David Alan Brat (born July 27, 1964) is an American academic and politician who is the dean of the
Liberty University
Liberty University (LU) is a private Baptist university in Lynchburg, Virginia. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia (Southern Baptist Convention). Founded in 1971 by Jerry Falwell Sr. and Elmer L. Towns, Liberty i ...
School of Business. A member of the
Republican Party, he served as the
U.S. representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
for
Virginia's 7th congressional district
Virginia's 7th congressional district is a United States congressional district in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The district is currently represented by Democrat Abigail Spanberger, first elected in 2018.
2016 redistricting
The Virginia L ...
from 2014 to 2019.
Brat came to national prominence when he defeated the
House Majority Leader
Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives, also known as floor leaders, are congresspeople who coordinate legislative initiatives and serve as the chief spokespersons for their parties on the House floor. These leaders are ele ...
,
Eric Cantor
Eric Ivan Cantor (born June 6, 1963) is an American lawyer and former politician who represented Virginia's 7th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2001 to 2014. A Republican, Cantor served as House Minori ...
, in the district's 2014 Republican primary.
Brat's primary victory over Cantor made him the first primary challenger to oust a sitting House Majority Leader since the position's creation in 1899. He lost his reelection bid in
the 2018 election to
Democrat
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
Abigail Spanberger.
Early life and education
David Alan Brat was born in
Detroit
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
, Michigan, on July 27, 1964. His father, Paul, was a doctor of
internal medicine; his mother, Nancy, was employed as a
social worker
Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...
in
Alma, Michigan
Alma is the largest city in Gratiot County, Michigan, Gratiot County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 9,383 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It was incorporated as the Village of Alma in 1872 and became a city in 1905 ...
, where he was raised.
His family moved from Alma to Minnesota when David, the oldest of three boys, was in junior high.
Brat graduated from
Park Center Senior High School
Park Center Senior High School (PCSH) is a four-year public high school located in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, United States, on 7300 Brooklyn Blvd. PCSH is located near the border of two northwest twin cities suburbs, Brooklyn Park and Brooklyn Cen ...
in
Brooklyn Park, Minnesota
Brooklyn Park is a suburban city on the west bank of the Mississippi River, upstream from (north of) downtown Minneapolis in northern Hennepin County, Minnesota, Hennepin County. It is the List of cities in Minnesota, sixth-largest city in the U ...
.
Brat earned a B.A. in business administration from
Hope College
Hope College is a private Christian liberal arts college in Holland, Michigan. It was originally opened in 1851 as the Pioneer School by Dutch immigrants four years after the community was first settled. The first freshman college class matricul ...
in 1986, a master's degree in divinity (M.Div.) from
Princeton Theological Seminary
Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a private school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1812 under the auspices of Archibald Alexander, the General Assembly of ...
in 1990 and a Ph.D. in economics from
American University
The American University (AU or American) is a private federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Its main campus spans 90 acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, mostly in the Spring Valley neighborhood of Northwest D.C. AU was charte ...
in 1995.
Academic career
After working for
Arthur Andersen
Arthur Andersen was an American accounting firm based in Chicago that provided auditing, tax advising, consulting and other professional services to large corporations. By 2001, it had become one of the world's largest multinational corporat ...
and as a consultant for the
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...
, in 1996 Brat joined the faculty of
Randolph–Macon College
Randolph–Macon College is a private liberal arts college in Ashland, Virginia. Founded in 1830, the college has an enrollment of more than 1,500 students. It is the second-oldest Methodist-run college in the country, and the oldest in continu ...
,
[ where he served as chair of the department of economics and taught courses including "Britain in the International Economy", "International Economic Development", and "Business Ethics".
From 2010 to 2012 Brat headed Randolph-Macon's BB&T Moral Foundations of Capitalism program, one of 60 similar programs and chairs in the philosophy and economics departments at United States universities devoted to the study of capitalism and morality, endowed by the ]BB&T Corporation
Truist Financial Corporation is an American bank holding company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company was formed in December 2019 as the result of the merger of BB&T (Branch Banking and Trust Company) and SunTrust Banks. Its b ...
.
In 2006 Brat was appointed by Virginia governor Tim Kaine
Timothy Michael Kaine (; born February 26, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Virginia since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 38th lieutenant governor of Virgini ...
to the Governor's Advisory Board of Economists, a position he continues to hold. He has also served on the board of directors of the Richmond Metropolitan Authority The Richmond Metropolitan Transportation Authority is an independent authority and political subdivision which serves the Richmond, Virginia metropolitan area. Created by an act of the Virginia General Assembly in 1966, then called the Richmond Met ...
, and on the advisory board of the Virginia Public Access Project.
He is the Dean of the Liberty University
Liberty University (LU) is a private Baptist university in Lynchburg, Virginia. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservatives of Virginia (Southern Baptist Convention). Founded in 1971 by Jerry Falwell Sr. and Elmer L. Towns, Liberty i ...
School of Business.
Early political career
From 2005 to 2011 Brat worked as a special legislative assistant A legislative assistant (LA) or legislative analyst is a person who works for a legislator as a legislative staffer, a government agency as a legislative affairs professional, or in the government relations and regulatory affairs industry by monitor ...
to Virginia state senator Walter Stosch
Walter Allen Stosch (born August 18, 1936, in Fredericksburg, Virginia) is an American politician in the Republican Party. He served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1983 until 1992, when he was elected to the Senate of Virginia. He was M ...
in the area of higher education
Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after completi ...
.[ In 2006 he was appointed by Democratic governor ]Tim Kaine
Timothy Michael Kaine (; born February 26, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Virginia since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 38th lieutenant governor of Virgini ...
to serve on a bipartisan economic advisory council.
2011 Virginia House of Delegates campaign
In August 2011 Brat announced he was running for the Virginia House of Delegates
The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two parts of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...
seat for the 56th district. There was no primary, and six Republican leaders met and chose Peter Farrell as the Republican nominee for the November 2011 general election.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
2014
Republican primary
Brat's run for the House of Representatives in 2014 was notable in its lack of resources and traditional campaign tactics. In his challenge of House Majority Leader Eric Cantor
Eric Ivan Cantor (born June 6, 1963) is an American lawyer and former politician who represented Virginia's 7th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2001 to 2014. A Republican, Cantor served as House Minori ...
for the Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
nomination, Brat was outspent by Cantor 40 to 1: Cantor spent over $5 million, while Brat raised $200,000 and did not spend all of it. Brat's primary campaign was managed by 23-year-old Zachary Werrell. An analysis of campaign filings conducted by OpenSecrets
OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying. It was created from a merger of the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics (NIMP). ...
concluded that Brat did not receive any donations from political action committees (PACs), noting "it's almost impossible to profile Brat's typical donor, because he had so few." Brat's victory garnered national attention, as it was the first time a sitting House Majority Leader was defeated in his primary race since the position was created in 1899. Brat defeated Cantor by a 12-point margin.
Compared with Cantor, described as aloof, Brat was characterized as knowing how to work a crowd. He ran an anti-establishment campaign criticizing Cantor's position on illegal immigration
Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of the immigration laws of that country or the continued residence without the legal right to live in that country. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upwar ...
, government bailouts and budget deals while frequently invoking God and the United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven ar ...
in his speeches. During the campaign, Cantor criticized Brat as a "liberal professor" who had strong ties to Tim Kaine
Timothy Michael Kaine (; born February 26, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Virginia since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 38th lieutenant governor of Virgini ...
, Virginia's former Democratic governor and current junior Senator.
Brat complained that Cantor had a " crony-capitalist mentality", putting the interests of the corporate sector ahead of small businesses. Radio talk show
Talk radio is a radio format containing discussion about topical issues and consisting entirely or almost entirely of original spoken word content rather than outside music. Most shows are regularly hosted by a single individual, and often featur ...
host Laura Ingraham
Laura Anne Ingraham (born June 19, 1963) is an American conservative television host. Gale Biography In Context. She has been the host of ''The Ingraham Angle'' on Fox News Channel since October 2017, and is the editor-in-chief of LifeZette. ...
endorsed Brat's candidacy and hosted a rally with him in a Richmond suburb.[ Brat was also supported by radio talk show host ]Mark Levin
Mark Reed Levin (; born September 21, 1957) is an American lawyer, author, and radio personality. He is the host of syndicated radio show
Broadcast syndication is the practice of leasing the right to broadcasting television shows and rad ...
and Ann Coulter
Ann Hart Coulter (; born December 8, 1961) is an American conservative media pundit, author, syndicated columnist, and lawyer. She became known as a media pundit in the late 1990s, appearing in print and on cable news as an outspoken critic of ...
. Chris Peace
Christopher Kilian Peace (born November 16, 1976, in Richmond, Virginia) is an American politician of the Republican Party.
From 2006-2019 Peace was a member of the Virginia House of Delegates. He represented the 97th district in the Middle Pe ...
, a state legislator who collaborated with Brat on state budget issues at Randolph-Macon College, said that Brat was inspired to run for Congress because of "his passion for the structure of government and belief in free markets."
Brat's victory was described in the press as exposing a "deep schism" in the Republican Party between its conservative base and its business wing, as well as a split between establishment Republicans and Tea Party
A tea party is a social gathering event held in the afternoon. For centuries, many societies have cherished drinking tea with a company at noon. Tea parties are considered for formal business meetings, social celebrations or just as an afternoon ...
insurgents. Some libertarian groups, such as the Virginia Liberty Party, backed Brat.
Brat received support from, and gave credit for his win to, local Tea Party groups in Virginia, but received no funding or endorsement from national Tea Party organizations.[ Brat has not identified with the Tea Party movement. Ron Rapoport, a political scientist at the ]College of William & Mary
The College of William & Mary (officially The College of William and Mary in Virginia, abbreviated as William & Mary, W&M) is a public research university in Williamsburg, Virginia. Founded in 1693 by letters patent issued by King William III ...
, has said Brat may be correctly identified as a "tea partier" only if the term is used as a catchall for "anti-establishment activist", while John Judis
John B. Judis is an author and American journalist, an editor-at-large at ''Talking Points Memo'', a former senior writer at the ''National Journal'' and a former senior editor at ''The New Republic''.
Education
Judis was born in Chicago to a f ...
has opined that Brat could more correctly be described as a "right-wing populist
Right-wing populism, also called national populism and right-wing nationalism, is a political ideology that combines right-wing politics and populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric employs anti- elitist sentiments, opposition to the Establ ...
". Matea Gold in ''The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' stated, "the fact that Brat took off without the help of those organizations ational tea party groupsnow makes it harder for them to claim his victory as their own."
Although the national media were shocked at Brat's victory, Richmond-area media outlets had received signs well before the primary that Cantor was in trouble. The ''Richmond Times-Dispatch
The ''Richmond Times-Dispatch'' (''RTD'' or ''TD'' for short) is the primary daily newspaper in Richmond, Virginia, Richmond, the capital of Virginia, and the primary newspaper of record for the state of Virginia.
Circulation
The ''Times-Dispatc ...
'' reported two weeks before the primary that a number of Cantor's constituents felt he took them for granted. The ''Times-Dispatch'' also revealed that Cantor's attempt to brand Brat as a liberal professor actually made more people turn out for Brat. ''The Chesterfield Observer,'' a local paper serving Chesterfield County—roughly half of which is in the 7th—reported that Tea Party-aligned candidates had won several victories there, and at least one Cantor loyalist believed Tea Party supporters smelled "blood in the water." One local reporter told David Carr of ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' that many constituents believed Cantor was arrogant and unapproachable. Due to massive cutbacks, the race was severely underpolled by local media. Few Capitol Hill reporters were willing to go to Cantor's district for fear that they would be out of Washington if a major story broke.[
]
General election
Brat faced Democratic nominee Jack Trammell, another professor at Randolph-Macon, and James Carr, the Libertarian candidate, in the November general election
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
. Brat was favored because of the 7th's significant Republican leaning (the district had a Cook Partisan Voting Index
The Cook Partisan Voting Index, abbreviated Cook PVI, CPVI, or PVI, is a measurement of how strongly a United States congressional district or U.S. state leans toward the Democratic or Republican Party, compared to the nation as a whole, based ...
of R+10, showing it to be the most Republican district in eastern Virginia).
According to an article in ''The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...
'', Cantor announced plans to aid Brat by resigning from the United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
on August 18, so that a special election for the balance of Cantor's seventh term could be held on the same day as the general election for a full two-year term. Thus the winner, in a race in which Brat was favored, would take office with two months' more seniority over other first-term Republicans elected in the 2014 midterm elections and the ability to participate in the lame-duck session of Congress.
Brat defeated Trammell in that election, with 60.83% of the vote to Trammell's 36.95%. Carr finished third, with 2.09% of the vote.
2016
A court-ordered redistricting significantly changed the 7th's configuration. It lost its share of Richmond to the neighboring 4th District; the 7th and its predecessors had included all or part of Richmond for over a century (it had been numbered as the 3rd District before 1993). It also lost Hanover County
Hanover County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 109,979. Its county seat is Hanover Courthouse.
Hanover County is a part of the Greater Richmond Region.
History
Located in the wester ...
to the 1st District.
Brat defeated Democrat Eileen Bedell with 57.7% of the vote in the general election on November 8, 2016.
2018
Brat ran for a third term in 2018 against Henrico native and former CIA officer Abigail Spanberger. The race was rated "Safe Republican" by the nonpartisan ''Cook Political Report
''The Cook Political Report with Amy Walter'' is an American online newsletter that analyzes elections and campaigns for the U.S. Presidency, the United States Senate, the United States House of Representatives, and U.S. governors' offices. Sel ...
'' until October 13, 2017, when ''Cook'' updated the rating to "Likely Republican." On February 8, 2018, the rating was changed to "Leans Republican," and on July 7, 2018, the race was rated a "Toss-up."
During an October 2018 debate, Brat characterized Spanberger as a disciple of Nancy Pelosi. Brat referred to Pelosi 25 times, according to ''The Washington Post'', drawing laughs from the audience and the widely reported rejoinder, "Abigail Spanberger is my name."
Brat ultimately lost to Spanberger, 48.4% to 50.4%, due in part to a large swing in the district's shares of Henrico and Chesterfield counties, traditional Republican strongholds. While Brat carried five of the district's seven counties, Spanberger defeated him in Henrico and Chesterfield by a combined 30,600 votes, five times the overall margin of 6,600 votes.
Tenure
Brat was sworn in on November 12, 2014, to finish Cantor's term. He was a member of the Freedom Caucus
The Freedom Caucus, also known as the House Freedom Caucus, is a congressional caucus consisting of conservative Republican members of the United States House of Representatives. It is generally considered to be the most conservative and farth ...
.
On January 6, 2015, Brat was one of 25 House Republicans to vote against John Boehner
John Andrew Boehner ( ; born , 1949) is an American retired politician who served as the 53rd speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2011 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served 13 terms as the U.S. represe ...
's reelection as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
The speaker of the United States House of Representatives, commonly known as the speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives. The office was established in 1789 by Article I, Section 2 of the U. ...
. Boehner, who needed at least 205 votes, was reelected with 216 votes. Though Brat supported Boehner earlier, he reversed his support after the House GOP leadership did not allow him to make an amendment to block a controversial executive order signed by President Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
in a spending bill.
Brat faced heckling by 150 people at a "raucous" town hall meeting in the small town of Blackstone, Virginia
Blackstone, formerly named Blacks and Whites, and then Bellefonte, is a town in Nottoway County, Virginia, Nottoway County in the U.S. state of Virginia. The population was 3,621 at the 2010 census.
History
The settlement was founded as the vill ...
, on February 21, 2017. Some questioned him on the border wall, health care, and President Trump's policies. Several of Brat's supporters left the meeting early. He was criticized for not meeting with his constituents because he claimed there were paid protesters among them. On January 28, at a meeting held at Hanover Tavern with "the GOP-friendly audience", he had lamented that, " nce Obamacare and these issues have come up, the women are in my grill no matter where I go. They come up — 'When is your next town hall?' And believe me, it’s not to give positive input." He also urged his fellow conservatives at the Tavern to write newspaper articles because "we’re getting hammered." Brat considered running in Virginia's 2018 Senate election.
In November 2017 the ''Richmond Times-Dispatch
The ''Richmond Times-Dispatch'' (''RTD'' or ''TD'' for short) is the primary daily newspaper in Richmond, Virginia, Richmond, the capital of Virginia, and the primary newspaper of record for the state of Virginia.
Circulation
The ''Times-Dispatc ...
'' reported that a campaign staffer was using her personal Facebook profile to debate commenters on his Facebook posts. The woman did not identify herself as a paid campaign staffer. When asked about this, Brat said, "Her job is to clarify issues and put out my policy positions from my vantage point. It’s not to argue with people." Brat had another run-in with social media on March 1, 2018, when it was discovered that his campaign Twitter account had "liked" several controversial tweets, including one that questioned whether one of the survivors of the Parkland school shooting, David Hogg, was a "crisis actor". After an outcry from concerned constituents, Brat's office issued a statement that attributed the likes to a campaign staffer who believed they were logged into their personal account. He also said that safeguards were being put in place to ensure it did not happen again.
Committee assignments
* Committee on the Budget
*Committee on Education and the Workforce
The Committee on Education and Labor is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. There are 50 members in this committee. Since 2019, the chair of the Education and Labor committee is Robert Cortez Scott of Virginia.
Hi ...
** Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary and Secondary Education
** Subcommittee on Workforce Protections
* Committee on Small Business
** Subcommittee on Agriculture, Energy and Trade
** Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Tax and Capital Access (Chairman)
Economic views
Brat asserts that culture matters in economic markets. He believes that the culture that produced Adam Smith
Adam Smith (baptized 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish economist and philosopher who was a pioneer in the thinking of political economy and key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment. Seen by some as "The Father of Economics"——— ...
was a Protestant culture
Although the Reformation was a religious movement, it also had a strong impact on all other aspects of life: marriage and family, education, the humanities and sciences, the political and social order, the economy, and the arts.
The role of fa ...
and that fact and the ethics of that culture are important in understanding market efficiency. Brat advocated that Christians should more forcefully support free-market
In economics, a free market is an economic system in which the prices of goods and services are determined by supply and demand expressed by sellers and buyers. Such markets, as modeled, operate without the intervention of government or any ot ...
capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for Profit (economics), profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, pric ...
and behave more altruistically, in the manner of Jesus
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
, so that "we would not need the government to backstop every action we take."
According to Kevin Roose in a ''New York'' Magazine article, Brat "sees free-market economics as being intricately linked to ethics and faith and he makes the case that Adam Smith's invisible hand
The invisible hand is a metaphor used by the British moral philosopher Adam Smith that describes the unintended greater social benefits and public good brought about by individuals acting in their own self-interests. Smith originally mention ...
theory, should be seen in the context of Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
". Furthering the central theme of Max Weber
Maximilian Karl Emil Weber (; ; 21 April 186414 June 1920) was a German sociologist, historian, jurist and political economist, who is regarded as among the most important theorists of the development of modern Western society. His ideas profo ...
's seminal book ''The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
''The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism'' (german: Die protestantische Ethik und der Geist des Kapitalismus) is a book written by Max Weber, a German sociologist, economist, and politician. Begun as a series of essays, the original ...
,'' Brat argues in his 2004 paper ''Economic Growth and Institutions: The Rise and Fall of the Protestant Ethic?'' that "institutions such as religion, democracy and government anti-diversion policies all significantly enhance a country's long-run economic performance," and concludes that "the religion variable may be the strongest ex ante, exogenous institutional variable in the literature."
In a paper titled ''Is Growth Exogenous? Taking Bernanke Seriously'', Brat criticized Federal Reserve
The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States of America. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a ...
chairman Ben Bernanke
Ben Shalom Bernanke ( ; born December 13, 1953) is an American economist who served as the 14th chairman of the Federal Reserve from 2006 to 2014. After leaving the Fed, he was appointed a distinguished fellow at the Brookings Institution. Durin ...
, asserting that Bernanke's work on economic growth overlooks religious institutions—in particular Protestant—in a country's economic growth, and that while savings rates, population growth, and human capital accumulation help drive economic growth, the larger factor is "the Protestant religious establishment", which Bernanke ignores.
Brat has blamed the rise of Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
in Germany on the lack of "unified resistance", adding, "I have the sinking feeling that it could all happen again, quite easily."[ Brat believes that countries with Protestant pasts have economic advantages over countries that do not, and that ]Protestantism
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
"provides an efficient set of property rights and encourages a modern set of economic incentives" that often lead to "positive economic performance".[ He believes in ]Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...
as a transformer of culture
Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...
, and that capitalism is the key to world transformation, which can be achieved when capitalism and Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
merge; if people follow the gospel, and as a consequence behave more morally, he argues, then the markets will improve.
Zack Beauchamp from ''Vox Media
Vox Media, Inc. is an American mass media company based in Washington, D.C., and New York City. The company was established in November 2011 by Jim Bankoff and Trei Brundrett to encompass ''SB Nation'' (a sports blog network founded in 2005 by ...
'' has said that Brat believes that "most economists are motivated by philosophy rather than science: they're secretly utilitarians
In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for all affected individuals.
Although different varieties of utilitarianism admit different charact ...
who believe that the goal of public policy is to produce the greatest good for the greatest number." Although Brat has said he does not identify as a Randian, he has acknowledged having been influenced by Ayn Rand
Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum;, . Most sources transliterate her given name as either ''Alisa'' or ''Alissa''. , 1905 – March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (), was a Russian-born American writer and p ...
's novel ''Atlas Shrugged
''Atlas Shrugged'' is a 1957 novel by Ayn Rand. It was her longest novel, the fourth and final one published during her lifetime, and the one she considered her '' magnum opus'' in the realm of fiction writing. ''Atlas Shrugged'' includes eleme ...
'' and expressed appreciation of her case for human freedom and capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for Profit (economics), profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, pric ...
.
Economy
Brat promised to vote against raising the debt ceiling
A debt limit or debt ceiling is a legislative mechanism restricting the total amount that a country can borrow or how much debt it can be permitted to take on. Several countries have debt limitation restrictions.
Description
A debt limit is a l ...
for the first five years while he was in Congress, and attacked Cantor during the primary campaign for voting to end the federal government shutdown of 2013. Brat advocated an end to tax credit
A tax credit is a tax incentive which allows certain taxpayers to subtract the amount of the credit they have accrued from the total they owe the state. It may also be a credit granted in recognition of taxes already paid or a form of state "disc ...
s, deductions and loopholes, and called for a flatter and more efficient tax code. He opposed TARP, the Troubled Asset Relief Program
The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) is a program of the United States government to purchase toxic assets and equity from financial institutions to strengthen its financial sector that was passed by Congress and signed into law by President G ...
of 2008, and said that, if elected, he would "vote against bills that benefit big business over small business". "I'm not against business. I'm against big business in bed with big government", he said.
Brat supported President Trump's trade policies, arguing that Americans benefited from re-negotiating NAFTA and that while tariffs on China would cause short-term harms, they would ultimately lead to "zero tariffs."
Education
Brat opposed federally driven education policies such as the Common Core
The Common Core State Standards Initiative, also known as simply Common Core, is an educational initiative from 2010 that details what K–12 students throughout the United States should know in English language arts and mathematics at the conc ...
curriculum and No Child Left Behind
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) was a U.S. Act of Congress that reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act; it included Title I provisions applying to disadvantaged students. It supported standards-based education ...
.
Ethics reform
Brat's decision to enter the Republican primary was driven largely by Cantor's role in weakening congressional ethics reform. "If you want to find out the smoking gun in this campaign, just go Google and type the STOCK Act and CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
and Eric Cantor
Eric Ivan Cantor (born June 6, 1963) is an American lawyer and former politician who represented Virginia's 7th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2001 to 2014. A Republican, Cantor served as House Minori ...
", Brat said.
Healthcare
Brat opposed the Affordable Care Act
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presid ...
(Obamacare). In March 2017 he said he opposed the initial version of the American Health Care Act, which was the GOP's replacement for Obamacare, and that he intended to vote against it in the House Budget Committee
The United States House Committee on the Budget, commonly known as the House Budget Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. Its responsibilities include legislative oversight of the federal budget process, ...
. On May 4, 2017, Brat voted to repeal Obamacare and pass the revised version of the American Health Care Act
The American Health Care Act of 2017 (often shortened to the AHCA or nicknamed Trumpcare) was a bill in the 115th United States Congress. The bill, which was passed by the United States House of Representatives but not by the United States S ...
. He said the bill contained protections for preexisting conditions and would lead to lower prices; ''The Washington Post'' noted that the bill would have allowed insurers to charge higher premiums for individuals with preexisting conditions, and that an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office estimated that average health care premiums would increase as a result of the bill (more so for older Americans).
During his 2018 reelection campaign Brat falsely claimed that ''The Washington Post'' fact-checker had given "four Pinocchios" to his opponent Abigail Spanberger for claims she made about Brat's position on health care. ''The Washington Post'' fact-checker asked Brat to comment on his misrepresentation but did not receive a response.
Foreign policy and defense
Brat called for the National Security Agency
The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collecti ...
to end bulk collection of phone records and stated his support for statutory protections for e-mail privacy. He argued that domestic intelligence activities have "spun out of control" and that "the NSA's indiscriminate collection of data on all Americans is a disturbing violation of our Fourth Amendment right to privacy." In an April 21, 2015, interview with radio talk show host Rusty Humphries, Brat claimed that the terrorist group ISIS had set up a base in Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
. "In our country it looks like we have an ISIS center in Texas now...You can't make up what a terrible problem this is." After the Texas Department of Public Safety responded that there was no substantiation for the claim, Brat's office said that he had really meant Mexico, not Texas, citing the conservative group Judicial Watch
Judicial Watch (JW) is an American conservative activist group that files Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuits to investigate claimed misconduct by government officials. Founded in 1994, JW has primarily targeted Democrats, in particula ...
, which declined to provide any substantiation for its report.
Immigration
Brat supported President Trump's 2017 executive order
In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of th ...
to temporarily curtail immigration from the Muslim-majority nations of Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
, Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya bo ...
, Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
, Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
, Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
, and Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
until better screening methods are devised. Brat said that "the temporary halt on migration from seven countries will last only a few months until we have solid vetting procedures in place" and that "these seven countries with a temporary travel ban have been identified by both the Obama administration and our intelligence agencies as being the greatest threat to our national security because they have a history of training, harboring, and exporting terrorism."
In September 2017 Brat said that Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which provided temporary stay for unauthorized immigrants brought to the United as minors, allowed minors to "bring in their entire extended family once they reach a certain status" and could bring in up to 4 million additional immigrants. PolitiFact disputed Brat's figure.
Social issues
In 2011 Brat criticized the political right for simultaneously advancing the pursuit of individual liberty while pushing laws restricting abortion
Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...
, gay rights
Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality.
Notably, , 3 ...
and gambling
Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of value ("the stakes") on a random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy are discounted. Gambling thus requires three el ...
, and the political left for simultaneously supporting progressive liberal individualism while coercing others to "fund every social program under the sun".[ Brat's website said he supported "the life of every child, both born and unborn."
]
Social Security and Medicare
Brat criticized both major parties' approach to Medicare and Social Security
Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...
, stating, "neither side of the aisle will talk about the most important issues because that is going to involve pain." He advocated "market-based reforms" to these programs, arguing individuals ought not to receive more from programs than they have paid into them.
Term limits
Brat was a proponent of term limits for members of Congress. He pledged to serve a maximum of 12 years (six terms) in Congress.
Electoral history
Publications
* God and Advanced Mammon – Can Theological Types Handle Usury and Capitalism? (2011)
*
*
*
*
* An Analysis of the Moral Foundations in Ayn Rand
*
* (2016)
Personal life
Brat moved to Virginia in 1996 with his wife, Laura. They live in Glen Allen, a suburb of Richmond. They have two children.
Brat was raised in a Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
church and his wife is a Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
. Splitting their time between two churches, they are parishioners of St. Mary Catholic Church in Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
. Brat also identifies as a Calvinist
Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...
and lists affiliations with Christ Episcopal Church, Third Presbyterian, and Shady Grove Methodist.
References
External links
Professor David Brat at Randolph-Macon College
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brat, David
1964 births
20th-century American economists
21st-century American economists
21st-century American politicians
American Calvinist and Reformed Christians
American officials of the United Nations
American University alumni
Christians from Michigan
Economists from Michigan
Economists from Minnesota
Economists from Virginia
Hope College alumni
Living people
People from Brooklyn Park, Minnesota
People from Henrico County, Virginia
Politicians from Detroit
Presbyterians from Virginia
Princeton Theological Seminary alumni
Randolph–Macon College faculty
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia
Tea Party movement activists
World Bank people