John Robert Moolenaar ( ; born May 8, 1961) is an American politician serving 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

Michigan's 4th congressional district Michigan's 4th congressional district is a United States congressional district that from 2003 to 2013 included portions of Northern and Central Michigan, consisting of all of Clare, Clinton, Gladwin, Gratiot, Isabella, Mecosta, Midland, ...

since 2015. A member of the

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa * Republican Party (Liberia) *Republican Party ...

, he served in the Michigan House of Representatives from 2003 to 2008 and the Michigan Senate from 2011 to 2014.

Early life and education

Moolenaar was born in a family of Dutch Americans on May 8, 1961, in

Midland, Michigan Midland is a city in and the county seat of Midland County, Michigan. The city's population was 42,547 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Midland Micropolitan Statistical Area, part of the larger Saginaw-Midland-Bay City Comb ...

. In 1983, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Hope College. He 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. 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. Before his election to the legislature, Moolenaar served on the Midland City Council. In 2014, Moolenaar ran for the United States House of Representatives seat representing . He won the Republican primary election in August, defeating Paul Mitchell, and the general election in November. Moolenaar and fellow Michigan representative

Andy Levin Andrew Saul Levin (born August 10, 1960) is an American attorney and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, Levin was elected to the House in 2018, succeeding his retiring father, Sander L ...

have introduced legislation to delay any deportations of Iraqis to Iraq for two years. In December 2020, Moolenaar signed an

amicus brief An ''amicus curiae'' (; ) is an individual or organization who is not a party to a legal case, but who is permitted to assist a court by offering information, expertise, or insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case. The decision on ...

before the United States Supreme Court in

Texas v. Pennsylvania ''Texas v. Pennsylvania'', 592 U.S. ___ (2020), was a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the administration of the 2020 presidential election in certain states, in which Joe Biden defeated incumbent Donald Trump. Fil ...

, et al., which sought to overturn the

2020 United States presidential election The 2020 United States presidential election was the 59th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. The Democratic ticket of former vice president Joe Biden and the junior U.S. senator from California Kamala H ...

results.

Elections

Moolenaar was elected to represent the 36th district in the Michigan State Senate in 2010. He defeated Democrat Andy Neumann in the November 2 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. He won the Republican nomination in the August 5 primary against Paul Mitchell and Peter Konetchy. He defeated Jeff Holmes (D), Will Tyler White (Libertarian) and George Zimmer (U.S. Taxpayers) in the November 4 general election.

U.S. House of Representatives

Committee assignments

* Committee on Appropriationsbr>
**United States House Appropriations Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies, Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies ** United States House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies, Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies

Caucus memberships

* Republican Study Committee * Republican Main Street Partnership * U.S.-Japan Caucus

Political positions

Marriage

Moolenaar voted against the " Respect for Marriage Act" codifying

Loving v. Virginia ''Loving v. Virginia'', 388 U.S. 1 (1967), was a landmark civil rights decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that laws banning interracial marriage violate the Equal Protection and Due Process Clauses of the Fourteenth A ...

and

Obergefell v. Hodges ''Obergefell v. Hodges'', ( ), is a landmark LGBT rights case in which the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the fundamental right to marry is guaranteed to same-sex couples by both the Due Process Clause and the Equal Protection ...

, recognizing marriages across state lines regardless of "sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin of those individuals."

2020 presidential election

In December 2020, Moolenaar was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives to sign an

in support of ''

'', a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the

2020 presidential election This national electoral calendar for 2020 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2020 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included. January *5 January: ** ...

, in which Joe Biden defeated incumbent Donald Trump. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked

standing Standing, also referred to as orthostasis, is a position in which the body is held in an ''erect'' ("orthostatic") position and supported only by the feet. Although seemingly static, the body rocks slightly back and forth from the ankle in the s ...

under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of an election held by another state.

References

External links

Congressman John Moolenaar
official U.S. House website
Campaign website
* * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Moolenaar, John 1961 births 21st-century American chemists 21st-century American politicians American people of Dutch descent Dow Chemical Company employees Harvard Kennedy School alumni Hope College alumni Living people Republican Party members of the Michigan House of Representatives Michigan city council members Republican Party Michigan state senators People from Midland, Michigan Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan