Joshua Chad Brecheen (, , born June 19, 1979) is an American politician from the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

of Oklahoma who has 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

Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district Oklahoma's 2nd congressional district is one of five United States congressional districts in Oklahoma and covers approximately one-fourth of the state in the east. The district borders Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Texas and includes (in who ...

since 2023. He represented the 6th district in the Oklahoma Senate from 2010 to 2018. He is a citizen of the

Choctaw Nation The Choctaw Nation (Choctaw: ''Chahta Okla'') is a Native American territory covering about , occupying portions of southeastern Oklahoma in the United States. The Choctaw Nation is the third-largest federally recognized tribe in the United St ...

Early life and career

Joshua Chad Brecheen was born on June 19, 1979. He attended

Southeastern Oklahoma State University Southeastern Oklahoma State University (Southeastern, SE, or SOSU) is a public university in Durant, Oklahoma. It had an undergraduate enrollment of 4,824 in 2019. History On March 6, 1909, the Second Oklahoma State Legislature approved an ac ...

in Durant. In 1997, he was first elected as SE District Vice-president of the Oklahoma FFA. The next year, he was elected State FFA President, moved to Stillwater, and transferred to

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

. He served as State FFA President until 1999. After retiring from the FFA, Brecheen graduated from

with a dual degree in animal science and agricultural communications. In 2004, he was hired as a field representative for U.S. senator

Tom Coburn Thomas Allen Coburn (March 14, 1948 – March 28, 2020) was an American politician and physician who served as a United States senator for Oklahoma from 2005, until his resignation in 2015. A Republican, he previously served as a United St ...

, where he worked until his election to the Oklahoma Senate. He owns a motivational speaking business, Brecheen Keynotes and Seminars, as well as Rawhide Dirtworks, an excavation service.

Oklahoma Senate career

Brecheen filed to run for the Oklahoma Senate's 6th district in 2010. He ran unopposed in 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 ...

primary and faced incumbent Democratic Senator Jay Paul Gumm. Brecheen defeated Gumm in the November election. The ''

Tulsa World The ''Tulsa World'' is the daily newspaper for the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma, and primary newspaper for the northeastern and eastern portions of Oklahoma. Tulsa World Media Company is part of Lee Enterprises. The new owners announced in January 20 ...

'' reported the 6th Senate district race as having the highest fundraising total for a State Senate seat in 2010, with Brecheen raising $217,548 and Gumm $289,786. During his first term, Brecheen filed a bill to repeal Oklahoma's Pet Breeders Act, which required breeders provide their animals with minimum veterinary care, food and water. The bill established fees that pet breeders would pay the state to cover the costs of inspections. Brecheen argued the bill punished law-abiding citizens. He also filed a Senate resolution to have the

Oklahoma Legislature The Legislature of the State of Oklahoma is the state legislative branch of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The Oklahoma House of Representatives and Oklahoma Senate are the two houses that make up the bicameral state legislature. There are 101 ...

meet every other year instead of annually and cut legislators pay, and introduced legislation to cut the Art in Public Places program, which provided funding to public art projects in the state. Brecheen also filed SB 554 to allow teachers to teach "the debate of

creation Creation may refer to: Religion *''Creatio ex nihilo'', the concept that matter was created by God out of nothing * Creation myth, a religious story of the origin of the world and how people first came to inhabit it * Creationism, the belief tha ...

vs.

evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

" in Oklahoma public schools. Brecheen served in the Oklahoma Senate until 2018. He retired after two terms, citing a commitment to term limits. Brecheen was criticized by the National Center for Science Education for introducing several education bills modeled on

anti-evolution Objections to evolution have been raised since evolutionary ideas came to prominence in the 19th century. When Charles Darwin published his 1859 book ''On the Origin of Species'', his theory of evolution (the idea that species arose through desc ...

bills from

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, and

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

during his senate tenure.

U.S House of Representatives

Elections

2022

In 2022, Brecheen ran for

in a 14-candidate Republican primary to succeed retiring congressman

Markwayne Mullin Mark Wayne "Markwayne" Mullin (born July 26, 1977) is an American businessman, former professional mixed martial arts fighter, and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Oklahoma since 2023. A member of the Republican Party ...

. Mullin retired to run in a

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

for

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

. He styled himself during the campaign as "

's protégé" and vowed to vote "no" on any tax increases. Brecheen advanced to a runoff election with Avery Frix after placing second in the primary. He defeated Frix in the runoff, winning the nomination. During the primary Brecheen's campaign was supported by $3.2 million in political action committee spending in support of his campaign or in opposition to Frix, including $1.8 million in support from a

Club for Growth The Club for Growth is a 501(c)(4) conservative organization active in the United States, with an agenda focused on cutting taxes and other economic policy issues. Club for Growth's largest funders are the billionaires Jeff Yass and Richard U ...

affiliated political action committee. He defeated Democratic nominee Naomi Andrews and independent "Bulldog" Ben Robinson in the general election.

Tenure

During the first round of voting in the 2023 House Speaker election, Brecheen cast the sole vote for Representative Jim Banks. He switched his support to Representative

Jim Jordan James Daniel Jordan (born February 17, 1964) is an American politician currently serving in his ninth term in the U.S. House of Representatives as the representative for since 2007. A member of the Republican Party, he is a two-ti ...

on the second and third ballots, then to Representative

Byron Donalds Byron Lowell Donalds (born October 28, 1978) is an American politician and businessman serving as the U.S. representative for Florida's 19th congressional district since 2021. His district serves most of the heart of Southwest Florida, including ...

for the next three ballots. On the third day of the speakership election, Brecheen voted for Donalds again on the seventh ballot. On the eighth ballot, he voted for Kevin Hern after Hern was nominated by Representative

Lauren Boebert Lauren Opal Boebert ( ; ; born December 19, 1986) is an American politician, businesswoman, and gun rights activist. A member of the Republican Party, she serves as the U.S. representative for . From 2013 to 2022, she owned Shooters Grill, a ...

. He voted for Hern again on the ninth, tenth, and 11th ballots. He switched his support to

Kevin McCarthy Kevin Owen McCarthy (born January 26, 1965) is an American politician, serving as House Minority Leader in the United States House of Representatives since 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he served as House Majority Leader under spea ...

on the 12th ballot after McCarthy agreed to additional reforms to the House rules.

Syria

In 2023, Brecheen was among 47 Republicans to vote in favor of H.Con.Res. 21 which directed President Joe Biden to remove U.S. troops from Syria within 180 days.

Caucus memberships

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 ...

Personal life

Brecheen is a citizen of the

Election results

2022

References

External links

Congressman Josh Brecheen
official U.S. House website
Josh Brecheen for Congress
* * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Brecheen, Josh 1979 births 20th-century Native Americans 21st-century Native Americans 21st-century American politicians American nationalists American Protestants Christians from Oklahoma Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma state legislators in Oklahoma Living people Motivational speakers from Oklahoma Native American Christians Native American members of the United States Congress People from Coalgate, Oklahoma Protestants from Oklahoma Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Oklahoma Republican Party Oklahoma state senators Right-wing populism in the United States Southeastern Oklahoma State University alumni