WASHINGTON — Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Green Bay, shocked the Republican party in February when he announced he would leave Congress at the end of the year. He made headlines again last month when he said he was moving up his departure to mid-April, leaving the seat vacant for the rest of the year.
“In general, the tenor of the House hasn't been pleasant for anyone,” said Arnold Shober, a professor of government at Lawrence University.
Gallagher was a rising star to many on Capitol Hill. He chaired the high-profile special committee investigating China and was seen as a serious legislator who cares deeply about national security and is willing to work across the aisle. Gallagher said that Congress is no place to grow old, and that he’d like to spend more time with family. This week, he revealed more.
"I signed up for the death threats and the late night swatting, but they did not. And for a young family, I would say this job is really hard," Gallagher said.
Gallagher is one of 23 House Republicans who have decided to hit the road. Four of them, including Gallagher, decided to leave before their term is up.
“It's quite an indictment of the house that many former members think they can make more of an impact on public policy outside of the House of Representatives than they can inside of the House of Representatives,” said Anthony Chergosky, an assistant professor of political science at UW-La Crosse.
One political analyst said the resignation of members like Gallagher and Colorado Republican Ken Buck, who left Capitol Hill in March, signals frustration with the way the House has been operating. That frustration has increased as the growth of social media has given lawmakers an alternative path to influence, one that relies less on legislating and more on the ability to make a splash online.
“Gallagher leaving is indicative of the fact that there is more of an emphasis in Congress on those who prioritize communications, public relations and developing a personal brand, and there is less emphasis on committee work, policy making and putting your head down and delving into the details of legislation,” Chergosky said.
Gallagher decided to delay his resignation by one day, to Saturday, in order to help pass legislation to help Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan and help blunt any effort by hard-right Republicans to seek the ouster of Speaker Mike Johnson.
“He believes in getting certain things done,” said Mordecai Lee, professor emeritus at UW-Milwaukee. "I guess you'd call him an old fashioned Republican conservative, as opposed to a Trump Republican, and he really wants those bills to pass. He knows how close the majority is, that if there are only two members of the House who are Republican who are either sick or absent or refusing to participate in the majority consensus, that that would make those bills fail. And I don't think he wants it on his conscience that, let's say aid to Ukraine, aid to Taiwan, to be able to stand up to the [People's Republic of China], is something that he wants to walk away from and thinking, ‘Gee, if I just stayed one more day, if I just served one more floor session, then aid to Taiwan would have passed, and the American foreign policy of helping Taiwan against China would have been enshrined in law.' I suspect that those are real indications that this is a guy who cares about the substance of government, and in particular cares about these issues that he's been working on for the last year and a half.”