CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – Congressman Mark Green of Clarksville, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, is resigning his seat in Congress less than a year after his last re-election.
“It is with a heavy heart that I announce my retirement from Congress,” Green said in a public statement Monday afternoon. “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 last won re-election to U.S. House District 7 in November, in a hard-fought race against former Nashville Mayor Megan Barry.
Earlier in 2024, Green had announced he would not seek re-election, saying, “Our country – and our Congress – is broken beyond most means of repair.” But a couple of weeks later, he reversed course and said he would go back on the campaign trail. He said a phone call from former President Donald Trump persuaded him to run again.
“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,” Green said Monday. “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.
“It was the honor of a lifetime to represent the people of Tennessee in Congress. 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 7th District office, as well as the professional staff on that committee.”
U.S. House District 7 covers the western portion of Middle Tennessee, spanning from the Kentucky state line to the Alabama state line. It includes Montgomery County and portions of Nashville/Davidson County and Williamson County.
Green, who lives in Clarksville, has served as the District 7 representative since 2019. He is a combat veteran of the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment at Fort Campbell. He is also an ER physician and small-business owner. He served in the Tennessee State Senate from 2012 to 2019.
“I have now served the public for nearly four decades,” Green said. “The Army took me to Iraq and Afghanistan. The people sent me to the Tennessee Legislature and the halls of Congress. Along the way, I have often remarked on the strength of the men and women I have served with. I know that the integrity, decency, and faith of the American people are what powered us for the first 250 years, and will power us for another 250 and beyond.
“I can proudly look back at my time in Congress and the success that we have accomplished on behalf of Tennesseans and the American people. I am grateful to Speaker (Mike) Johnson and House leadership for placing their trust in me to chair the Committee on Homeland Security, to lead the effort to impeach former Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, and to pass H.R. 2, the Secure the Border Act, the strongest border security legislation in history to ever pass the House. However, my time in Congress has come to an end.
“I have no doubt that my colleagues in this Congress will continue to strengthen the cause of freedom. May God bless them, and the United States of America.”
Plans for the special election have not yet been arranged.
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