WASHINGTON — Congressman Mike Gallagher is saying goodbye to Washington on Saturday. The Republican from Green Bay, Wis., is leaving Congress before the end of his term to spend more time with family.
Gallagher made national security a top priority during his time on Capitol Hill. He’s chaired the high-profile special House committee investigating China and said his mission in his next job, whatever that may be, will stay the same.
“Defend America from the many enemies that we face that are trying to destroy us, foremost among the Chinese Communist Party,” Gallagher said this week.
Gallagher is well-respected among Republicans and Democrats as someone who was willing to work across the aisle to craft meaningful policy.
“He's been a great friend and partner on this committee,” said Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., who is the top Democrat on the China committee.
He and Gallagher appeared to work well together, most recently co-sponsoring a bill to force the Chinese company that owns TikTok to sell the social media platform. It passed the House with bipartisan support.
“For anything substantive to happen in this current Congress really shows that a member knows what they're doing in navigating a very difficult political environment,” said Anthony Chergosky, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
Gallagher decided to delay his resignation by one day, to Saturday, to help blunt any effort by hard-right Republicans to seek the ouster of Speaker Mike Johnson and secure assistance for Ukraine and Israel, and for Taiwan, a key priority in helping that country defend itself against China.
“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,” said Mordecai Lee, professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Johnson attached the TikTok legislation to the foreign aid package to force a vote through the Senate. A key senator, Democrat Maria Cantwell of Washington, recently announced her support of the bill, after opposing the legislation to regulate TikTok. She said she’s happy the House accepted her recommendation to give TikTok’s parent company a year to sell the platform, instead of the original six months.
“I’m very optimistic that it’s going to get done,” Gallagher said.
Gallagher’s seat will remain vacant until January. Three Republicans and one Democrat have entered the race to replace him.