Republicans need to lock down the House.
In another setback for the precarious House Republican majority, Representative Mike Gallagher, a Republican from Wisconsin, made the announcement on Friday that he would be stepping down from Congress before the expiration of his term.
Earlier in February, Gallagher had declared that he wouldn’t seek reelection after serving four terms in Congress. However, he revised his decision, stating that his departure from office would be effective on April 19.
Expressing his intentions, Gallagher mentioned, “I’ve coordinated closely with House Republican leadership regarding this timeline and anticipate Speaker Johnson’s appointment of a new chair to oversee the critical mission of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party,” in a statement shared on a specified platform.
Following Gallagher’s resignation and the impending departure of Representative Ken Buck from Colorado, the Republicans will find themselves with a narrow House majority of 217-213. This leaves little room for error in party-line votes, as any additional defections would result in the failure of proposed bills.
Despite concerns over the reduced majority, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise from Louisiana downplayed the significance, stating that while the task ahead may be challenging, it wouldn’t be any more formidable than it was with a larger margin. “We all need to collaborate,” he emphasized, as reported by CBS. “Unity is essential if we are to achieve progress.”
Reactions to Gallagher’s announcement on the aforementioned platform were largely critical, with some questioning the timing of his departure and others accusing him of abandoning his constituents.
Bryan Quinn expressed dissatisfaction, noting, “Congratulations for waiting until after April 2 to avoid triggering a special election so that your constituents could have had at least some representation for the seven months until the November election! It truly makes us proud as Wisconsinites that you couldn’t leave now or complete your term.”
Similarly, Brad Morgan labeled Gallagher as a “sellout,” drawing a parallel to Judas Iscariot’s betrayal of Jesus to the Pharisees for 30 pieces of silver.