Republican Announces Early Retirement, Narrowing GOP Majority in House

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Rep. Mike Gallagher is departing in April.

Republicans are going to see their majority in the U.S. House of Representatives narrow even further, as Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) is departing Congress soon.

Mr. Gallagher, 40, became the latest Republican to announce an early retirement, saying on March 22 that he will leave the lower chamber on April 19.

Mr. Gallagher did not cite a reason for the decision. A phone call to his Washington office went straight to voicemail.

Republicans currently have 219 seats in the House, but Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) has said he is stepping down after Friday.

The resignations of Mr. Buck and Mr. Gallagher would leave the GOP with 217 seats.

Democrats currently have 213 seats.

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The slim majority looming for Republicans means they can afford a single defection to pass bills without Democrat help.

Because of the timing of the retirement, no special election will be held for Mr. Gallagher’s seat. Wisconsin law requires a resignation to take place before the second Tuesday in April in order for a special election to take place.

Other members who have recently retired include Reps. Bill Johnson (R-Ohio) and Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).

The resignations would leave the House with five vacancies.

The special election to fill the vacancy left by former Rep. Brian Higgins (D-N.Y.) is slated to take place on April 30.

The race to fill the seat Mr. McCarthy held is advancing to a runoff in May between state Assemblyman Vince Fong, a Republican, and either Republican Tulare County Mike Boudreaux or Democrat candidate Marisa Wood.

The race to replace Mr. Johnson is down to Democrat Michael Kripchak and Republican Michael Rulli. The general special election isn’t until June.

Mr. Gallagher said he “worked closely” with House Republican leaders on the timeline for his retirement and that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) would appoint a new chair of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.

Mr. Johnson has not yet reacted to the announcement, which came after Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) filed a motion to remove Mr. Johnson as speaker. Ms. Greene is upset about Mr. Johnson’s approval of a $1.2 trillion spending package, calling it “a betrayal of the American people.”

Mr. Gallagher voted for the spending package.

Mr. Johnson became speaker in October 2023, after Republicans ousted Mr. McCarthy from the leadership post.

Mr. Gallagher has represented Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional District since 2017. He won re-election in 2022 with 72 percent of the vote. Mr. Gallagher had announced previously he would not seek another term.

“My office will continue to operate and provide constituent services to the Eighth District for the remainder of the term,” Mr. Gallagher said.

This is a developing story that will be updated.

Original News Source Link – Epoch Times

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