U.S. Rep. Mark Green, R-Clarksville, will not run for reelection this year.
Green announced his plans on Wednesday to step away from Congress when his term ends in less than a year, though the congressman suggested in a statement that he wouldn’t leave the political realm altogether.
Green said it is “time for me to return home” after the House voted to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Green is currently chair of the House Homeland Security Committee.
“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. “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 is a doctor and retired U.S. Army major elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018 to serve Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District, and he quickly rose into a leadership position during his three terms in D.C.