John Moolenaar

John Robert Moolenaar (/ˈmoʊlənɑːr/ MOLE-ən-arr; born May 8, 1961) is an American politician serving as the U.S. Representative for Michigan's 4th congressional district since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he was previously elected to the Michigan House of Representatives (2003–2008) and Michigan Senate (2011–2014).[1]

John Moolenaar
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Michigan's 4th district
Assumed office
January 3, 2015
Preceded byDave Camp
Member of the Michigan Senate
from the 36th district
In office
January 1, 2011 – December 31, 2014
Preceded byTony Stamas
Succeeded byJim Stamas
Member of the Michigan House of Representatives
from the 98th district
In office
January 1, 2003 – December 31, 2008
Preceded byTony Stamas
Succeeded byJim Stamas
Personal details
Born
John Robert Moolenaar

(1961-05-08) May 8, 1961
Midland, Michigan, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Amy Moolenaar
Children6
EducationHope College (BS)
Harvard University (MPA)
WebsiteHouse website

Early life and education

Moolenaar was born in a family of Dutch Americans on May 8, 1961 in Midland, Michigan. In 1983, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Hope College. He then earned a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University in 1989.

Career

Moolenaar is a chemist, and worked at Dow Chemical Company for eight months before entering politics.[2] He was elected to the Michigan House of Representatives in 2002, where he served three terms. In 2010, he was elected to the Michigan Senate, where he served one term.[3] Prior to his election to the Legislature, Moolenaar served on the Midland City Council.[4]

In 2014, Moolenaar ran for the United States House of Representatives seat representing Michigan's 4th congressional district. He won the Republican primary election in August, defeating Paul Mitchell,[5] and the general election in November.

Moolenaar, along with fellow Michigan representative Andy Levin, has introduced legislation to delay any deportations of Iraqis to Iraq for two years.[6]

In December 2020, Moolenaar signed an amicus brief before the United States Supreme Court in Texas v. Pennsylvania, et al., which sought to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election results.[7]

Elections

Moolenaar won election to the 36th district of the Michigan State Senate in 2010. He defeated Democrat Andy Neumann in the November 2nd general election, 56,634 votes to 32,154.

Moolenaar ran in the 2014 election for the U.S. House to represent Michigan's 4th District. Moolenaar won the Republican nomination in the primary on August 5, 2014, against Paul Mitchell and Peter Konetchy. He defeated Jeff Holmes (D), Will Tyler White (Libertarian) and George Zimmer (U.S. Taxpayers) in the general election on November 4, 2014.

U.S. House of Representatives

Committee assignments

Caucus memberships

Tenure

In December 2020, Moolenaar was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives who signed 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 Joe Biden prevailed[11] over incumbent Donald 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 the election held by another state.[12][13][14]

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement that called signing the amicus brief an act of "election subversion." Additionally, Pelosi reprimanded Moolenaar and the other House members who supported the lawsuit: "The 126 Republican Members that signed onto this lawsuit brought dishonor to the House. Instead of upholding their oath to support and defend the Constitution, they chose to subvert the Constitution and undermine public trust in our sacred democratic institutions."[15][16] New Jersey Representative Bill Pascrell, citing section three of the 14th Amendment, called for Pelosi to not seat Moolenaar and the other Republicans who signed the brief supporting the suit. Pascrell argued that "the text of the 14th Amendment expressly forbids Members of Congress from engaging in rebellion against the United States. Trying to overturn a democratic election and install a dictator seems like a pretty clear example of that."[17]

References
  1. 2011-2012 Michigan Manual: State Senator John Moolenaar
  2. "Biography". house.gov. December 11, 2012. Retrieved May 29, 2015.
  3. Gonzales, Nathan L.; Gonzales, Nathan L. (November 21, 2014). "Freshman Class Filled With Losers". Roll Call. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  4. "Meet Senator Moolenaar - Senator John Moolenaar". Senator John Moolenaar. Archived from the original on October 29, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  5. "Sen. John Moolenaar defeats Paul Mitchell in 4th District congressional Republican primary race". MLive.com. August 6, 2014. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
  6. article on death of Aldaoud and related issues
  7. "Motion of U.S. Representative Mike Johnson and 105 Other Members for leave to file amicus brief" (PDF). Supreme Court of the United States. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  8. "Member List". Republican Study Committee. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
  9. "Members". Republican Main Street Partnership. Archived from the original on August 26, 2018. Retrieved January 25, 2018.
  10. "Members". U.S. - Japan Caucus. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  11. Blood, Michael R.; Riccardi, Nicholas (December 5, 2020). "Biden officially secures enough electors to become president". AP News. Archived from the original on December 8, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  12. Liptak, Adam (December 11, 2020). "Supreme Court Rejects Texas Suit Seeking to Subvert Election". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  13. "Order in Pending Case" (PDF). Supreme Court of the United States. December 11, 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  14. Diaz, Daniella. "Brief from 126 Republicans supporting Texas lawsuit in Supreme Court". CNN. Archived from the original on December 12, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  15. Smith, David (December 12, 2020). "Supreme court rejects Trump-backed Texas lawsuit aiming to overturn election results". The Guardian. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  16. "Pelosi Statement on Supreme Court Rejecting GOP Election Sabotage Lawsuit" (Press release). Speaker Nancy Pelosi. December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  17. Williams, Jordan (December 11, 2020). "Democrat asks Pelosi to refuse to seat lawmakers supporting Trump's election challenges". TheHill. Archived from the original on December 12, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Dave Camp		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Michigan's 4th congressional district
2015–present		 Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by
Barry Loudermilk		 United States Representatives by seniority
229th		 Succeeded by
Alex Mooney
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