The House Homeland Security Committee's chairman, Republican Rep. Mark Green of Tennessee, announced Monday that he will retire from Congress once the House votes again on the sprawling tax and budget policy bill backed by President Trump. Green said in a statement that he was offered an opportunity in the private sector "that was too exciting to pass up," the AP reports. He said he informed House Speaker Mike Johnson on Monday of his plans. His retirement comes more than a year after Green announced he wouldn't run again in 2024, then changed his mind when fellow Republicans, including Trump, implored him to stick around.
Green voted for Trump's sweeping legislation when it passed the House last month. The bill is now in the Senate's hands and would need to return to the House for agreement on any changes. Trump wants the bill on his desk for his signature by July 4. The delay in Green's departure could help with the GOP's narrow margins in the House. Republican leaders need every vote they can get on their big tax bill, which they managed to pass last month by a single vote and will have to pass again once changes are made in the Senate. They now have a 220-212 majority.
The 60-year-old has served since 2019 in the 7th Congressional District, which was redrawn in 2022 to include a significant portion of Nashville. The city was carved up three ways in the 2022 redistricting so Republicans could flip a Democratic district in Congress that had covered Nashille, which they successfully did. Green's successor will be decided in a special election. The timing will depend on when he leaves office, but his seat could be vacant for months. The district is heavily Republican; Trump won it by 22 percentage points in November, per Politico.
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