By The GOP is going to soon be shorthanded again. Representative Mark Green, from Tennessee and chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee announced will step down from Congress earlier than expected. One of the GOP’s most prominent voices on border policy, he said he’ll take his leave once the House votes on a sweeping reconciliation package that includes key border security provisions.
Green’s departure, which could come as soon as July, marks a capstone to a tenure defined by his role in the GOP’s border crackdown, wrote The Washington Examiner. “It’s with a heavy heart that I retire,” Green said in a statement Monday.
“Though I planned to retire at the end of the previous Congress, I stayed to ensure that President Trump’s border security measures and priorities make it through Congress,” Green continued. “By overseeing the border security portion of the reconciliation package, I have done that. After that, I will retire, and there will be a special election to replace me.”
“It was the honor of a lifetime to represent the people of Tennessee in Congress,” Green added. “They asked me to deliver on the conservative values and principles we all hold dear, and I did my level best to do so.”
The Tennessee lawmaker previously announced his intent to leave Congress in early 2024 but reversed course after lobbying from constituents, Senator Marsha Blackburn, and former President Donald Trump. This time, however, Green says his work is done.
Green led the House’s impeachment of then-Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and he was instrumental in passing H.R. 2, the House GOP’s signature immigration bill. While Senate Democrats blocked those efforts, Green’s hardline stance helped define the Republican agenda on border security.
His resignation sets off a special election in Tennessee’s 7th District, a Republican stronghold unlikely to change party hands. Under state law, a special election must be held 75 to 80 days after the vacancy is formally announced—unless a general election is already on the calendar.
For Speaker Mike Johnson, the timing matters. With only a three-vote margin in the House, even a temporary vacancy narrows the GOP’s ability to pass partisan legislation. Republicans are eager to fill the seat quickly to avoid giving Democrats an opening in the razor-thin chamber.
“Senate Republicans are planning to make a host of changes to the legislation, and the House is expected to hold a vote this summer on approving the revised bill,” explained The Hill.
Green’s departure will reduce the House GOP to 219 seats versus 212 for Democrats, preserving the razor-thin margin that allows Republicans to lose no more than three votes on party-line measures—assuming full attendance, the same high-wire arithmetic they’re already navigating.
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