For months, whenever Rep. Mike Gallagher was in the news, the Wisconsin Republican’s name was invariably in the same sentence as “rising star.” There was no great mystery as to why.
The congressman isn’t just a Princeton grad with a doctorate from Georgetown, he’s also a Marine veteran who served in Iraq. On Capitol Hill, GOP leaders tapped the conservative young congressman to chair a House select committee on China, and by most accounts, Gallagher has received positive reviews from members of both parties.
In terms of career prospects, GOP insiders believed the sky was the limit for the 39-year-old congressman — that is, until last month, when Gallagher said he’d retire at the end of his term.
As it turns out, the Republican isn’t waiting until January to exit Capitol Hill. NBC News reported:
Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., who announced last month he would not run for re-election, will resign from Congress early, he confirmed in a statement Friday. … Two sources familiar with the matter told NBC News of Gallagher’s plan to resign early on Friday. The Wisconsin Republican then released a statement announcing that he will depart on April 19.
It’s difficult to know where to start with news like this, but broadly speaking, there are three angles worth keeping in mind.
The first is that the number of resignations we’ve seen during this Congress is quite extraordinary. A Washington Post report recently labeled the circumstances the “Great Resignation,” noting that there have been more mid-term departures in the current Congress than any in at least four decades — and that was before Gallagher announced that he, too, is headed for the exits.
As we discussed soon after, there have been far more resignations in this Congress than there have been legislative breakthroughs, which is hardly ideal.
The second angle of interest is the looming legislative arithmetic. As things currently stand in the chamber, the House now has 219 Republicans, 213…
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