Current Role:
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Wisconsin’s 8th district (January 3, 2017 – April 24, 2024); Chairman of the House Select Committee on Competition with the Chinese Communist Party (January 10, 2023 – April 24, 2024)

Previous roles:
Chairman, Cyberspace Solarium Commission (dates overlapping congressional service)
Lead Republican staffer, U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee (Middle East, North Africa, Counterterrorism)
Captain, United States Marine Corps (2006–2013)
Foreign policy advisor to Governor Scott Walker (2015)
Senior marketing strategist, Breakthrough Fuel (dates prior to 2016)

Education:
B.A., Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, 2006
M.S., Strategic Intelligence, National Intelligence University, 2010
M.A., Security Studies, Georgetown University, 2012
Ph.D., Government and International Relations, Georgetown University, 2015

Background:
Born 1984, Green Bay, Wisconsin
Raised in Green Bay and California; valedictorian at Mater Dei High School, Santa Ana, 2002
Married to Anne Horak Gallagher; two children
Military deployments in Iraq; extensive academic work on Cold War history

Career:
Marine Corps intelligence officer (two deployments to Iraq, 2006–2013, reaching rank of Captain)
Intelligence community roles (National Counterterrorism Center, DEA)
U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee staffer
Private sector strategist (Breakthrough Fuel)
Foreign policy advisor to Governor Scott Walker

Political positions:
Republican
Foreign policy hawk, especially on China and Middle East
Supported repeal of Affordable Care Act, Dodd-Frank, and 2017 tax cuts
Critical of Obama’s Middle East policies; supported U.S. strikes in Syria and Iran
Broke with GOP on Trump’s firing of FBI Director Comey and Russia interference denial
Advocated House procedural reforms; supported defense and cyber legislation

Legislative achievements:
Chair, House Select Committee on the CCP
Chaired Cyberspace Solarium Commission
Led bipartisan delegation to Taiwan (2024)
Voted for 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
Supported repeal of AUMF (2021)
Advocated for U.S. military aid to Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan
Proposed House procedural reforms (not adopted but influential)

Controversies:
Decisive GOP vote against impeachment of DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas (February 2024)
Criticized by GOP for stances post-January 6th and on Trump’s conduct
Resigned before term ended (April 2024) after announcing retirement
Faced intra-party backlash for bipartisan positions and procedural reform efforts

Biography (100 words):
Michael John Gallagher, born in 1984 in Green Bay, Wisconsin, is a Republican politician and foreign policy expert who represented Wisconsin’s 8th district in the U.S. House from 2017 to April 2024. Gallagher, a former Marine Corps intelligence officer, chaired the House Select Committee on Competition with the Chinese Communist Party and led significant congressional efforts on cybersecurity and foreign relations. Known for his hawkish stance on China and breaks with party leadership after January 6th, he resigned early in 2024 following controversy over his bipartisan votes. Gallagher holds advanced degrees from Princeton, Georgetown, and National Intelligence University and is married with two children.