House Republican majority to shrink to one seat after resignation

Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., on Friday said that, after conversations with his family, he had decided to resign from the House of Representatives effective April 19. He said his office would continue to serve his constituents for the remainder of the term. Gallagher’s announcement on Friday came as the House of Representatives passed a funding package that left some Republicans demanding a vote to remove Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.

Who is Gallagher? He has served four terms as the Congressman for the 8th District of Wisconsin. He is the current chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.

What will this do to the Republican majority? The timing of Gallagher’s departure leaves the GOP with a one-seat majority and coincides with a slew of other congressional departures that complicate upcoming votes in the Republican-led chamber.

Who else has departed? Rep. Ken Buck, R-Colo., left on Friday following an announcement last week. Gallagher’s absence, combined with Buck’s, will lower the Republican majority to 217, down from 219 according to numbers from the House of Representatives. Those two resignations come on top of vacancies caused by the departure of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Ohio. On the other side of the aisle, Rep. Brian Higgins, a Democrat from New York, resigned last month.

Per state law, Wisconsin must now hold a special election to fill Gallagher’s seat. The New York vacancy will be filled through a special election on April 30, the California seat on May 21, and the Ohio seat on June 11.

Dig deeper: Read Leo Briceno’s report in The Stew about Buck’s recent decision not to seek reelection.