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Congressman Mike Gallagher.
CNN
—
Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., said Saturday he will not seek re-election, becoming the latest Republican to announce he is leaving Congress as House Republicans seek to hold on to their shrinking majority in November. Ta.
The announcement comes as Mr. Gallagher has come under intense criticism for defying his own party by voting against the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, with some Republican officials saying he has threatened to hold a primary election against
“Electoral politics was never meant to be a career, and believe me, Parliament is not the place to grow old,” Mr Gallagher said in a statement. “Therefore, with a heavy heart, I have decided not to run for re-election.”
The Wisconsin Republican stood by his decision to vote against impeaching Mayorkas and criticized House Republican leadership for pushing the resulting vote to the floor without knowing whether it would pass. The House is expected to vote again on impeaching Mayorkas next week, when Majority Leader Steve Scalise returns from cancer treatment.
Saturday’s statement was a blow to Gallagher, 39, a Republican who thought he could flip a key Senate seat in the battleground state after choosing not to run for the Senate last year. This marks his announcement that he will seek re-election in the state’s 8th Congressional District.
Gallagher was first elected to the 8th Congressional District, which includes Green Bay, in 2016 and easily won a fourth term in 2022 with more than 72% of the vote. In the 2020 presidential election, former President Donald Trump won about 15 points over Joe Biden in solidly Republican districts.
Gallagher chairs the House China Select Committee, which is known for its bipartisan work. House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rogers of Washington announced Thursday that she would not seek re-election, making her the latest chairwoman to announce she is quitting her committee.
More than a dozen House Republicans have announced they will leave Congress at the end of their terms. House Republicans currently control 219 seats to Democrats’ 212, with four seats open. Democrats need a net gain of five seats to take the House majority, but their number could shrink to four if they win the New York seat vacated by expelled former Rep. George Santos in Tuesday’s special election. There is sex.
CNN’s Simone Pathe, Molly English Annie Grayer and Manu Raju contributed to this report.
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