Wisconsin Rep.Mike Gallagher was once considered a major rising star in the GOP. Dar I say he might even have been a Great Whitebread Hope along the lines of a similar looking former Wisconsin superstar, Paul Ryan. But he decided to quit early and tomorrow is his last day. Why?
With just days until he leaves his seat in Congress, Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wisc., could be shedding some light on the reasoning behind his early resignation
Gallagher announced in February he would not seek re-election after he was just one of a small handful of House Republicans to oppose the impeachment of Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas. Then, in March, he said he would be resigning his seat, effective April 19.
In one of his last acts in Congress, Gallagher — who represents Wisconsin’s 8th District — chaired a Tuesday hearing of the House Select Committee on China concerning the country’s possible connection to fentanyl overdose deaths in the U.S.
After the hearing, Gallagher spoke with reporters about the hearing and the end of his time in Congress.
This is more just me wanting to prioritize being with my family,” he said at the gaggle. “I signed up for the death threats and the late-night swatting, but they did not. And for a young family, I would say this job is really hard.
WLUK reached out to Gallagher’s office about his comments on death threats and late-night swatting calls. It is still unclear if any specific incident led to his early resignation.
However, WLUK did confirm through the Brown County Sheriff’s Office — which patrols Allouez, where Gallagher lives — a case number was assigned late last year to a swatting incident related to the congressman.
The sheriff’s office said it reached out to U.S. Capitol Police about the incident. In January, the investigation was handed over to federal authorities, including Capitol Police, the FBI, and the U.S. Secret Service.
A spokeswoman for the FBI in Milwaukee tells WLUK that the Capitol Police is leading the investigation.
They’re SWATTING people with small kids in the middle of the night it’s certainly understandable that he would want to get out. From years of evidence in other cases, I would imagine some of the written and phone threats were also made to the family. They often are. This man decided that life is too short for this. I can’t say I blame him.
I do admire the fact that he decided to really stick it to the GOP by leaving them with a one vote majority. He knew what he was doing. It will be interesting to see if he has any future in politics — or if he wants one.