Rep. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin, one of three House Republicans who voted against impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas last week, has announced that he will not seek re-election.
“Eight years ago, when I first ran for Congress, I promised to treat my tenure as an intensive deployment,” Gallagher, who will retire in January 2025 after completing his fourth term, said in a statement Saturday. I did,” he said.
“Through my bipartisan work on the Armed Services and Intelligence Committees, as chair of the Cyberspace Solarium Committee, and as chair of the Communist Party of China Select Committee, we have “It has accomplished more than I ever imagined,” he said.
“But the framers intended for the people to serve as MPs for one season and then return to private life. Electoral politics was never meant to be a profession, and believe me, Congress is not the place to grow old. No,” the official said.
“So, it is with a heavy heart that I have decided not to stand for re-election,” Mr Gallagher said. “I would like to thank the good people of Northeast Wisconsin for this once-in-a-lifetime honor.
“Serving four terms has further strengthened my belief that America is the greatest nation in the history of the world. And while my title may change, my mission will always be the same. And that is to thwart America’s enemies and protect the Constitution.”
Gallagher announced several weeks ago that he would vote against the impeachment resolution being advanced by House Republican leaders, and he defended that decision. Wall Street Journal editorial The day after the failure.
“Impeachment not only fails to resolve Biden’s border crisis, it would also set a dangerous new precedent that could be used against future Republican administrations,” he wrote.
“Mr. Biden, not Mr. Mayorkas, is primarily responsible for the chaos and devastation that has occurred at the border,” Gallagher said. “If Mr. Mayorkas is removed from office, his successor will likely implement Mr. Biden’s disastrous border policies.”
He also told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. In an interview, he said he did not choose to retire based on the backlash from voting against impeachment.
Mr. Gallagher will vote against two articles of impeachment against Mr. Mayorkas on charges of failing to enforce federal immigration law and lying to Congress about federal immigration law, along with outgoing Rep. Ken Buck ( He joined Rep. Tom McClintock (R-California) and Rep. Tom McClintock (R-California) in voting on February 6. America’s borders are “secure.”
With Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-Louisiana) absent because he is undergoing treatment for blood cancer, House Republicans could lose just three votes and still be able to remove President Biden’s border security chief from office.
The majority’s calculations also depended on the absence of Rep. Al Green (D-Texas), who also disappeared from Congress while recovering from intestinal surgery.
But as the clock ticked down, Greene appeared on the House floor in a wheelchair to vote against impeachment. The bill ultimately failed by a vote of 214 to 216.
House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Greene (R-Tenn.) and others pressured Gallagher to reverse his vote, but to no avail, Republican Conference Vice Chairman Blake Moore (R-Utah) states) to switch their votes and join the majority. He makes a motion to bring the resolution back to the floor at a later date.
House Republicans are expected to begin their impeachment push again on Tuesday.
The day after last week’s vote, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) told reporters: “Last night was a setback, but our democracy is in shambles.” “We live in an era of divided government. The margins are very close here and every vote counts.”
“Sometimes when you’re counting votes and people show up at a time when they’re not expected to be in the building, it changes the equation,” he added, referring to Greene. “We’ll pass the articles of impeachment. We’ll do it in the next round.”
Mayorkas acknowledged on MSNBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday that the situation at the border is a “crisis” but held him and President Biden “responsible for the broken system” that allowed the influx of migrants. He also said that there is no such thing.
Mr. Biden and his Secretary of Homeland Security had urged House Republicans to pass a bipartisan Senate border bill that included additional aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, but it died in the Senate last Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Scalise’s office released a statement last Thursday saying the majority leader was in “full remission” from cancer after “successfully completing autologous stem cell therapy” and “will return to Washington next week to vote.” ” announced.
With Scalise’s return, House Republicans who were wary of impeaching Mayorkas, including Rep. David Joyce (R-Ohio) and Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.), reversed their votes. must be prevented.
Mr. Gallagher served on the House Select Committee on Intelligence and Military Affairs and chaired the bipartisan House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.
He briefly considered challenging Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin for the seat last year, but decided not to because of his work on the China committee and said he plans to seek a fifth term in the House.
Another member of the China committee, Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-Florida), is said to be being considered by House Republican leadership to replace Mr. Gallagher as committee chairman if his party retains the majority. told the Post.
