Pat Fallon

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"You can’t be gay anymore. It’s like the whole alphabet soup now — lesbian, transgender, bisexual, questioning. There’s something called pansexual."

Fallon later apologized, [26] saying, "It was an innocent little comment about mocking the labeling, not a person."

Interest group ratings

In 2015 Fallon was named one of "The 3 Worst North Texas Legislators" by D Magazine, which wrote, "Fallon has a lawyerlike relationship with the truth" and was "vindictive, and he’ll say anything to get what he wants". [27]

By contrast, Phyllis Schlafly's Eagle Forum, managed in Texas by Cathie Adams, a former state chairman of the Texas Republican Party and a Fallon supporter, [28] rated Fallon 95%. The Young Conservatives of Texas scored him 92%. The Texas League of Conservation Voters rated him 25%; Environment Texas, 28%. Texans for Fiscal Responsibility rated Fallon 98%; the Texas Association of Business, 80%. The NRA Political Victory Fund rated him "A+". [29] [23]

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2020

In May 2020, Fallon launched a campaign for Texas's 4th congressional district to replace former U.S. representative John Ratcliffe, who resigned to become Director of National Intelligence. On August 8, 2020, Fallon was selected to replace Ratcliffe on the November ballot by the 18 county Republican Party chairs and precinct chairs in the district, winning the nomination with 82 votes to his nearest opponent's 34. [30] Fallon faced Democrat Russell Foster in the November general election. According to The Texas Tribune , the district was so heavily gerrymandered that the county Republican chairs effectively chose Ratcliffe's successor when they chose Fallon to replace him as the Republican nominee. [31]

As expected, Fallon won the general election in a landslide, with 75% of the vote to Foster's 22%. When he took office, he was only the sixth person to represent this district since its creation in 1903.

Tenure

On January 6, 2021, Fallon, along with 147 of his fellow congressional Republicans, voted to block certification of the results for President-elect Joe Biden's 2020 United States presidential election. [32]

Fallon voted to include provisions for drafting women in the National Defense Authorization Act of 2022. [33]

In March 2023, Fallon was one of 26 Republicans sitting on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee who refused to join their Democratic counterparts in signing a letter denouncing white supremacy and racist conspiracy theories. [34]

Fallon was among the 71 Republicans who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the House. [35]

Fallon voted to provide Israel with support following 2023 Hamas attack on Israel. [36] [37]

On November 13, 2023, it was reported that Fallon had filed to run for the state senate seat he once held, opening up his congressional seat in the 2024 election. [38] Fallon reversed course the next day, even after his potential return to the Texas Senate received an endorsement from Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, and announced that he would instead seek reelection to his current House seat after all. [39]

On July 29, 2024, Fallon was announced as one of seven Republican members of a bipartisan task force investigating the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. [40]

Committee assignments

Caucus memberships

Investigation

In February 2022, the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) board filed a report stating that there was "substantial reason to believe" that Fallon had violated a federal stock law. [44] The House Committee on Ethics released that report on May 31, 2022, indicating that it was investigating Fallon over repeated reporting violations of the STOCK Act, enacted in 2012 to prevent insider trading using non-public information by members of Congress and other government employees. Members of Congress are required to report any stock transaction over $1,000 within 45 days. Violations are subject to a $200 fine. [44]

The OCE report stated that during the first half of 2021, Fallon filed late reports representing as much as $17.53 million in trades. An OCE review of his record began in the fall of 2021. Reports for trades made in December 2021 again missed the required filing date. The OCE report states, "Rep. Fallon produced a limited set of documents to the OCE and declined to interview with the OCE. This non-cooperation undermined the OCE's ability to verify Rep. Fallon's overall STOCK Act compliance and to fully assess the reasons for his late filings." [44] [45]

Fallon initially claimed he thought that reporting was required annually, as in the Texas legislature. On March 18, 2022, one of his lawyers, Kate Belinski, sent the OCE a letter insisting that Fallon's beliefs were "a common misconception, which, coupled with the overwhelming amount of information new members and their staff receive at the beginning of their terms, often results in inadvertent late disclosures." She insisted that Fallon had cooperated by providing the documents OCE requested. [44] But the OCE report noted Fallon's "late disclosure of reportable transactions, which continued even after he was on notice of his STOCK Act filing obligations." [44] [45] [46]

2024 Republican primary

Fallon was named as part of the Trump campaign's Texas leadership team in March. [47]

Personal life

Fallon is married to Susan Kimberly Garner; they have two sons. [1]

During his tenure in the state senate, Fallon lived in the Denton County portion of Prosper, which was just outside the 4th's boundaries. While candidates for the House are only constitutionally required to live in the state they wish to represent, longstanding convention holds that they live either in or reasonably close to the district they wish to represent.

Fallon is a member of Holy Cross Catholic Church in The Colony. He is a donor to Dallas Baptist University, Frisco Family Services, and the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. [9]

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References

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Pat Fallon
PatFallon118th.jpg
Member of the U.S.HouseofRepresentatives
from Texas's 4th district
Assumed office
January 3, 2021
Texas House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the Texas State Representative
from the 106th district

2013–2019
Succeeded by
Texas Senate
Preceded by Member of the Texas Senate
from the 30th district

2019–2021
Succeeded by
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 4th congressional district

2021–present
Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by United States representatives by seniority
297th
Succeeded by