When Gallagher leaves, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) will be able to suffer only one defection from his side on party-line votes.
By Patrick Svitek and Marianna Sotomayor, The Washington PostRep. Mike Gallagher appears on Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday.
When Gallagher leaves, House Speaker Mike Johnson will be able to suffer only one defection from his side on party-line votes. The realities of the thin majority were on full display earlier Friday, as the House passed a $1.2 trillion spending bill by a narrow margin. Gallagher informed House GOP leaders of his desire to leave early weeks ago, and they worked with him on his resignation timeline, according to a source familiar with Gallagher’s plans who was granted anonymity to discuss private deliberations. Members of the GOP leadership acknowledged that his decision would affect their already small majority.
The difficulties of the slim majority came to light again with the House votes on the latest spending package. It received 286 votes - 101 from Republicans and the rest from Democrats. Even then, Johnson had to move the bill through suspension of the rules, which requires a two-thirds majority to pass, to work around anticipated resistance to a procedural vote from a far-right faction.
Earlier in February, Gallagher upset fellow Republicans by opposing the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, which narrowly failed on the first attempt.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher will resign early, leaving House majority hanging by a threadJonathan Allen is a senior national politics reporter for NBC News, based in Washington.
Read more »
Rep. Mike Gallagher says he's resigning early, leaving House Republicans with thinnest of majoritiesRep. Mike Gallagher, a Wisconsin Republican who has spearheaded House pushback against the Chinese government, says he will resign from the House. Gallagher will resign his position on April 19. It will leave Republicans with a 217-213 majority in the House, meaning that they cannot afford to lose more than one vote on a party-line vote.
Read more »
Rep. Mike Gallagher says he's resigning early, leaving House Republicans with thinnest of majoritiesRep. Mike Gallagher, a Wisconsin Republican who has spearheaded House pushback against the Chinese government, says he will resign from the House.
Read more »
Rep. Mike Gallagher says he's resigning early, leaving House Republicans with thinnest of majoritiesRep. Mike Gallagher, a Wisconsin Republican who has spearheaded House pushback against the Chinese government, says he will resign from the House.
Read more »
Rep. Mike Gallagher announces he’ll resign in April, further narrowing House GOP majorityThe Wisconsin Republican had already announced he would not seek reelection.
Read more »
Rep. Mike Gallagher Announces Early Exit from House, Ensures Empty SeatRep. Mike Gallagher’s early departure means that Republicans’ majority will shrink to a one-vote margin, with 217 seats to Democrats’ 213.
Read more »