U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Green Bay, announced Friday he is resigning from his position in the House of Representatives effective April 19. This means he will not finish his fourth term in Congress. 

The move will further imperil the already narrow House Republican majority. After Gallagher's departure, Republicans will only be able to afford to lose one vote on legislation assuming all Democrats remain united in opposition.

“I’ve worked closely with House Republican leadership on this timeline and look forward to seeing Speaker Johnson appoint a new chair to carry out the important mission of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. My office will continue to operate and provide constituent services to the Eighth District for the remainder of the term,” he said in a statement.

Under Wisconsin law, a congressional vacancy after the second Tuesday in April can only be filled in a November election. This means that his seat will be empty until Jan. 2025. 

Gallagher served for four terms in Congress. He called the experience “the honor of a lifetime.”

“Four terms serving Northeast Wisconsin in Congress has been the honor of a lifetime and strengthened my conviction that America is the greatest country in the history of the world. I will forever be proud of the work I did on the Armed Services and Intelligence Committees, chairing the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, and chairing the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. It has truly been an honor to serve in the House of Representatives,” he continued in his statement.

Gallagher announced he would not run for reelection in Feb. 2024.

He was a rising star in Republican politics. Many in the party hoped he would run for Senate this year. But the popular, four-term Republican from Green Bay told Spectrum News he thought about this for a long time. In fact, he’d thought about it for a year.

Gallagher, who’s 39, is a father of two. He said he is not sure what he will do for a living, but that he and his wife want to grow their family.

“This lifestyle is not suited for that, and that’s the main thing,” he said. “And I just, always when I ran, I knew this wasn’t going to be a career for me. I don’t think it should be a career, I think you should serve for a short period of time and then go home.” 

Gallagher is a Marine veteran who chairs the high-profile special House Committee investigating China. He’s been an outspoken voice against the Chinese Communist Party and worked with both Democrats and Republicans on perhaps his most high profile legislation: a bill to separate TikTok from its Chinese-owned parent company. It passed the House on Wednesday with overwhelming support from both sides of the aisle.