GOP Rep. Mike Gallagher announces retirement from House: 'Congress is no place to grow old'

 Wisconsin Republican Representative Mike Gallagher announced Saturday that he will not seek re-election to his position in the House.

"Eight years ago, when I first ran for Congress, I promised that I would treat my time in office as a high-intensity deployment. Through my bipartisan work on the Armed Services and Intelligence committees "Through his chairmanship of the Cybersecurity Solarium Commission and the selection committee on the Chinese Communist Party, we have achieved more on this deployment than I ever imagined," Gallagher said in a statement.

The congressman continued, "But the Framers intended for citizens to serve in Congress for a season and then return to their private lives." "Electoral politics was never considered a career and, believe me, Congress is no place to grow old. And so, with a heavy heart, I have decided not to contest elections again."

Earlier this week, Gallagher was one of three Republican House members who voted against the impeachment of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, joining with all House Democrats to prevent the move from moving forward.

In his statement, Gallagher, who has represented Wisconsin's 8th Congressional District in the House since 2017, also praised those who have supported his career over time.

"Thank you to the good people of Northeast Wisconsin for the honor of a lifetime. Four terms in your service have strengthened my conviction that America is the greatest country in the history of the world. And though my title may change, my mission will always It will remain the same: stop America's enemies and defend the Constitution."

In comments provided to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Gallagher said he plans to leave Congress and enter the private sector to spend more time with his family.

"I really feel as if I have accomplished much more than I thought I would, and I strongly believe that the best use for the next chapter of my career is to remain in Congress for another decade." Gallagher told the outlet.

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“Even if my designation changes, my job changes, my mission will always remain the same,” he said. "My mission is to prevent World War III. I have dedicated myself to restoring conventional deterrence to prevent war with China, and so everything I do next will be an extension of that mission."

The announcement by Gallagher, who served as an intelligence officer in the United States Marine Corps, comes after some other Republicans recently announced their intentions to retire from Congress.

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., announced Thursday that she will not seek re-election to the House this year, saying in a post on social media that "it is time to serve the people of Eastern Washington with a fresh " Ways."

Gallagher's current term expires on January 3, 2025.