Rep. Mark Green leaves Congress early, reducing House GOP majority
House passes Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’
Fox News’ Trey Gowdy gives his take on the big news ahead of Independence Day as Congress fully passes President Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ on ‘America Reports.’
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Rep. Mark Green‘s last day in office was Sunday, leaving 219 Republicans and 212 Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives.
With Green’s departure, there are now 431 House members and four vacancies, including those from late Democratic Reps. Sylvester Turner of Texas, Raul Grijalva of Arizona, and Gerry Connolly of Virginia.
Green, the Republican from Tennessee, said last month that he would leave Congress for the private sector once the House voted again on President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill,” in a statement first obtained by Fox News Digital.
“It is with a heavy heart that I announce my retirement from Congress. Recently, I was offered an opportunity in the private sector that was too exciting to pass up. As a result, today I notified the Speaker and the House of Representatives that I will resign from Congress as soon as the House votes once again on the reconciliation package,” Green said.
‘A TRUE WARRIOR’: RETIRING REP MARK GREEN ENDORSES HIS POTENTIAL REPLACEMENT IN GOP RACE
House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., arrives to begin the impeachment of Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas over the crisis at the U.S.-Mexico border, Jan. 30, 2024, at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
And with the House of Representatives passing Trump’s megabill by a self-imposed July 4th deadline, Green shared with Fox News that his last day in Congress would be Sunday, July 20.
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He called serving Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District “the honor of a lifetime.”
“They asked me to deliver on the conservative values and principles we all hold dear, and I did my level best to do so. Along the way, we passed historic tax cuts, worked with President Trump to secure the border, and defended innocent life. I am extremely proud of my work as Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, and want to thank my staff, both in my seventh district office, as well as the professional staff on that committee,” Green said.
Green acknowledged in his statement that he had previously geared up to retire in the last Congress, but reversed course.
“Though I planned to retire at the end of the previous Congress, I stayed to ensure that President Trump’s border security measures and priorities make it through Congress,” he said.
President Donald Trump signs the ‘One, Big Beautiful Bill’ at the White House on the Fourth of July. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
“By overseeing the border security portion of the reconciliation package, I have done that. After that, I will retire, and there will be a special election to replace me.”
Green is an Army veteran who has served in Congress since 2019.
As House Homeland Security Committee chair, he oversaw Republicans’ impeachment of former Biden administration DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
Even with Green’s departure from Congress, it’s a safe bet to assume his House seat will stay in Republican hands.
The district voted for Trump by more than 20 percentage points over former Vice President Kamala Harris last year.
Fox News Digital was first to report last week that Green endorsed Matt Van Epps to replace him in the U.S. House of Representatives.
Matt Van Epps, a candidate for Tennessee’s seventh congressional district, poses with his wife and daughter. (Courtesy of Matt Van Epps’ Campaign)
Van Epps is a decorated Army veteran and the former commissioner of Tennessee’s Department of General Services (DGS), calling him a “true warrior.”
“Matt Van Epps has my complete and total endorsement,” Green shared in a statement with Fox News Digital. Green revealed that he served in the same Army special operations unit as Van Epps, which he described as “a brotherhood that cannot be replicated anywhere else.”
In a statement shared first with Fox News Digital, Van Epps said he was “deeply honored” to receive Green’s endorsement and “ready to put the people of the 7th District first.”
“Congressman Green has left some very large shoes to fill, but I’m ready to step in and continue his work on behalf of Tennesseans,” Van Epps said.
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Several Republican candidates have announced their own congressional campaigns, including Montgomery County Commissioner Jason Knight, U.S. Army veteran Jonathan Thorp, Mason Foley of Main Street Health, and state Reps. Jay Reedy, Lee Reeves and Jody Barrett.