Keith Self | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Member of the U.S.HouseofRepresentatives from Texas's 3rd district | |
Assumed office January 3, 2023 | |
Preceded by | Van Taylor |
Personal details | |
Born | Keith Alan Self March 20,1953 Philadelphia,Pennsylvania,U.S. |
Political party | Republican |
Education | United States Military Academy (BS) University of Southern California (MA) |
Website | House website |
Military service | |
Allegiance | ![]() |
Branch/service | ![]() |
Years of service | 1975–1999 |
Rank | Lieutenant Colonel |
Keith Alan Self (born March 20,1953) is an American politician who has been the United States representative for Texas's 3rd congressional district since 2023. He is a member of the Republican Party. From 2007 until 2018,he was the county judge for Collin County.
Self was born in 1953 at a military hospital in Philadelphia and graduated from Tascosa High School in Amarillo,Texas. [1] [2] He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from the United States Military Academy in 1975. [3] [ failed verification ] [4] Self is a life member of the National Rifle Association of America. [1] [5]
Self is Protestant. [6] [7]
Self served in the United States Army from 1975 to 1999. He was a member of the Army Special Forces and Army Rangers. He was deployed to Qatar,Egypt,Germany,Afghanistan,and Belgium. [2] He was a candidate to replace retiring U.S. Representative Dick Armey in 2002,narrowly missing the runoff by 93 votes to future Representative Michael C. Burgess. [8] He was recalled to active duty from 2002 to 2003,retiring as a lieutenant colonel. [9] Self was then elected as the county judge [lower-alpha 1] for Collin County,Texas,serving three terms from 2007 to 2018. [10] He was a candidate for Texas's 3rd congressional district in the March 2022 Republican primary,finishing second to incumbent Van Taylor and advancing to a May runoff. [11] After the primary,Taylor announced that he would end his congressional campaign amid accusations of marital infidelity,giving Self the nomination. [12] [13] Self won the November general election. [14]
On January 3,2023,at the beginning of the 118th Congress,Self voted for Jim Jordan and later for Byron Donalds to be the U.S. House Speaker,in rebuke of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. [15] [16] [17] "I love the new [U.S. House] rules. I’m looking for somebody that will enforce them",Self said. [15] In the 12th round of voting,Self changed his vote to McCarthy,saying "we are making progress... This will change this House,let’s be very clear". [18] Self was one of 15 Republicans to change their votes. [17] [18] McCarthy finally won the speakership on the 15th vote,held early in the morning on Saturday,January 7,with Self voting in favor. [19] [20]
As a consequence of the delay in selecting a new speaker,Self was formally sworn in as a member of the House of Representatives in the early morning of January 7,2023, [21] despite the 118th Congress convening on January 3. [15] [22]
The Washington Post listed Self as a 2020 presidential election denier. [23]
During his 2022 midterm election campaign,Self listed his priorities for his district as:"Growth challenges such as transportation,proliferation of drag queen shows that target children (I returned a PAC check to a business that sponsored one) and drugs flowing into our area across the border". [24] [25]
Self has said that he considers the growth of U.S. national debt "the existential threat that our nation faces today". [26]
Self was among the 71 Republicans who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the House. [27]
On May 6,2023,a gunman used an AR-15 style rifle in an outlet mall shooting that killed eight and wounded seven in Allen,Texas,within Self's district. [28] [29] In the aftermath of the attack,Self was criticized for characterizing people who say that prayer alone will not to stop mass shootings as "people that don't believe in an almighty god,who is absolutely in control of our lives". [5] [28] He followed up by saying that he did not want to discuss politics so soon after a mass shooting;that Allen remains a "very safe area";and that calls for additional regulation of AR-15 style rifles,including raising the allowable purchasing age,are “a knee-jerk reaction that does not stop criminals.” [28] Self advocated for arming school staff members with guns and having an armed presence in the public,stating that prayer and full funding of mental health programs are a better remedy for mass shootings than gun control. [5] [28] Shannon Watts,the founder of the advocacy group Moms Demand Action,responded:"Faith without works is dead. Prayers without action are empty." [5]
Mauricio Martinez Garcia had enlisted in the U.S. Army in June 2008,but never completed basic training:he was terminated after 3 months due to mental health concerns. [30] [31] Because this was an administrative separation,rather than a punitive discharge,Garcia's termination by the Army would not show up on the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. [32] On May 11,commenting on Garcia's military service,Self characterized him as "exactly the kind of person we’re trying to keep weapons out of the hands of" and said that Garcia's ability to buy guns legally was a loophole that he intends to fix;however,Self denied that he was discussing a red flag law. [33]
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Scott Armey | 11,493 | 45.4 | |
Republican | Michael C. Burgess | 5,703 | 22.5 | |
Republican | Keith Self | 5,610 | 22.2 | |
Republican | Roger Sessions | 1,630 | 6.4 | |
Republican | Dave Kovatch | 675 | 2.7 | |
Republican | David Gulling | 204 | 0.8 | |
Total votes | 25,315 | 100.0 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Van Taylor (incumbent) | 31,489 | 48.8 | |
Republican | Keith Self | 17,058 | 26.5 | |
Republican | Suzanne Harp | 13,375 | 20.8 | |
Republican | Rickey Williams | 1,731 | 2.7 | |
Republican | Jeremy Ivanovskis | 818 | 1.3 | |
Total votes | 64,471 | 100.0 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Republican | Keith Self | 164,240 | 60.5 | ||
Democratic | Sandeep Srivastava | 100,121 | 36.9 | ||
Libertarian | Christopher Claytor | 6,895 | 2.5 | ||
Total votes | 271,256 | 100.0 | |||
Republican hold |
Michael Dennis Rogers is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Alabama's 3rd congressional district since 2003. He is a member of the Republican Party of Alabama. Rogers is the Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee where he served as the Ranking Member from 2021 to 2023 and as the Ranking Member of the House Homeland Security Committee from 2019 to 2021.
Timothy Floyd Burchett is an American politician who is the U.S. representative for Tennessee's 2nd congressional district, based in Knoxville, serving since 2019.
Kevin Owen McCarthy is an American politician who served as the 55th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from January to October 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U.S. representative for California's 20th congressional district from 2007 until his resignation in 2023.
Stephen Joseph Scalise is an American politician who has been serving as the House majority leader since 2023 and the U.S. representative for Louisiana's 1st congressional district since 2008. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the House majority whip from 2014 to 2019 and the House minority whip 2019 to 2023.
Nicholas Van Campen Taylor, known as Van Taylor, is an American businessman and Republican politician from Plano, Texas. He was the U.S. representative for Texas's 3rd congressional district from 2019 to 2023, and was first elected in 2018.
Colin Zachary Allred is an American politician, lawyer, and former professional football player. A member of the Democratic Party, he is the U.S. representative from Texas's 32nd congressional district. The district includes the northeastern corner of Dallas, as well as many of its northeastern suburbs, such as Garland, Richardson, Sachse, Wylie, the Park Cities, and Rowlett.
The Freedom Caucus, also known as the House Freedom Caucus, is a congressional caucus consisting of Republican members of the United States House of Representatives. It is generally considered to be the most conservative and furthest-right bloc within the chamber. The caucus was formed in January 2015 by a group of conservatives and Tea Party movement members, with the aim of pushing the Republican leadership to the right. Its first chairman, Jim Jordan, described the caucus as a "smaller, more cohesive, more agile and more active" group of conservative representatives. Members of the Freedom Caucus are typically considered a part of the MAGA movement and loyalists to Donald Trump.
On October 29, 2015, during the 114th United States Congress, an election for speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives was necessitated by the impending resignation of John Boehner, set for October 30. Boehner was the first speaker to resign in the middle of a Congressional term since Jim Wright in 1989.
The 118th United States Congress is the current meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It convened in Washington, D.C., on January 3, 2023, and will end on January 3, 2025, during the third and fourth years of President Joe Biden's term in office.
Michael Jonathan Cloud is an American politician representing Texas's 27th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives since 2018. He is a member of the Republican Party.
John Kevin "Jake" Ellzey Sr. is an American politician and former military officer serving as the U.S. representative for Texas's 6th congressional district. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a member of the Texas House of Representatives for the 10th district from January to July 2021. He served in the United States Navy as a fighter pilot, completing tours in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Kevin Ray Hern is an American businessman and politician from Oklahoma. A Republican, he is a member of the United States House of Representatives for Oklahoma's 1st congressional district. Born in Missouri and raised in Pope County, Arkansas, Hern graduated from Arkansas Tech University in 1986 and briefly attended the Georgia Institute of Technology before returning to Arkansas to work for McDonald's the following year. In 1997 he bought his first McDonald's franchise and in 1999 he earned his MBA degree from the University of Arkansas, Little Rock. After moving to Oklahoma in 1999, Hern expanded his McDonald's franchises, eventually owning 18 franchises in the Tulsa metropolitan area. In 2018, he ran his first campaign for office and was elected to the United States House of Representatives.
Byron Lowell Donalds is an American politician and financial analyst who has served as the U.S. representative for Florida's 19th congressional district since 2021, as a member of the Republican Party. His district includes much of Southwest Florida.
At the opening of the 118th United States Congress, the members-elect of the House of Representatives elected in the 2022 midterms held an election for its speaker, marking the 128th speaker election since the office was created in 1789. It began on January 3, 2023, and concluded in the early morning hours of January 7 when Kevin McCarthy of California, leader of the House Republican Conference, won a majority of votes cast on the fifteenth ballot. After the longest speaker election since December 1859 – February 1860, McCarthy won the speakership by making concessions to Republican Party hardliners, who had refused to support him through several rounds of voting, finding him too weak and untrustworthy.
Jasmine Felicia Crockett is an American lawyer and politician who is the U.S. representative from Texas's 30th congressional district since 2023. Her district covers most of South Dallas County, central Dallas, Dallas Love Field Airport and parts of Tarrant County. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously represented the 100th district in the Texas House of Representatives.
The 46th and incumbent U.S. president Joe Biden has seen multiple efforts by some members of the Republican Party to impeach him. An impeachment inquiry into Biden was launched in September 2023, without a vote, by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who designated three House committees led by James Comer, chairman of House Committee on Oversight and Accountability. A number of prominent Republican lawmakers, along with Donald Trump and some of his political allies, have indicated the motivation behind efforts to impeach Biden is also driven by resentment over Trump's previous two impeachments.
Michael Vincent Lawler is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for New York's 17th congressional district since 2023. From 2021 to 2022, he was a Republican member of the New York State Assembly from the 97th district in Rockland County.
Morgan Joe Luttrell is an American politician, businessman, and military veteran serving as the U.S. representative for Texas's 8th congressional district since 2023. He is a member of the Republican Party.
Wesley Parish Hunt is an American politician and veteran serving as the U.S. representative for Texas's 38th congressional district since 2023. He is a member of the Republican Party.
Juan Guadalupe Ciscomani III is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Arizona's 6th congressional district since 2023.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)"I love the new rules. I'm looking for somebody that will enforce them," Self said Tuesday after the House adjourned. "That's what I'm working on."
"We are making progress," Self said... "This will change this House, let's be very clear," Self said after voting for McCarthy.
... the 434 members-elect could not decide on a speaker of the House […] Rep.-elect Troy E. Nehls (R-Tex.), a Freedom Caucus guy who is nevertheless voting for Rep.-elect Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) […] The 118th Congress has indeed begun … But the House technically has no members and cannot proceed with the business of the American people.
During an interview with CBS11 before Thursday's five votes he said, "I want someone to lead this Republican conference to address the existential threat that our nation faces today." ... That threat he said is the growing national debt, which has jumped to more than $31 trillion.
"If the military knows that a man has mental issues to the extent that he's going to be denied continuing his training," said Rep. Keith Self, a conservative, pro-gun rights freshman who represents Allen, "that seems like sufficient reason for them to put it in the national database… That's exactly the kind of person we're trying to keep weapons out of the hands of."... If Garcia passed a background check, Self said, it's because of a "loophole" he intends to fix. "We're not talking about a red flag law here," he said. "We're talking about the U.S. military that has made the determination that this man had significant mental health challenges."