Michael Guest (politician) explained

Michael Guest
Office:Chair of the House Ethics Committee
Term Start:January 3, 2023
Predecessor:Susan Wild
Office1:Ranking Member of the House Ethics Committee
Term Start1:August 19, 2022
Term End1:January 3, 2023
Predecessor1:Jackie Walorski
Successor1:Susan Wild
State2:Mississippi
Term Start2:January 3, 2019
Predecessor2:Gregg Harper
Office3:District Attorney of Rankin County and Madison County
Term Start3:2008
Term End3:2019
Predecessor3:David Clark
Successor3:John Bramlett
Birth Name:Michael Patrick Guest
Birth Date:4 February 1970
Birth Place:Woodbury, New Jersey, U.S.
Party:Republican
Spouse:Haley Kennedy
Children:2
Education:Mississippi State University (BS)
University of Mississippi (JD)

Michael Patrick Guest (born February 4, 1970) is an American attorney and Republican politician. He has represented in the United States House of Representatives since 2019. He became the ranking member of the United States House Committee on Ethics upon the August 2022 death of Jackie Walorski, and became its chair in the 118th Congress after Republicans won a House majority that November.

Early life and education

Michael Patrick Guest[1] was born on February 4, 1970.[2] He graduated from Mississippi State University with a bachelor's degree in accounting and the University of Mississippi School of Law with a Juris Doctor. He served as the Assistant District Attorney for Madison and Rankin counties from 1994 to 2008, and became District Attorney in 2008.[3] Guest and his family are members of Brandon Baptist Church, where he serves as a deacon and Sunday school teacher.[4]

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2018

Guest ran for the United States House of Representatives in to succeed Gregg Harper, who chose not to seek reelection.[5] In the six-way June Republican primary election, Guest received the most votes (45%), with Whit Hughes coming in second with 22%.[6] Because no candidate received 50% of the vote, Guest and Hughes faced each other in a primary runoff election,[7] which Guest won.[6] Guest defeated State Representative Michael Evans, the Democratic nominee, in the general election.[8]

Guest campaigned as a strong supporter of President Donald Trump.[6]

2020

Guest was reelected in 2020 with 64.7% of the vote, defeating Democrat Dort Benford.[9]

Tenure

In December 2020, Guest 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 Joe Biden defeated[10] 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.[11] [12] [13]

On May 19, 2021, Guest was one of 35 Republicans who joined all Democrats in voting to approve legislation to establish the January 6, 2021 commission meant to investigate the storming of the U.S. Capitol.[14]

In November 2021, Business Insider reported that Guest 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 trades in BP and ExxonMobil stock by his wife's family trust; as a result, Guest paid a $200 fine.[15]

In June 2022, after a leaked decision by the Supreme Court of the United States to revoke the right to abortion in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, Guest wrote to the Department of Homeland Security to demand action in the wake of attacks by Jane's Revenge, which Guest called an "anarchist extremist group" that targets crisis pregnancy centers and other anti-abortion organizations.[16]

In August 2022, Guest was named ranking member of the House Ethics Committee upon the death of former ranking member Jackie Walorski.[17]

Guest was among the 71 Republicans who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the House.[18]

Guest voted to support Israel following the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.[19] [20]

He also proposed the resolution that expelled George Santos from Congress.[21]

In 2024, Guest voted against the $60 billion military aid package for Ukraine, although much of the money would go to his constituency.[22]

Committee assignments

For the 118th Congress:[23]

Caucus memberships[24]

External links

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Notes and References

  1. http://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C00665752/1197022/ Statement of Organization, Friends of Michael Guest
  2. http://gr.acsa.org/election/candidate/id/337534 Michael Guest - Candidate for House of Representatives MS 3rd District. (Republican)
  3. Web site: Candidate Questionnaire: Michael Guest. Jackson Free Press . May 30, 2018.
  4. Web site: About Michael . April 30, 2018 .
  5. Web site: District Attorney Michael Guest running to replace Gregg Harper . Clarion-Ledger. January 5, 2018.
  6. Web site: Sarah. Fowler. Michael Guest defeats Whit Hughes in GOP House primary runoff . Clarion-Ledger. June 27, 2018.
  7. Web site: Michael Guest, Whit Hughes head to Republican runoff in MS03 race . Clarion-Ledger. June 6, 2018.
  8. Sarah Fowler, Republican Michael Guest defeats Democrat Michael Evans in #MS03, Clarion Ledger (November 7, 2018).
  9. Web site: 2020-11-04 . Republican Michael Guest wins reelection to U.S. House in Mississippi's 3rd Congressional District . 2022-08-13 . WJTV . en-US.
  10. Web site: Blood. Michael R.. Riccardi. Nicholas. December 5, 2020. Biden officially secures enough electors to become president. live. December 12, 2020. AP News. December 8, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201208201209/https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-elections-electoral-college-3e0b852c3cfadf853b08aecbfc3569fa.
  11. News: Liptak. Adam. Adam Liptak. 2020-12-11. Supreme Court Rejects Texas Suit Seeking to Subvert Election. en-US. The New York Times. 2020-12-12. 0362-4331. December 11, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201211234955/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/11/us/politics/supreme-court-election-texas.html. live.
  12. Web site: Order in Pending Case. 2020-12-11. Supreme Court of the United States. December 11, 2020. December 11, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201211234004/https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/121120zr_p860.pdf. live.
  13. News: Brief from 126 Republicans supporting Texas lawsuit in Supreme Court. Daniella . Diaz. CNN. December 11, 2020. December 12, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20201212000435/https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/10/politics/read-house-republicans-texas-supreme-court/index.html. live.
  14. News: Here are the 35 House Republicans who voted for the January 6 commission. CNN. LeBlanc. Paul. May 19, 2021. May 19, 2021.
  15. Web site: Rojas . Warren . 2021-11-05 . Republican Rep. Michael Guest failed to properly disclose family stock trades . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20230306045732/https://www.businessinsider.com/michael-guest-congress-mississippi-stock-trades-investments-2021-11 . 2023-03-06 . 2024-07-17 . . en-US.
  16. Web site: Sabes . Adam . 2022-06-17 . Minnesota pregnancy center vandalized by 'Jane's Revenge': 'We should've done more' . 2022-08-07 . Fox News . en-US.
  17. Web site: Cohen. Zach. Republican Tapped to Serve in Secretive Ethics Role No One Wants. Bloomberg Law. August 19, 2022. September 1, 2022.
  18. Web site: Republicans and Democrats who bucked party leaders by voting no. Jared. Gans. May 31, 2023. June 6, 2023. The Hill.
  19. News: Demirjian . Karoun . 2023-10-25 . House Declares Solidarity With Israel in First Legislation Under New Speaker . en-US . The New York Times . 2023-10-30 . 0362-4331.
  20. Web site: Washington . U. S. Capitol Room H154 . p:225-7000 . DC 20515-6601 . 2023-10-25 . Roll Call 528 Roll Call 528, Bill Number: H. Res. 771, 118th Congress, 1st Session . 2023-10-30 . Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives . en.
  21. Web site: Vielkind . Jimmy . Ferek . Katy Stech . Dec 1, 2023 . George Santos Expelled From Congress in Tense House Vote . 2023-12-01 . WSJ . en-US.
  22. Web site: Thiessen . Marc . These politicians voted against their states’ best interests on Ukraine aid. 2024-04-25 . 2024-04-26 . The Washington Post . en-US.
  23. Web site: Michael Guest . Clerk of the United States House of Representatives . August 17, 2023.
  24. Web site: 2021-01-03 . Committees and Caucuses . 2022-08-27 . Representative Michael Guest . en.
  25. Web site: 2017-12-06 . Membership . 2022-08-27 . Republican Study Committee . en.