Mike Gallagher, a Wisconsin Republican and a leading voice on China policy, announced his retirement from Congress on Saturday, days after he voted against impeaching Homeland Security Secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas.
Gallagher, who chairs the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, said in a statement that he wanted to return to his private life and focus on national security issues. He said that he did not want to grow old in Congress and that electoral politics was never supposed to be a career.
“The Framers intended citizens to serve in Congress for a season and then return to their private lives. Electoral politics was never supposed to be a career and, trust me, Congress is no place to grow old. And so, with a heavy heart, I have decided not to run for re-election.”
His decision comes after he made headlines last week when he was one of only three Republicans who voted against impeaching Mayorkas, whom the GOP accused of violating his oath of office by failing to secure the southern border and enforce immigration laws. The impeachment resolution fell one vote short of passing the House.
Amidst the backlash from his fellow Republicans, Mike Gallagher defended his vote in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, arguing that impeaching Mayorkas would not solve the border crisis.
“I disagree with my Republican colleagues who voted on Tuesday to impeach Mr. Mayorkas. Impeachment not only would fail to resolve Mr. Biden’s border crisis but would also set a dangerous new precedent that would be used against future Republican administrations.“
Mike Gallagher, 39, was first elected to Congress in 2016 and won re-election in 2020 with 64.2% of the vote in his district. He was also one of the few Republicans who spoke out against former President Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election results and called for his impeachment after the January 6th Capitol riot.
