Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) is demanding the Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) resign immediately or be expelled from the House.
Gallagher, the chairman of the Select Committee on China, announced Friday that he will be leaving Congress on April 19.
His departure narrows Republican majority to 217-213, meaning Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) can only afford to lose only one vote on partisan legislations.
Further complicating things for Johnson is that under Wisconsin state law, vacancies after the second Tuesday in April in an election year, are filled in the general election, so Gallagher’s replacement will be decided in November and his seat will remain empty until January.
Over the weekend, Greene called Gallagher’s resignation an “intentional betrayal” and demanded that he resign immediately or be expelled so another Republican can be elected in a special election to replace him, thus preserving the GOP’s already razor thin majority in the House.
“Yes he should be expelled if he refuses to leave immediately in order to allow his district to hold a special election to elect a representative so that their district can have a voice for the remainder of the 118th Congress!” Greene wrote in a post on X/Twitter. “Leaving after the deadline is intentional betrayal!”
In another post, Greene wrote: “Mike Gallagher’s extremely selfish decision to leave Congress early and push us towards a Hakeem Jeffries speakership should not be allowed to happen. Mike Gallagher should be expelled so the people of Wisconsin’s 8th District can have a special election to replace him.”
Greene also accused Johnson—who she is trying to remove as speaker— of “failing the majority” by allowing Gallagher to resign after the deadline when a special election can be held to replace him.
“Speaker Johnson has also failed our majority because he is allowing Mike Gallagher to leave Congress after the deadline date where his district cannot hold a special election and elect a new representative for the rest of this entire Congress,” Greene said. “Mike Gallagher betrayed all of us. And Speaker Johnson, as the one who’s responsible for our majority, praised Mike Gallagher on Friday after he announced his departure, saying that he’s great and praising him and thanking him for his service in Congress.”
