WASHINGTON – Rep. Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., announced last month he would not run for re-electionHe will resign from Congress early, he confirmed in a statement on Friday.
Gallagher’s departure in January before the end of his term leaves Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., struggling to govern this Congress and provide stability. and is another blow to House Republicans.
Two sources familiar with the matter told NBC News of Gallagher’s plans to resign early Friday. The Wisconsin Republican then a statement announced that he will leave on April 19.
The speaker’s office confirmed that Gallagher informed Johnson of his decision earlier this week.
His resignation could cause more headaches for House Republicans. Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., also does not want to be re-elected, resigns from Congress on Friday, reducing the GOP’s slim majority to 218-213. With Gallagher gone, the majority would shrink to 217-213, meaning Republicans could only abstain once on any vote if Democrats voted together.
Gallagher’s decision to leave on April 19 also means there will not be a special election to fill his seat. Underneath Wisconsin state lawvacancies after the second Tuesday in April are filled in the general election, so Gallagher’s replacement will be decided in November, leaving his seat vacant until January.
Gallagher, 40, an Iraq war veteran, is chairman of the select committee investigating the Chinese Communist Party and serves on the Intelligence Committee. It is highly unusual for a committee chair to resign mid-term.
But the institutionalist Gallagher, who was first elected to Congress in 2016, has become disillusioned with his party. He was one of three Republicans voted against the Impeachment of Homeland Security Minister Alejandro Mayorkas last month.
He is one of the few top Republican chairmen does not participate in the re-election in November after a tumultuous House session.
Earlier Friday, R-Ga., Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, filed Johnson’s resignation From the speakership on government funding, although no vote has yet been scheduled. It follows a similar move by U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz of California, who successfully ousted then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy last fall.
Meanwhile, shortly after the House passed the final government funding package for fiscal year 2024 on Friday, retiring Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas, said she would step down as chairman of the Appropriations Committee and begin an early battle to succeed Republicans. him in a strong post. Unlike Gallagher and Buck, Granger said he will serve out his House term, which ends in January.
In a statement, Gallagher said he was working closely with GOP leaders on the timing of his announcement shortly after the House voted to avert the shutdown and that he looked forward to Johnson’s appointment of a new China committee chairman.
“I will always be proud of my time on the Armed Services and Intelligence Committees, my chairmanship of the Cyberspace Solarium Commission and my chairmanship of the Select Committee of the Chinese Communist Party,” Gallagher said. “It is truly an honor to serve in the House of Representatives.”
Kyle Stewart and Ben Kamisar contributed.