The resignation of Congressman Mike Gallagher is just the latest in an unusually long line of abrupt departures from the 118th Congress, and it tells all observers of American politics that representatives themselves have become as discouraged by the institution as so much of the public. In total, eight House members and one senator have resigned mid-term, with 41 representatives and five senators declining to run for reelection. 

It’s hard to blame them for quitting what has become an abusive, toxic, and dysfunctional workplace. Members scream at each other in public, Speaker McCarthy allegedly punches his detractors, and legislation hardly moves. This year, the budget reached President Biden’s desk six months late. 

The most important lesson to take away from the departure of Mr. Gallagher and his colleagues, however, is that things are about to get worse. Mr. Gallagher — a Marine who holds a doctorate from Georgetown University — has prided himself as being among a shrinking group of serious legislators. Elected in 2016 to represent northern Wisconsin, he now leaves exhausted by his own colleagues. 

As leader of the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, Mr. Gallagher has wielded his gavel unlike other leaders  of Congress’ panels. He authored and shepherded through the House a bill that would force the sale of TikTok to an American entity or face a nationwide ban. He’s held hearings on the crimes of the Chinese Communist Party. He has brought real bipartisanship to a serious issue. 

Semafor’s Ben Smith — a veteran of the Sun — remarked: “Interacting with Gallagher’s committee was like dealing with the government of a different, more functional, country.”

Mr. Gallagher is one of few who can do such a thing in today’s climate. Other members destined to leave their posts shared Mr. Gallagher’s inclination for serious work, but they too have decided to abandon their positions — skipping out the door to more meaningful work accompanied by higher salaries. 

The chairman of the Financial Services Committee, Patrick McHenry, is leaving after 20 years in the House. The former head of the Republican conference and chairwoman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Cathy McMorris Rodgers, is headed home.

The chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee, Kay Granger, is not only leaving the House at the end of this term, but has decided to step down immediately from her post atop the most vital committee just days after the body finished the 2024 government funding bill, which was due back in September. 

All three of those members — like Mr. Gallagher — voted to certify the 2020 election, stood steadfastly by Mr. McCarthy through his fights with the right wing of the conference, and did their best to put their committees to work in a divided Congress. All of them barely scraped by. It’s understandable why they’re leaving. It turns out given that 2023 was the least productive year for Congress since the Hoover administration. 

Their successors, to be sure, won’t even make an attempt to do such work. All four of those aforementioned lawmakers represent deep red districts. Ms. McMorris Rodgers’ is the “bluest” of them all, and President Trump still won by nearly ten points in the 2020 election. In all four of those races later this year, it will be the GOP primary that decides the next representative. The race to the bottom will seem never-ending. 

Their replacements are due to shift the conference even farther to the right and even farther from having the capacity to govern. Even conservative lawmakers like Congressmen Doug Lamborn and Michael Burgess, who are retiring, look likely to be replaced by much more obstinate, obstructionist lawmakers. 

The chairman of the Colorado Republican Party, Dave Williams, will almost assuredly replace Mr. Lamborn. Mr. Williams pitched his candidacy for state GOP chair as a hostile takeover of the “RINO” establishment and has claimed that both the 2020 presidential and Senate elections in his state were stolen. Mr. Burgess’ successor will be replaced by conservative activist Dinesh D’Souza’s son-in-law, Brandon Gill, a close ally of Mr. Trump. 

As of February of this year, just 12 percent of Americans reckon that Congress is doing its work well, according to Gallup. The members leaving this year count themselves among the other 88 percent.