The head of a significant House committee within the Republican party has declared his intention to leave Congress after the current session concludes. Representative Mark Green (R-TN), who has chaired the House Homeland Security Committee, entered Congress in 2018. However, after only six years, he’s decided to step down, following in the footsteps of other Republican committee leaders who have made similar choices.
In November 2018, Mark Green secured his position as the representative for Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District and officially assumed office on January 3, 2019. He succeeded the longstanding conservative congresswoman Marsha Blackburn, who transitioned to the role of junior senator for Tennessee.
In January of the previous year, Green, a former Army officer with an illustrious military background that included commanding a company in the 82nd Airborne Division before pursuing medical studies and becoming a special operations flight surgeon, assumed the role of chairman of the influential House Homeland Security Committee. Since taking on this position, he has prioritized overseeing Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, particularly concerning the challenges at the southern border.
On February 13, the objective was reached as the House voted to impeach Mayorkas. The following day, Green issued a statement declaring his decision not to seek reelection in November and to depart from Congress in January 2025. In his announcement, Green expressed that he had fulfilled his commitments to enact fresh border security measures and to ensure accountability for Mayorkas, hence concluding that it was time for him to return home.
He added, “Our country — and our Congress — is broken beyond most means of repair. Our fight is not here within Washington; our fight is with Washington.”
He concluded by stating his intention to persist in serving the nation, a commitment he has upheld throughout his entire life.
It’s been observed that Green is not the inaugural Republican committee head to reveal intentions of retiring from the House. In fact, he joins three others in this decision. Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Financial Services chairman Patrick McHenry (R-NC), and Kay Granger (R-TX) of the House Appropriations Committee have all made similar announcements, indicating they will not seek reelection in November.
