Mike Kelly | |
---|---|
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania | |
Assumed office January 3, 2011 | |
Preceded by | Kathy Dahlkemper |
Constituency | 3rd district (2011–2019) 16th district (2019–present) |
Personal details | |
Born | George Joseph Kelly Jr. May 10,1948 Pittsburgh,Pennsylvania,U.S. |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | Victoria Phillips |
Children | 4 |
Education | University of Notre Dame (BA) |
Website | House website |
George Joseph "Mike" Kelly Jr. (born May 10,1948) is an American politician and businessman who has been a U.S. representative since 2011,currently representing Pennsylvania's 16th congressional district . [1] The district,numbered as the 3rd district from 2011 to 2019,is based in Erie and stretches from the northwest corner of the state to the outer northern suburbs of Pittsburgh.
A member of the Republican Party,Kelly is known for his support of Donald Trump,his pro-life stance, [2] and filing a lawsuit in state court to invalidate all mail-in ballots cast in Pennsylvania during the 2020 United States presidential election.
On October 22,2021,it was reported that a congressional ethics watchdog had recommended subpoenaing Kelly for an ethics violation after it was revealed that his wife had purchased stock in an Ohio-based steel company in April 2020 after Kelly had received confidential information about the company. [3] In June 2022,Senator Ron Johnson accused Kelly of providing a slate of fake electors meant to overturn Pennsylvania's electoral votes in the 2020 election. Kelly's office has denied his role in this event. [4]
Kelly was born on May 10,1948,in Pittsburgh, [5] but has spent most of his life in the outer northern suburb of Butler. He attended the University of Notre Dame. [6]
After college,Kelly worked for his father's Chevrolet/Cadillac car dealership. In 1995,he took over the business,and added Hyundai and KIA to its lineup. [7]
In March 2019,a local TV station discovered that 17 vehicles were for sale on Kelly's Uniontown and Butler lots that were the subject of recall notices but had not been repaired. The station contacted both the businesses and Kelly's office without receiving responses. [8] A month later,a reporter found three of those vehicles with active recalls still for sale. [8] In November 2015,Kelly had spoken on the floor of Congress in support of a bill that would have allowed dealers to loan or rent vehicles despite National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) safety recall notices on them. Kelly had said,"There is not a single person in our business that would ever put one of our owners in a defective car or a car with a recall. But that could happen." The bill did not pass. [8]
Kelly's car dealerships received Paycheck Protection Program loans of between $450,000 and $1.05 million to keep staff on the payroll during the coronavirus pandemic. [9] The figure was later estimated to be a combined amount of $974,100. [10] The loan program was primarily intended to protect employee pay during the COVID-19 pandemic. The loans were eventually forgiven,and Kelly was scrutinized for receiving the loan while serving as a member of Congress,though he denied any wrongdoing. [11]
Kelly is has served on the U.S. House of Representatives' Ways &Means Committee since 2013. He currently chairs the Subcommittee on Tax and is a member of the Subcommittee on Health. He previously served as the top Republican on the Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight.
Kelly belongs to more than 20 caucuses in the U.S. House of Representatives. He chairs or co-chairs several prominent caucuses,including the following:
Kelly challenged incumbent Representative Kathy Dahlkemper in 2010. [12] He won the election by 10%, [13] largely by running up his margins outside of heavily Democratic Erie.
Kelly defeated Democrat Missa Eaton 55%–41%. [14] His district had been made slightly friendlier in redistricting. The district was pushed slightly south,absorbing some rural and Republican territory east of Pittsburgh. At the same time,eastern Erie County was drawn into the heavily Republican 5th district. The 3rd and 5th were drawn so that the boundary between the two districts was almost coextensive with the eastern boundary of the city of Erie.[ citation needed ]
Kelly defeated Democrat Dan LaVallee of Cranberry Township 60.5%–39.5%. [15]
Kelly ran unopposed and received 100% of the vote.[ citation needed ]
After the Pennsylvania Supreme Court threw out Pennsylvania's original congressional map in February 2018,Kelly's district was renumbered the 16th and made slightly more compact. It regained the eastern portion of Erie County that had been drawn into the 5th. To make up for the increase in population,its southern portion was pushed to the west,leaving Kelly's hometown of Butler just barely inside the district. [16]
PoliticsPA wrote that the new 16th was far less safe for Kelly than the old 3rd,citing a Public Policy Polling poll showing him leading Democratic nominee Ron DiNicola 48% to 43%,below the threshold to be considered safe for a fourth term. [17] Additionally,while Trump carried the old 3rd with 61% of the vote, [18] he would have carried the new 16th with 58% of the vote. [19] Nate Cohn of The New York Times suggested that Kelly would have been in more danger had the 16th absorbed more Democratic-leaning territory northwest of Pittsburgh. Ultimately,much of this territory had been drawn into the reconfigured 17th district (the former 12th district). [16]
Kelly defeated DiNicola 51.6%–47.2%,his first close contest since his initial run for the seat.[ citation needed ]
Kelly defeated Democrat Kristy Gnibus of Erie 59.34%–40.66%,an improvement over his performance in 2018. He received 210,088 votes to Gnibus's 143,962. [20]
Kelly defeated Democrat Dan Pastore of Erie 59.4%–40.6%. Kelly received 190,564 votes,while Pastore received 130,443. [21]
In February 2021,Kelly and a dozen other Republican House members skipped votes and enlisted others to vote for them,citing the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. But he and the other members were actually attending the Conservative Political Action Conference,which was held at the same time as their absences. [24] In response,the Campaign for Accountability,an ethics watchdog group,filed a complaint with the House Committee on Ethics and requested an investigation into Kelly and the other lawmakers. [25]
During the COVID-19 pandemic,Kelly's auto dealerships received loans from US taxpayers of over $970,000 as part of the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP);the loans were later forgiven. [26] [27] [28] [29] U.S. Representative Katie Porter later introduced legislation that would require all loans under the PPP to be made public. [30] [31] Kelly voted against the TRUTH Act (H.R. 6782),a bill that would have required public disclosure of companies that received funds through the bailout program. [32] [33] As of August 2022,Kelly opposes President Joe Biden's proposal to forgive $10,000 of student debt for individuals making up to $125,000 per year. [34] Kelly's net worth was estimated to be $12.4 million in 2018. [35]
When speaking at a Mercer County Republican Party event in 2017,Kelly advanced the conspiracy theory that former president Barack Obama was running a "shadow government" to undermine President Trump. [36] [37] [38] When asked about these remarks,Kelly said they were meant to be private. [36] [39] After the remarks made national news,Kelly's spokesperson said that Kelly did not believe that Obama "is personally operating a shadow government". [36] [37] [38]
Kelly has argued against the release of Trump's tax returns by the House Ways and Means Committee. [40]
In December 2019,Kelly likened Trump's first impeachment to the Attack on Pearl Harbor. [41] He said the date on which Trump was impeached is "another date that will live in infamy",referring to President Franklin Roosevelt's statement about the Pearl Harbor attack. [41]
Amid ballot counting in the 2020 election,Kelly filed a lawsuit to stop Pennsylvania from allowing voters to "cure" (alter) their ballots. [42] After Biden won Pennsylvania,Kelly filed a suit arguing that all mail-in ballots cast in the state (more than 2.5 million) should be discarded,which would result in flipping the state to Trump, [43] or if that was not possible,that the electors for president should instead be chosen by the legislature. [44] If successful,this suit would have invalidated millions of votes in the Pennsylvania election. [44] On November 28,2020,the Pennsylvania Supreme Court unanimously rejected Kelly's suit,additionally ruling to "dismiss with prejudice." [45]
In December 2020,Kelly was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives to sign an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania ,a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election,in which Biden defeated [46] Trump. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of an election held by another state. [47] [48] [49]
In July 2024,following the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in Kelly's hometown,Kelly initially released a post that stated "We will not tolerate this attack from the left," despite the fact that no information about the shooter's background or motivation was publicly known at that point. The post was subsequently deleted. [50] Kelly introduced a resolution to formally call for a bipartisan House task force to investigate the incident. [51] Kelly was then selected to chair the task force investigating the assassination attempt. [52]
In September 2024,a few weeks before the 2024 United States presidential election,Kelly joined other Pennsylvania Republican members of Congress in filing a lawsuit that would institute new identification checks on voting for soldiers,sailors,and other residents of the state casting overseas ballots. The lawsuit was dismissed by a federal judge who contended that the lawsuit was filed too close to Election Day and declared concerns that were merely "hypothetical." [53]
In March 2021,all House Republicans including Kelly voted against the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021,a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill. [54]
Kelly supports Universal Patient Identifier(UPI) which enables efficient EHR electronic health record and HIEs Health Information Exchange interoperability. UPI can significantly improve the efficiency US healthcare system and reduce administrative cost,hence more affordable healthcare.[ citation needed ]
On August 1,2012,Kelly called the HHS mandate of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) - which requires employers to provide employees with health insurance options - an attack on Americans' constitutionally protected religious rights (because of mandates to cover contraceptives as part of the act) and said that August 1,2012,would go down in infamy as "the day that religious freedom died". [55]
In 2015,Kelly cosponsored a resolution to amend the US constitution to ban same-sex marriage. [56] In 2022,he was one of 157 Republicans to vote against a bill protecting same-sex and interracial marriage. [57]
In September 2021, Business Insider reported that Kelly had violated the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act of 2012,a federal transparency and conflict-of-interest law,by failing to properly disclose a purchase of stock in Beauty Health Company made by his wife worth between $1,001 and $15,000. [58]
In Kelly's time in Congress,he has independently sponsored three pieces of legislature that have become law:renaming a post office and renaming two facilities at the Department of Veterans Affairs (all located in Butler,PA). [59]
In three consecutive Congresses,Kelly landed in the top one-third of most bipartisan members,according to The Lugar Center and Georgetown University's McCourt School of Public Policy.
From 2018-2020,Kelly and his staff were named finalists for the Congressional Management Foundation's Constituent Service Award.
Kelly lives in Butler,Pennsylvania with his wife Victoria. They have four children and ten grandchildren. [60] He is the brother-in-law of retired Congressman Phil Roe of Tennessee's 1st congressional district. He is a practicing Roman Catholic. [61]
In 2019,he said that,as a person of Irish and Anglo-Saxon descent,he considers himself a person of color—a term often used to describe people of nonwhite backgrounds. [62]
Kenneth Michael Conaway is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for Texas's 11th congressional district from 2005 to 2021. He is a member of the Republican Party. The district Conaway represented is located in West Texas and includes Midland,Odessa,San Angelo,Brownwood,and Granbury. Conaway led the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections after the Intelligence Committee chair,Devin Nunes,recused himself. Aside from serving as the chair of the House Ethics Committee,he served as the chair of the House Agriculture Committee,and later its ranking member. Conaway indicated in July 2019 that he would not be seeking reelection. Conaway was succeeded by fellow Republican August Pfluger.
Jeffrey Lane Fortenberry is an American politician. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 2005 to 2022,representing Nebraska's 1st congressional district as a member of the Republican Party.
Ralph Warren Norman Jr. is an American real estate developer and politician who has served as the U.S. representative for South Carolina's 5th congressional district since 2017. His district includes most of the South Carolina side of the Charlotte metropolitan area,along with outer portions of the Upstate and Midlands. A member of the Republican Party,Norman served as the South Carolina state representative for the 48th district from 2005 to 2007 and from 2009 to 2017.
Alexander Xavier Mooney is an American politician serving since 2015 as the U.S. representative from West Virginia's 2nd congressional district. A member of the Republican Party,he represented the 3rd district in the Maryland State Senate from 1999 to 2011 and is a former chair of the Maryland Republican Party. He is the first Hispanic person elected to Congress from West Virginia.
Daniel Philip Meuser is an American businessman,politician,and philanthropist serving as the U.S. representative for Pennsylvania's 9th congressional district since 2019. A Republican,he previously served as the secretary of revenue in the cabinet of Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett. He was previously president of the Pride Corporation,a manufacturer of motorized wheelchairs in the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton metro area of Pennsylvania,and currently serves the company as a board member and consultant. He has testified before Congress regarding the criticality for federal practices surrounding rights and caring for the disabled.
Lloyd Kenneth Smucker is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative from Pennsylvania's 11th congressional district,which includes Lancaster County and most of southern York County. He is a member of the Republican Party and represented the 16th district until the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania redrew it in 2018 due to gerrymandering. He was a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate for the 13th district from 2009 to 2016.
Vicky Jo Hartzler is an American politician,and businesswoman who served as the U.S. representative for Missouri's 4th congressional district from 2011 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party,she served as the Missouri state representative for the 124th district from 1995 to 2001.
William Hollis Long II is an American politician and auctioneer who served as the U.S. representative for Missouri's 7th congressional district from 2011 to 2023. The district includes much of the southwestern quadrant of the state and is anchored in Springfield. It also includes Joplin and Branson. On December 4,2024,President-elect Donald Trump announced his intention to nominate Long to serve as Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service.
Matthew Alton Cartwright is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative from Pennsylvania's 8th congressional district since 2013. The district includes a large swath of northeastern Pennsylvania,anchored by Scranton,Wilkes-Barre,and the Poconos. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Cartwright was first elected to Congress in 2012 after defeating incumbent Tim Holden in the Democratic primary. As an attorney,Cartwright previously worked at the law firm of Munley,Munley,and Cartwright.
Richard Lane Hudson Jr. is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for North Carolina's 9th congressional district since 2013. A member of the Republican Party,his district covers a large part of the southern Piedmont area from Concord to Spring Lake.
Markwayne Mullin is an American businessman and politician who has served as the junior United States senator from Oklahoma since 2023. A member of the Republican Party,he was elected in a special election in 2022 to serve the remainder of Jim Inhofe's term. Mullin is the first Native American U.S. senator since Ben Nighthorse Campbell retired in 2005. He is also the second Cherokee Nation citizen elected to the Senate;the first,Robert Latham Owen,retired in 1925. Before being elected to the Senate,Mullin served as the U.S. representative for Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district from 2013 to 2023.
Frederick B. Keller is an American politician from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,who served as the U.S. representative for Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district from 2019 to 2023. He was a Republican member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 85th district from 2011 until his resignation in May 2019 following election to the U.S. House.
Carol Miller is an American farmer,educator,and politician who has represented West Virginia's 1st congressional district since 2019. The district,numbered as the 3rd district from 2019 to 2023,covers the southern half of the state,including Huntington,Charleston,Bluefield,and Beckley.
Guy Lorin Reschenthaler is an American politician,attorney,judge,and U.S. Navy veteran. A Republican,he is the U.S. representative for Pennsylvania's 14th congressional district and was previously a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate,representing the 37th district. He served as a district judge,and in the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps (JAG) during the Iraq War. He is serving as the Republican Chief Deputy Whip in the 118th Congress.
Brian Kevin Fitzpatrick is an American politician,attorney,and former FBI agent who has served as a U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania since 2017. His district,which was numbered the 8th district during his first term and the 1st district since 2019,includes all of Bucks County,a mostly suburban county north of Philadelphia,as well as a sliver of Montgomery County.
Dan Laughlin is a Pennsylvania politician. A Republican,he is the Pennsylvania State Senator for the 49th district. Before his election to the State Senate in 2016,Laughlin worked as a homebuilder.
Michael George Glen Waltz is an American politician,businessman,author,and colonel in the United States Army who has served as the U.S. representative for Florida's 6th congressional district since 2019. He is a member of the Republican Party and is the first "Green Beret" to be elected to the United States Congress.
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.
John Patrick Joyce is an American dermatologist and politician from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He is the U.S. representative for Pennsylvania's 13th congressional district,serving since 2019. He is a member of the Republican Party.
The 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Pennsylvania were held on November 8,2022,to elect representatives for the seventeen seats in Pennsylvania.
{{cite web}}
: Missing or empty |title=
(help)[ dead link ]{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link){{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link){{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)