* House Republicans keep calling it quits, even though they’re in the majority.
* Several GOP committee chairs are retiring, and younger Republicans seem to be giving up.
* It comes after a year in which chaos and lack of productivity reigned in the lower chamber.
On Tuesday, Republican Rep. Mark Green of Tennessee achieved a goal that he’s been overseeing all year, and that narrowly eluded House Republicans last week: the impeachment of DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
The very next day, Green — the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee — called it quits.
“This place is so broken,” Green told Axios in announcing his retirement from Congress. “Making a difference here is just you know, just it feels like a lot of something for nothing.”
Green said in a later statement that the impeachment was part of why he was retiring— it was a goal he set out to achieve, and he’d done it.
But he wasn’t the only high-profile casualty of the Mayorkas impeachment. Republican Rep. Mike Gallagher of Wisconsin announced his retirement on Friday after facing backlash over his vote against it.
On Wednesday, Rep. Mark Green — who’s just 59 years old — became the 5th GOP committee chair to announce his retirement. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Gallagher is just 39 years old, while Green is 59. Both men became committee chairs after relatively brief stints in the House, and theoretically could have accrued further seniority in the lower chamber.
But like other retiring Republicans, they’ve apparently decided it’s just not worth it.
Just take a look at the “Casualty List” maintained by the House Press Gallery. Excluding non-voting delegates, the number of retirements in each party is roughly equal: 23 Democrats, 21 Republicans.
But there are some important considerations to make: some of those lawmakers are actually running for higher offices, like Senate or Governor — not exactly a sign of giving up on politics. Democratic Rep. Jennifer Wexton of Virginia is retiring due to a debilitating illness. And two North Carolina Democrats are retiring after being effectively gerrymandered out of their seats.
Taking those factors into account, you’re left with eight retiring Democrats and 15 retiring Republicans. All but one of those Democrats are at least 60 years old, while six of the Republicans are below the age of 60.
Le Gutless Polly-tician!
Among those younger are two other committee chairs: Rep. Patrick McHenry of North Carolina, age 48, and Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington, age 54.
And that’s not even considering the retirement of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy or the expulsion of George Santos.
It’s not difficult to see why they’re choosing to move on.
This Congress has been the least productive in modern history , with far fewer bills making it out of the House, let alone to the president’s desk.
The last year has also been marked by unprecedented chaos in the chamber, including three censures and the first time a speaker has ever been ousted, leading to the chamber being rudderless for a total of 26 days.
Even those who are sticking around have vented their frustration.
“One thing. I want my Republican colleagues to give me one thing — one! — that I can go campaign on and say we did,” said Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas in a November floor speech.
Written by Bryan Metzger for Business Insider ~ February 15, 2024