Tennessee Republican Mark Green to Resign Early from U.S. House

Green will depart Congress after final passage of the "One Big Beautiful Bill Act."

U.S. Representative Mark Green of Tennessee, a Republican, has today announced that he will resign from office to accept a private sector job. He will remain in the U.S. House until the final passage of the reconciliation bill. His full statement announcing his departure can be found here.

Green, 60, has served Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives since January 2019. In 2022, the state legislature gerrymandered the district lines by cracking Nashville into three congressional districts - including the 7th. As a result, it takes in western Nashville as well as several suburban areas - Clarksville, Franklin and Brentwood - and rural counties in middle and western portions of the state.

A veteran of the U.S. Army, Green served as a special operations flight surgeon in three tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq. He left active service in 2006 with the rank of major. He then founded and served as Chief Executive Officer of Align MD, a hospital department management staffing company. He also founded Two Rivers Medical Foundation.

In 2012, Green was elected to District 22 in the Tennessee Senate - defeating Democratic incumbent Tim Barnes. He served in the chamber from January 2013 to November 2018. In 2017, he entered the Republican primary for Governor. He withdrew from the race when President Donald Trump nominated him to become U.S. Secretary of the Army. However, his nomination was ultimately withdrawn after videos of him making anti-LGBT and Islamophobic comments were released.

Despite the controversy, Green quickly pivoted to the newly open contest for the 7th District after eight-term Republican incumbent Marsha Blackburn retired to successfully run for the U.S. Senate. He won the Republican primary unopposed. In the general election, he prevailed with a 66.9-32.1 victory against Democrat Justin Kanew. He has served for four terms in office.

Since January 2023, Green has been Chair of the House Committee on Homeland Security. From that position, he is an ex officio member of all six of the panel’s subcommittees. He also serves on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs during the 119th Congress.

In February 2024, Green announced that he wouldn’t run for re-election to another term in the U.S. House. He reversed that decision a few weeks later. Today’s announcement shows that he continued to search for an exit from the chamber. Under Tennessee law, Governor Bill Lee is required to call a special election within ten days of the vacancy becoming official, with the general election occurring between 100 and 107 days after that.

As a result of Green’s decision, the House Republican Conference will have to select a new Chair of the Homeland Security Committee. Meanwhile, the chamber will now operate with four vacancies. That will leave Republicans with a 219-212 majority over Democrats. All four seats will be filled by special elections later this year - with no partisan flips of any of them expected.

Under the current lines, Republican Donald Trump won Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District with a 60.4-38.1 finish against Democrat Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential election. That came as Trump was carrying the state 64.2-34.5 in his ultimately successful national campaign. On the same ballot, Green was re-elected with a 59.5-38.1 victory against Democrat Megan Barry for his final term in office.