Rep. Mike Gallagher’s last day in Congress was supposed to be Friday, but some wavering votes on upcoming legislation could delay its release.
The Wisconsin Republican confirmed Wednesday that he would stay “about another day” to help pass President Mike Johnson’s foreign aid package for Taiwan, Israel and Ukraine, according to CNBC. Emily Wilkins.
“His office says he has flexibility,” Wilkins wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Gallagher’s decision to stay could help offset a growing number of Republicans who appear unhappy with a series of upcoming bills, including the foreign aid package, a border security bill that will include “main components” of the GOP border security proposal known as HR 2, an amendment process on the Act on Rebuilding Economic Prosperity and Opportunity for Ukrainiansand Gallagher Ban on TikTok.
One of those uncertain Republicans is South Carolina Rep. Ralph Norman, who changed his position Tuesday on the additional aid package after supporting it for most of the last week, telling Politico Jordan Carney that it was no longer safe to vote in favor of this project in the Rules Committee.
“I don’t know. It’s very upsetting. And I don’t understand,” Norman told Carney.
And Gallagher’s delayed leave will repel a proposal from Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene to strip Johnson of the gavel for his support of Ukraine, an effort that received a small boost Tuesday after Kentucky Rep. , Thomas Massie. announcement he was also fed up with Johnson. This effort only needs one more conservative defector to oust the president — or it could continue with just two of them, if it takes place after Gallagher leaves office.
When the Wisconsin lawmaker announced his departure in March, he chose the original departure date of April 19, apparently without concern for how his caucus might replace him. This date was already too late to organize special elections aimed at renewing his seat and helping the Republicans maintain their slim majority. The new departure date, which seems vague, will not make things easier.
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