U.S. Rep. Mark Green
U.S. Rep. Mark Green (R-Clarksville) will not seek reelection in 2024.
Green, a former state senator and the chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, was first elected to Congress in 2018. The former Army doctor spearheaded the impeachment this week of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. He previously sponsored a proposed constitutional amendment that would have capped House term limits at three.
Green's 7th Congressional District was redrawn after the 2020 Census to take on part of Nashville, including North Nashville and downtown. The district, mostly located to the west of Nashville, runs from the Alabama border to Kentucky and includes Clarksville and parts of Williamson County, plus much of Nashville's downtown core.
Green easily beat Nashville organizer Odessa Kelly for reelection in 2022, the first under the new maps. Former Nashville Mayor Megan Barry is seeking the Democratic nomination in the district.
Green briefly ran for governor ahead of the 2018 election, before he was tapped to serve as secretary of the Army under then-President Donald Trump. His nomination faltered amid criticism regarding his past comments about Muslims and the LGBTQ community. He also briefly and unsuccessfully sought the GOP nod for speaker of the House during the chaotic fallout of the Republican push to oust House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
The congressman messaged with then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows about strategies for overturning the 2020 presidential election and has voted against recognizing same-sex marriages.
"I have come to realize our fight is not here within Washington, our fight is with Washington," Green says in a release. "As I have done my entire life, I will continue serving this country — but in a new capacity.”
