Rep. Mark Green will run for reelection to Congress, backtracks retirement plan

Erin McCullough
·2 min read

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Tennessee Republican Congressman Mark Green will not retire at the end of his current term after all, the legislator announced Thursday.

According to a statement obtained by News 2’s Chris O’Brien, Green said he initially planned to retire from Congress in November but the “countless calls from constituents, colleagues, and President Trump urging me to reconsider” put him back in the race.

“I will be running for re-election so I can be here on Day 1 next year to help President Trump end this border crisis once and for all,” he said in the statement.

Green initially announced he would not seek reelection after he and other Republicans successfully impeached Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas on Feb. 14.

Rep. Mark Green reconsidering decision to retire

“I’ve accomplished what I wanted to do. I wanted to get a great border security bill done. We did that, and I wanted to hold the administration accountable, and we just impeached for the first time a sitting Cabinet secretary,” Green told reporters outside the Capitol at the time.

However, less than two weeks after that announcement, Green said he was “seriously reconsidering” his retirement from Congress.

Green currently serves as the House Homeland Security Chair. He represents Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District, which includes Clarksville, Dickson, Waverly, Waynesboro, and parts of Nashville and Franklin.

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His full statement is below:

“While my strong desire was to leave Congress at the end of this year, since my announcement, I have received countless calls from constituents, colleagues, and from President Trump urging me to reconsider. I was reminded of the words of General McArthur on a statue at West Point: ‘Duty, honor, country.’ I realized once again: I had a duty to my country to fulfill. I will be running for re-election so I can be here on Day 1 next year to help President Trump end this border crisis once and for all.”

Congressman Mark Green (R-Tenn.)

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