Tennessee U.S. Representative Mark Green (R-TN-07) said the feedback he got from constituents and lawmakers after he initially announced his plans to retire from Congress were “overwhelming” and ultimately led him to reconsider his decision and instead run for reelection.
“As soon as I made my original announcement, the calls were pretty much overwhelming. As the weeks went on, texts and calls from constituents and elected people, both at the municipal level and at the state legislature, [saying], “You need another term.” So obviously when that many people are telling you to think about it, you start thinking about it,” Green said on Friday’s episode of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy.
Green said his decision was officially changed the moment he received calls from U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn and former President Donald Trump urging him to run for reelection.
“My goal was originally to help Trump get reelected and then to transition into what’s next for us, but then Marsha calls, our U.S. senator, and then, of course, President Trump calls,” Green said. “When he called, it was like, we can’t chance losing this seat. [He] pointed out that Megan Barry was a flawed candidate, but a very good campaigner and was going to get some national money. We need our best in there and I was like, “Okay, sir I’ll do it.””
Green said he has a “great relationship” with the former president, noting how even though the pair has talked on the phone with each other “many times,” each time feels like the first due to Trump’s “commanding personality.”
In regards to his work moving forward, Green said next Congress, assuming he gets reelected this year, he and his team will sit down and come up with a “strategic plan” mapping out three to five agenda items he would like to execute and accomplish during the session.
“For me, it’s about serving and about trying to make a difference…If you look at the course of my life, I’ve been serving the country since I was 17 years old…I love America and I love Tennessee and I just want to find a place where I can make a difference and that’s all I’ve ever done. I want to stand before God and have him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” That’s what I want to do, that’s it for me,” Green said.
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
Photo “Rep. Mark Green” by Rep. Mark Green.
