By Kaitlin Housler
U.S. Representative Mark Green (R-TN-07) announced his retirement from Congress on Wednesday, just one day after leading the House in a historic vote to impeach Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Green, who served as chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said he is “ready to return home” after delivering on his promise to “pass legislation to secure our borders and to hold Secretary Mayorkas accountable” by leading the passage of H.R. 2 and two articles of impeachment against Mayorkas.
“In the last few months, in reading the writings of our Framers, I was reminded of their intent for representatives to be citizen-legislators, to serve for a season and then return home,” Green said in a statement. “Our country–and our Congress–is broken beyond most means of repair. I have come to realize our fight is not here within Washington, our fight is with Washington. As I have done my entire life, I will continue serving this country–but in a new capacity.”
Green said he was thankful to his wife, Camie, and his children for supporting him while he served in Congress.
“During my time in the Army, they sacrificed dad and husband to multiple deployments–and as I have served here in Congress, they have supported me as I’ve been away most weeks,” he said.
Green also thanked his constituents in Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District, saying it was an “unbelievable honor” to represent them in Congress.
“I also want to thank the constituents of Tennessee’s 7th District for the unbelievable honor to serve them in Congress–whose vote of confidence was not only evident in the wide margins in each election, but also without ever having a single primary opponent in my three elections,” Green added. “And finally, I want to thank my staff, whose unmatched hard work, dedication, and talent have resulted in our many victories and one of the lowest turnover rates in Congress.”
Green was elected to Congress in 2018.
As chairman of the House Homeland Committee this legislative session, Green, a retired U.S. Army major, became the only member of Congress to be selected at the start of his or her third term to chair a major legislative committee this century.
Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Background Photo “Mark Green” by Mark Green.