Top House Republican Announces He's Leaving Congress Early
Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher, of Wisconsin, who announced in February that he would not seek another term, announced Friday that he will not wait for the end of his term to leave Washington.
“After conversations with my family, I have made the decision to resign my position as a member of the House of Representatives for Wisconsin’s Eighth Congressional District, effective April 19, 2024,” Gallagher, chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, said in a statement posted on X.
“I’ve worked closely with House Republican leadership on this timeline and look forward to seeing Speaker Johnson appoint a new chair to carry out the important mission of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. My office will continue to operate and provide constituent services to the Eighth District for the remainder of the term,” he said in the statement.
A statement from Congressman Mike Gallagher. pic.twitter.com/dOBcM8kbNV
— Rep. Gallagher Press Office (@RepGallagher) March 22, 2024
“Four terms serving Northeast Wisconsin in Congress has been the honor of a lifetime and strengthened my conviction that America is the greatest country in the history of the world,” he wrote.
“I will forever be proud of the work I did on the Armed Services and Intelligence Committees, chairing the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, and chairing the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. It has truly been an honor to serve in the House of Representatives,” the statement said.
Gallagher had announced his intent to leave Congress in February amid House Republican upheaval after he and two other Republicans voted to block the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. The impeachment motion was later approved.
Rep. Mike Gallagher has announced he is resigning his Congressional seat effective April 19.
This is calculated. Gallagher could leave now, and allow his safe Republican seat to be filled quickly. Instead, he is deliberately leaving on a timeline that will leave it empty until…
— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) March 22, 2024
His announcement Friday came on another divisive day as Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, of Georgia, filed a motion to oust Speaker Mike Johnson, only months after GOP infighting toppled former Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
As a sign of further GOP divisions on Friday, Republicans were divided on passage of a $1.2 trillion budget package. The budget passed 286-134, with Democrats backing the bill 185-22, while in the GOP ranks, 101 supported passage while 112 members opposed it, according to CBS.
Gallagher’s exit will leave the Republicans with 217 members and Democrats with 213. That means that on a party-line vote with all members present, the Republican majority could only have one defection and still pass legislation, according to The Hill.
🚨 Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher will resign early, on April 19
Is it just me… or does anyone else think RINOS are plotting to install Hakeem Jeffries as Speaker?
Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., who also is not seeking re-election, is resigning from Congress on Friday, cutting the… pic.twitter.com/upLZwDFWhb
— MJTruthUltra (@MJTruthUltra) March 22, 2024
Fox News said the one-vote threshold will likely remain the case until June, when a special election will be held to replace former Republican Rep. Bill Johnson, of Ohio.
Gallagher said earlier this year that “Congress shouldn’t be a career,” The Hill noted.
“I think that the fact that we have so many lifers and careerists in this institution is why it’s so dysfunctional, and that the framers, when they created the Constitution and this country, had in mind that you would embark on a season of service and then return to private life,” he said.
Gallagher told Spectrum News in March that “This lifestyle is not suited for that, and that’s the main thing.
“And I just, always when I ran, I knew this wasn’t going to be a career for me. I don’t think it should be a career, I think you should serve for a short period of time and then go home,” he said.
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