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Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., who made headlines earlier this week for voting against the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, announced Saturday that he will not run for re-election this year.
“The framers intended for people to serve as MPs for a 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. So , it is with a heavy heart that I have decided not to stand for re-election,” Mr Gallagher said in a statement.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, which along with the Wall Street Journal was one of the first outlets to report the news of Rep. Gallagher’s retirement, said Saturday that the congressman’s “future job will be aligned with national security goals and focuses.” “It will be something like that,” he said. About defense policy. ”
Mr. Gallagher was one of three House Republicans on Tuesday to vote against impeaching Mr. Mayorkas, accusing the Republican of violating his oath of office. Mr. Gallagher was one of several Republicans who expressed skepticism about Mr. Mayorkas’ impeachment ahead of the vote, as members who left the room told reporters during a closed session Tuesday morning. He said impeaching Mayorkas would “open Pandora’s box.”
The Wisconsin Democratic Party pointed to Gallagher’s decision to resign as evidence of “the speaker’s testimony.” [Mike] Mr. Johnson and the House Republicans are in disarray and dysfunction. ”
“Mike Gallagher’s telling him to ‘quit’ is a scathing indictment of Republican governance incompetence,” Wisconsin Democratic Party communications director Joe Osland told NBC News in a statement. added. “Wisconsin Democrats look forward to competing in the 8th party and restoring stability and competency to the House.”
He has represented Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional District since 2017 and is currently the chairman of the House Select Committee on the Communist Party of China.
He will join more than a dozen House Republicans who will not seek re-election in 2024, according to the House Press Gallery.
Earlier this week, Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, the Washington Republican who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee, also announced that she would not seek re-election this fall.
“House Republicans know they are losing their majority amid a series of legislative failures and the MAGA turmoil,” Beto Shelton, a spokesperson for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said in a statement to NBC News. , I am running for retirement.”
Republican political consultant Alex Brucewicz is weighing the primary challenge to Gallagher and Democrats. said in a social media post. On Saturday, Gallagher said he was once “considered by many to be a rising star in the Republican Party,” but “instead of embracing the MAGA movement, he decided to betray the grassroots and protect the swamp.”
“But reporters, legislators and grassroots patriots all over Wisconsin have asked me if I’m running…let’s just say they’re looking very hard right now,” Brucewicz said. he added.
Last year, the national Republican Party wanted Gallagher to run for Senate against Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin, who is seeking a third term this year, but Gallagher declined to run.
Leading candidates have emerged as potential challengers, including businessmen Eric Hovde and Scott Mayer, but they have not yet announced their intention to run.
National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Steve Daines told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in December that he expected Hovde, who ran for the Senate in 2012, to run.
Wisconsin is one of the best pick-up opportunities for Republicans this term, but defeating Baldwin is still likely to be an uphill battle. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report calls the race “lean and democratic.”
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