Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) announced Friday he will resign effective April 19, further narrowing Republicans’ already razor-thin House majority.
Gallagher, who had already announced he would not seek reelection this year, said he made the decision to resign after conversations with his family. He currently chairs the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. Gallagher said in an interview with The Washington Post that he considers himself to be going out on a “high note” because of that assignment.
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“I’ve worked closely with House Republican leadership on this timeline and look forward to seeing Speaker [Mike] Johnson appoint a new chair to carry out the important mission of” the committee, Gallagher said in a statement.
Republicans currently have a five-seat majority after Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) resigned Friday, leaving the House earlier than he initially anticipated because he found his majority to be unproductive. Buck’s early departure has also narrowed the majority.
Currently, only two Republicans can defect to pass any conservative legislation through the chamber on party-line votes. Once Gallagher leaves mid-April, that margin of error goes down to one.
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The majority will narrow even further once a Democrat is elected to replace former Rep. Brian Higgins (D-N.Y.), who also resigned earlier this year. Republicans will not get a reprieve until a Republican is sworn in following a May runoff election to assume the seat former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) held for more than a decade.
Gallagher has represented Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional District since 2017. The district in northeastern Wisconsin is solidly Republican.
Gallagher announced in February he would not run for another term, saying in a statement that “electoral politics was never supposed to be a career and, trust me, Congress is no place to grow old.”
Earlier in February, Gallagher upset fellow Republicans by opposing the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, which narrowly failed on the first attempt.
Gallagher said in the Post interview that he made his decision to not seek reelection “long before” the Mayorkas vote.
“We have two young daughters and we want to have more kids, and this lifestyle sucks for a young family,” Gallagher said. “That was the main thing.”
Gallagher, who had already announced he would not seek reelection this year, said he made the decision to resign after conversations with his family. He currently chairs the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. Gallagher said in an interview with The Washington Post that he considers himself to be going out on a “high note” because of that assignment.
Cut through the 2024 election noise. Get The Campaign Moment newsletter.
“I’ve worked closely with House Republican leadership on this timeline and look forward to seeing Speaker [Mike] Johnson appoint a new chair to carry out the important mission of” the committee, Gallagher said in a statement.
Republicans currently have a five-seat majority after Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) resigned Friday, leaving the House earlier than he initially anticipated because he found his majority to be unproductive. Buck’s early departure has also narrowed the majority.
Currently, only two Republicans can defect to pass any conservative legislation through the chamber on party-line votes. Once Gallagher leaves mid-April, that margin of error goes down to one.
Follow Election 2024
The majority will narrow even further once a Democrat is elected to replace former Rep. Brian Higgins (D-N.Y.), who also resigned earlier this year. Republicans will not get a reprieve until a Republican is sworn in following a May runoff election to assume the seat former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) held for more than a decade.
Gallagher has represented Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional District since 2017. The district in northeastern Wisconsin is solidly Republican.
Gallagher announced in February he would not run for another term, saying in a statement that “electoral politics was never supposed to be a career and, trust me, Congress is no place to grow old.”
Earlier in February, Gallagher upset fellow Republicans by opposing the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, which narrowly failed on the first attempt.
Gallagher said in the Post interview that he made his decision to not seek reelection “long before” the Mayorkas vote.
“We have two young daughters and we want to have more kids, and this lifestyle sucks for a young family,” Gallagher said. “That was the main thing.”
