In a surprising move, U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher, a prominent Republican known for his strong stance against the Chinese government, announced on Saturday that he will not seek re-election for a fifth term. This decision comes just days after Gallagher faced criticism from fellow Republicans for refusing to support the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, a move seen as a direct challenge to the Biden administration's handling of the U.S.-Mexico border.
The Republican party had been pushing for Mayorkas's impeachment as a means of holding the Biden administration accountable for the escalating situation at the southern border. Despite a close vote in the House on Tuesday, with Gallagher and two other Republicans opposing impeachment, the effort fell just one vote short. The failure dealt a significant blow to the GOP's strategy, and discussions within Wisconsin's Republican circles arose about whether Gallagher should face a primary challenger.
Gallagher, however, did not explicitly reference the impeachment vote in his retirement announcement. Instead, he expressed a desire to adhere to the original intent of serving in Congress for a limited time and then returning to private life.
In an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Gallagher insisted that the backlash over his impeachment stance did not influence his decision, expressing confidence that people can accept differences of opinion. He noted the fleeting nature of the news cycle, suggesting that such controversies are short-lived.
Gallagher, a former Marine from Green Bay, has been a representative for northeastern Wisconsin since 2017. He gained prominence last year for leading a new House committee focused on countering China, emphasizing the geopolitical competition between the U.S. and China as an "existential struggle over what life will look like in the 21st century."
Despite being a high-profile candidate for a U.S. Senate run against incumbent Democrat Tammy Baldwin, Gallagher abandoned the idea in June. At that time, he expressed a commitment to concentrating on countering China through the committee and initially planned to seek a fifth term in the House.
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