EXCLUSIVE — Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) will still retire early from Congress in April despite urges from House GOP leadership to remain in office.
A source close to Gallagher told the Washington Examiner that Gallagher has been in touch with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and House leaders “throughout this process, including before this decision was announced and his departure date was agreed upon.”
“His decision has not changed,” the source said.
Johnson had reportedly asked Gallagher not to resign from Congress on April 19 as planned, according to Scripps News, and pleaded with him to “do anything he can to stay longer” in the House, where Republicans hold a razor-thin narrow majority.
The speaker’s political team did not respond to a request for comment from the Washington Examiner.
Gallagher announced on March 22 that he would leave Congress early after stating in February that he would not seek reelection in 2024. He serves as chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, of which Johnson named Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI) as Gallagher’s successor.
The Wisconsin Republican’s early departure sets Johnson up for a possible one-seat majority. Following the resignation of Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) on March 22, the Republican majority narrowed to 218-213.
With Gallagher’s retirement, it will narrow to 217. With a special election for former New York Democratic Rep. Brian Higgins, which will likely yield a Democratic successor, Johnson will find himself with a 217-214 majority after April 19, meaning the GOP can only afford to lose one vote on any given measure to pass the House.
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Johnson called Gallagher a “trusted friend and colleague” in a statement to X responding to the Wisconsin congressman’s early departure announcement last week.
“We will greatly miss his leadership on Capitol Hill, but we are happy for him, Anne, and their daughters as they begin the next exciting chapter of their lives,” the speaker said.
