House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., is stepping down from Congress earlier than expected, announcing Monday that he will resign his seat after an upcoming vote on a major reconciliation package.
“It is with a heavy heart that I announce my retirement from Congress,” Green said in a statement. “Recently, I was offered an opportunity in the private sector that was too exciting to pass up. As a result, today I notified the Speaker and the House of Representatives that I will resign from Congress as soon as the House votes once again on the reconciliation package.”
Green, who has represented Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District since 2019, described his time in office as “the honor of a lifetime.”
“They asked me to deliver on the conservative values and principles we all hold dear, and I did my level best to do so,” he said. “Along the way, we passed historic tax cuts, worked with President Trump to secure the border, and defended innocent life. I am extremely proud of my work as Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee and want to thank my staff, both in my district office and on the committee.”
A U.S. Army veteran and former physician, Green had previously considered retirement at the end of the last Congress, but decided to stay on to help shepherd Trump-era border security priorities through the legislative process.
“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 said. “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.”
As chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, Green played a leading role in the Republican-led impeachment of then-DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, a move aimed at holding the Biden administration accountable for what the GOP called a “border crisis.”
While details about Green’s new role in the private sector remain unclear, political analysts expect his departure will not alter the partisan balance of his deep-red district. Voters there backed Donald Trump over Vice President Kamala Harris by more than 20 points in the 2024 election.
A special election will be held to fill the vacancy. Meanwhile, House Republicans are working to finalize Trump’s sweeping legislative package by Independence Day. The bill narrowly passed the House last week and is now under review in the Senate. If the upper chamber makes any changes, the House will need to vote again before the bill heads to President Trump’s desk.
With input from Fox News
