MAGA Celebrates Republican Quitting: 'Ding Dong Another RINO GONE!'

Supporters of Donald Trump's Make America Great Again (MAGA) movement cheered Republican Representative Mike Gallagher's announcement on Saturday that he won't seek reelection this year after he voted against impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

"The Framers intended citizens to serve in Congress for a season and then return to their private lives. Electoral politics was never supposed to be a career and, trust me, Congress is no place to grow old. And so, with a heavy heart, I have decided not to run for re-election," Gallagher wrote in a statement on X, formerly Twitter, on Saturday.

Gallagher, who represents Wisconsin's 8th District and is the chair of the House select committee on China, joins a growing list of House members, specifically Republicans, who announced they will not run for reelection this election cycle. Earlier this week, Washington state GOP Representative Cathy McMorris-Rodgers, who chairs the House Energy and Commerce Committee, also announced that she wouldn't seek reelection this fall.

On Tuesday, Gallagher was one of four House Republicans who voted against impeaching Mayorkas who Republicans have accused of violating his oath of office regarding the U.S.-Mexico border as an influx of illegal migrants cross into the U.S. The impeachment charges failed to pass on a 214-216 vote. All 212 Democrats, meanwhile, voted against it.

Since Gallagher announced his plans, MAGA supporters have taken to X to celebrate the decision as they have been openly critical over the congressman's vote against Mayorkas' impeachment.

Newsweek has reached out to Gallagher's office via email for comment.

X user Mickey Mack wrote, "RINO Representative Mike Gallagher, who helped to save Mayorkas from impeachment, is not running for re-election. I guess he got an earful from his constituents. Don't let the door hit you on the a** on the way out!"

Political commentator Rogan O'Handley, also known as DC Draino on X, commented: "Ding dong another RINO GONE!! Rep. Mike Gallagher, who voted to let Mayorkas off the hook, won't run for re-election. Time for an America First Patriot to fill his seat."

Meanwhile, Republican political consultant Alex Bruesewitz wrote on X that he has been mulling a primary challenge to Gallagher, adding that the congressman was once "considered by many as a rising star in the GOP," but "instead of embracing the MAGA movement, he decided to betray the grassroots and protect the swamp."

However, commentator Chris Cillizza noted how House Republicans have changed for those who are "not reflexively Trumpy" writing on X, "15 years ago, Mike Gallagher would be a star in the GOP who people would talk about being Speaker one day. Today, there is absolutely no room for someone who is not reflexively Trumpy."

Trump has made immigration central to his 2024 election campaign, vowing to "immediately stop the invasion of our southern border." He has also previously urged Republicans not to accept anything less than a "perfect" border deal before the general election in November, sparking questions about whether some Republicans are working to prevent President Joe Biden from scoring a victory.

In response to the initial criticism Gallagher received for his impeachment vote, the congressman pushed back on Wednesday, saying he had told the party he would vote against impeachment "for over a month" and did not spring it on them as a surprise.

He also criticized GOP leadership for rushing the vote when they knew they wouldn't have the numbers.

Gallagher was not the only one who warned against the impeachment. Representative Ken Buck, a Colorado Republican, warned in the days leading up to the vote that impeaching the current Homeland Security secretary could open a door "as Republicans that we don't want to open," warning that future Republican presidents and their administrations would be subjected to the same "scrutiny" from Democrats.

But while Republicans may be enraged by those who went against the impeachment, political consultant Alex Patton previously told Newsweek that the House GOP, with its narrow majority, cannot afford to lose any more of its members, meaning conservatives can't threaten to remove those Republicans over their impeachment vote.

"This Congress with such a slim majority cannot afford to lose a single member, and the talk of expelling members is likely people letting off steam after their humiliation yesterday and/or people trying to carry favor with former President Trump," Patton said. "The talk of expulsion is nothing more than nonsense but completely on brand for this Congress."

House Republicans have struggled to get enough votes on their legislative priorities given their razor-thin majority. The GOP can only afford to lose three votes on any party-line measure, assuming full attendance.

Update 02/11/2024 7:51 a.m. ET: This article was updated with a new headline.