Gallagher to Leave Congress April 19
WASHINGTON — Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., who already announced he would not seek reelection, surprised many on Capitol Hill on Friday by announcing he plans to leave April 19, several months before his current term is up.
Gallagher’s impending departure will further shrink the razor-thin Republican majority of the House, bringing it to 217-213.
Once he’s gone, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., will only be able to afford to lose one vote on any bill that doesn’t have Democratic support.
In a post on the X social media platform, the four-term congressman said he made his decision to depart sooner rather than later “after conversations with my family.”
“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 said.
“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,” he added.
Gallagher also served on the House Armed Services and Intelligence committees, and chaired the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, a body charged with developing “a consensus on a strategic approach to defending the United States in cyberspace against cyberattacks of significant consequences.”
His decision comes just a week after Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., announced his intention to leave Congress before the end of the term. Buck’s last day is today.
In related news Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas, chair of the powerful House Appropriations Committee, told Johnson Friday that she wants to step down from her post and wants him to name a replacement “as soon as possible.”
“My goal for the next nine months is to return to where I began my career, as an educator. I will remain on the committee as chair emeritus to lead as a teacher would, providing advice and counsel for my colleagues when it is needed,” Granger wrote in a letter to the speaker.
“I will also continue to find ways to improve the lives of the people of the 12th District of Texas from my position on the committee. I will dedicate my energy to helping the new chair and our conference achieve our goals through the appropriations process,” she said.
Dan can be reached at [email protected] and @DanMcCue
