuts.

"The budget deal didn't cut anything," he said. "Discretionary spending will increase $832 billion in 10 years. They didn't eliminate anything, it's a fraud."