Gallagher Announces Retirement After Helping Defeat Mayorkas Impeachment

Conservatives are celebrating on social media after Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) announced his retirement, which came just days after he sided with the Democrats in voting against impeaching embattled Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

The retired U.S. Marine Corps intelligence officer claimed in a statement that his decision to retire was based on his belief that Congress isn’t a long-term job, touting his supposed accomplishments during his “high-intensity deployment” in the U.S. capital.

“Eight years ago, I promised to treat my time in office as a high-intensity deployment. Through my bipartisan work on the Armed Services and Intelligence Committees, chairing the Cyberspace Solarium Commission, and chairing the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, we’ve accomplished more on this deployment than I could have ever imagined,” Gallagher wrote in the statement, which was shared by his office in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“But the Framers intended citizens to serve in Congress for a season and then return to their private lives,” he added. “Electoral politics was never supposed to be a career and, trust me, Congress is no place to grow old. And so, with a heavy heart, I have decided not to run for re-election.”

Critics immediately took to social media to call Gallagher out for his betrayal, arguing that his decision to join two other Republicans in shutting down Mayorkas’ impeachment was the true reason he is retiring — declaring him a “coward” and asserting that he is leaving office because he knows he will lose re-election for the move.

“I’m glad you’re quitting – we don’t have time for weak cowards while we’re trying to save this country,” wrote the popular X account “Catturd.”

“Ding dong another RINO GONE!! Rep. Mike Gallagher, who voted to let Mayorkas off the hook, won’t run for re-election Time for an America First Patriot to fill his seat,” wrote another popular X user, D.C. Draino.

“Considering you voted not to impeach the man responsible for the most historic invasion of the United States it is a good idea for you not to run for reelection we need men and women that are not cowards running this country. It’s too bad you don’t just resign now,” another user wrote.

Mayorkas was facing two articles of impeachment for “willfully and systematically” refusing to “comply with Federal immigration laws” and “breach of public trust” — as he has been actively facilitating illegal immigration during his time in office. The impeachment effort failed, though Republicans enlisted the help of Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT) to give them a chance at continuing their efforts — asking him to change his vote to “no” to prevent a tie vote, giving them the opportunity to hold another vote.

In voting against the impeachment, Gallagher claimed that impeaching Mayorkas would set “a dangerous new precedent on impeachment that will be used against future Republican administrations” — despite the fact that there were legitimate reasons to impeach Mayorkas and Democrats have already used impeachment as a tool to attack former President Donald Trump, thus the precedent has already been set.

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