Michael Kent Braun (; born March 24, 1954) is an American businessman and politician serving as the
junior
Junior or Juniors may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959
* ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009
* ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010
* ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019
Films
* ''Junior'' (1994 ...
United States senator
The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...
from
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
since 2019. A member of the
Republican Party, he previously represented the 63rd district in the
Indiana House of Representatives
The Indiana House of Representatives is the lower house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The House is composed of 100 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. House memb ...
from 2014 to 2017. Braun was elected to the
United States 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 ...
in
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
, defeating
Democratic incumbent
Joe Donnelly
Joseph Simon Donnelly Sr. (born September 29, 1955) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as a United States senator from Indiana from 2013 to 2019. Since 2022, he has served as the United States Ambassador to the Holy Se ...
.
Braun opposes 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 ...
,
same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...
,
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 ...
, and a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. He has called on the Republican Party to take
climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
more seriously. He supported President
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of Pe ...
's
trade and tariff policies, although he was an advocate for free trade previously. Braun voted to acquit Trump in the impeachment trial related to the
Trump-Ukraine scandal. After
Joe Biden won 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:
**C ...
and Trump refused to concede, making false claims of fraud, Braun defended Trump's
efforts to overturn the election results.
Braun is running for
governor of Indiana
The governor of Indiana is the head of government of the State of Indiana. The governor is elected to a four-year term and is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day management of the functions of many agencies of the Indiana state governmen ...
in
2024, having filed election papers on November 30, 2022, and declared his candidacy on December 12.
Early life, education and business career
Braun was born in
Jasper, Indiana
Jasper is a city in, and the county seat of, Dubois County, Indiana, United States, located along the Patoka River. The population was 16,703 at the 2020 census making it the 48th largest city in Indiana. On November 4, 2007, Dubois County retur ...
, on March 24, 1954. He graduated from
Jasper High School. Braun was a three-sport star athlete; he married his high school sweetheart, Maureen,
who was a cheerleader.
He attended the all-male
Wabash College
Wabash College is a private liberal arts men's college in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Founded in 1832 by several Dartmouth College graduates and Midwestern leaders, it enrolls nearly 900 students. The college offers an undergraduate liberal arts cu ...
, where he was a member of
Phi Delta Theta
Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social fraternity founded at Miami University in 1848 and headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, along with Beta Theta Pi and Sigma Chi form the Miami Triad ...
fraternity and graduated ''
summa cum laude
Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sou ...
'' with a
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
in economics, and
Harvard Business School
Harvard Business School (HBS) is the graduate business school of Harvard University, a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. It is consistently ranked among the top business schools in the world and offers a large full-time MBA p ...
, where he earned an
MBA
A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...
.
After graduating from Harvard, Braun moved back to Indiana and joined his father's business manufacturing truck bodies for farmers. When the economy of the mid-1980s hit farmers hard and his father's business nearly went under, Braun steered the business in the more lucrative direction of selling truck accessories. The business subsequently grew from 15 employees to more than 300.
In 1986 Braun and Daryl Rauscher acquired Meyer Body Inc., a manufacturer of truck bodies and distributor of truck parts and equipment. In 1995 Braun fully acquired the company. Meyer Body was renamed Meyer Distributing in 1999. Braun is its president and CEO. In 2018 Braun's personal finance disclosure listed assets worth between $35 million and $96 million.
Early political career
Braun was a member of the Jasper School Board from 2004 to 2014.
He served in the Indiana House of Representatives for Indiana District 63 from 2014 to 2017.
Braun resigned from the state House on November 1, 2017, to focus on his U.S. Senate campaign. In 2017, the
American Conservative Union
The American Conservative Union (ACU) is an American political organization that advocates for conservative policies, ranks politicians based on their level of conservatism, and organizes the Conservative Political Action Conference. Founded on ...
gave him a lifetime score of 82%.
In July 2018, Braun called for the
Indiana attorney general, Republican
Curtis Hill
Curtis Theophilus Hill Jr. is an American prosecutor from the Republican Party who served as the 43rd Attorney General of Indiana from 2017 to 2021.
A graduate of Indiana University and Indiana University School of Law, Hill was a lawyer in pri ...
, to resign amid allegations that Hill had drunkenly groped a lawmaker and three legislative staffers.
U.S. Senate
Elections
2018
Braun won the Republican primary for the
United States 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 ...
in the 2018 election, defeating U.S. Representatives
Todd Rokita
Theodore Edward Rokita (born February 9, 1970) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 44th and current Attorney General of Indiana. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from from 2011 to 2019. A membe ...
and
Luke Messer
Allen Lucas Messer (born February 27, 1969) is an American politician and lobbyist who represented Indiana's 6th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2013 to 2019. He is a member of the Republican Party.
Born ...
by over 56,000 votes. He received 208,520 votes, or roughly 41% of the total.
Braun ran as an outsider, emphasizing his career in business. He defeated Democratic incumbent
Joe Donnelly
Joseph Simon Donnelly Sr. (born September 29, 1955) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served as a United States senator from Indiana from 2013 to 2019. Since 2022, he has served as the United States Ambassador to the Holy Se ...
in the November general election
with 51% of the vote to Donnelly's 45%; the Libertarian candidate, Lucy Brenton, tallied less than 4%. In late 2019, the ''Indianapolis Star'' reported that Braun's 2018 campaign was the beneficiary of $2.8 million in spending by a political action committee with strong connections to indicted money launderer
Lev Parnas
Lev Parnas (born February 6, 1972) is a Ukrainian-born American businessman and associate of Rudy Giuliani. Parnas, Giuliani, Igor Fruman, John Solomon, Yuriy Lutsenko, Dmytro Firtash and his allies, Victoria Toensing and Joe diGenova wer ...
and one of his shell companies.
Parnas supplied photographs of him and Braun embracing at a 2018 campaign event to the House of Representatives as part of his cooperation with the impeachment of President Trump. They were made public in January 2020.
[
]
Tenure
;2010s
On January 3, 2019, Braun was sworn in as the junior
Junior or Juniors may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959
* ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009
* ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010
* ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019
Films
* ''Junior'' (1994 ...
United States senator
The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...
from Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
by Vice President
A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...
Mike Pence
Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 50th ...
.
In May 2019, Braun was one of eight senators who voted against a $19.1 billion emergency aid package for states and territories that endured hurricanes, floods and fires. Braun said the disaster assistance process was "just another path for runaway spending on unrelated projects." Despite his opposition, the package was enacted with bipartisan support and President Trump's approval.
Braun supported Trump's decision to withdraw American troops from northern 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 ...
in October 2019. As a result, in that month, Turkey launched a military offensive against the American-allied Kurds in that area. After that, Braun called Trump "smart"; questioned why the U.S. should "be in the crossfire" between Turkey and the Kurds; and called the idea that ISIS would recover strength as a result of the conflict "an assumption".
In December 2019, Braun said that the impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump
The inquiry process which preceded the first impeachment of Donald Trump, 45th president of the United States, was initiated by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on September 24, 2019, after a whistleblower alleged that Donald Trump may have a ...
had been a "disaster for Democrats."
;2020s
In May 2020, Senator Chuck Schumer
Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as Senate Majority Leader since January 20, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Schumer is in his fourth Senate term, having held his seat since 1999, and ...
put forth a resolution to officially release the guidance by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on how to safely lift restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States
The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States is a part of the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the Uni ...
. A leaked version of the guidance showed that it was more detailed and restrictive than the White House recommendations released in April 2020. Braun blocked Schumer's resolution, saying that the CDC's recommendations would hinder the economy.
On October 26, 2020, Braun voted to confirm Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, and praised Barrett.
After Joe Biden defeated Trump in the November 2020 election, Braun refused to acknowledge Trump's defeat[Meg Cunningham]
Despite mounting legal losses, Braun refuses to acknowledge Biden's election win
ABC News (December 6, 2020). and promoted Trump's false claims of election fraud.[Lawrence Andrea & Kaitlin Lange]
Braun joins other senate Republicans in vow to oppose election results when Congress convenes
''Indianapolis Star'' (January 2, 2021).[Lisa Mascaro & Mary Clare Jalonick]
More GOP lawmakers enlist in Trump effort to undo Biden win
Associated Press (January 2, 2021). Along with 10 other sitting and incoming Republican senators, Braun announced on January 2, 2021, that he would vote against counting the electoral votes from a number of states won by Biden four days later, seeking to subvert the election outcome.[ He was participating in the joint session of Congress counting the electoral votes when a mob of Trump supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol. In the wake of the attack, he tweeted, "Though I will continue to push for a thorough investigation into the election irregularities many Hoosiers are concerned with as my objection was intended, I have withdrawn that objection and will vote to get this ugly day behind us." He voted to count the electoral votes after Congress returned to session. The '']South Bend Tribune
The ''South Bend Tribune'' is a daily newspaper and news website which is based in South Bend, Indiana. It is distributed in South Bend, Mishawaka, north central Indiana, and southwestern Michigan. It has been named as a "Blue Ribbon Newspaper" ...
'' called Braun's flip-flop "a case of too little, too late." The Democratic Party of Indiana called for Braun's resignation, saying he "incited violence to overturn the presidential election and end American democracy."
In 2022, it was reported that rather than seeking reelection to the Senate, Braun will likely run for governor of Indiana
The governor of Indiana is the head of government of the State of Indiana. The governor is elected to a four-year term and is responsible for overseeing the day-to-day management of the functions of many agencies of the Indiana state governmen ...
in 2024, with incumbent Republican governor Eric Holcomb
Eric Joseph Holcomb (born May 2, 1968) is an American politician who is the 51st and current governor of Indiana, serving since 2017. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 51st lieutenant governor of Indiana from 2016 to 2017 unde ...
term-limited.
Committee assignments
For the 117th United States Congress
The 117th United States Congress is the current meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It convened in Washington, D.C., on ...
, Braun was named to five Senate committees:
* Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry
*
* Committee on Appropriations
The United States House Committee on Appropriations is a committee of the United States House of Representatives that is responsible for passing appropriation bills along with its Senate counterpart. The bills passed by the Appropriations Commi ...
** Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
** Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies
** Subcommittee on Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies
** Subcommittee on Legislative Branch (Ranking)
** Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
* Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
** Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety (Ranking)
** Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security
* Committee on the Budget
*
* Special Committee on Aging
Caucus membership
*Senate Republican Conference
The Senate Republican Conference is the formal organization of the Republican Senators in the United States Senate, who currently number 50. Over the last century, the mission of the conference has expanded and been shaped as a means of informi ...
2024 Indiana gubernatorial campaign
On November 30, 2022, Braun filed papers with the Secretary of State of Indiana
The Secretary of State of Indiana is one of five constitutional officers originally designated in Indiana's State Constitution of 1816. Since 1851, it has been an elected position. The Secretary of State oversees four divisions, and is the third ...
to run for the state's governor in the 2024 Indiana gubernatorial election, following speculation since September that he would run for the office. His Senate seat will be an open contest in 2024.
According to the paperwork Braun's campaign filed, Braun appointed Kevin Broghamer as campaign treasurer, and his campaign will be headquartered in Carmel
Carmel may refer to:
* Carmel (biblical settlement), an ancient Israelite town in Judea
* Mount Carmel, a coastal mountain range in Israel overlooking the Mediterranean Sea
* Carmelites, a Roman Catholic mendicant religious order
Carmel may also ...
.
Political positions
The American Conservative Union
The American Conservative Union (ACU) is an American political organization that advocates for conservative policies, ranks politicians based on their level of conservatism, and organizes the Conservative Political Action Conference. Founded on ...
gave Braun a 93% lifetime conservative rating in 2020.
Abortion
Braun opposes abortion. He supported the 2022 overturning of ''Roe v. Wade'', saying he was "excited" that states could write their own abortion laws.
Interracial marriage
Braun has said that the Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
was wrong in its ruling that state interracial marriage
Interracial marriage is a marriage involving spouses who belong to different races or racialized ethnicities.
In the past, such marriages were outlawed in the United States, Nazi Germany and apartheid-era South Africa as miscegenation. In 19 ...
bans were unconstitutional.[U.S. Sen. Mike Braun: SCOTUS should leave abortion, interracial marriage to states]
by Brandon Smith, at WVPE
WVPE (88.1 FM) is the National Public Radio member station for the Michiana region of northern Indiana and southwest Michigan. Licensed to Elkhart, Indiana and owned by Elkhart Community Schools, it features programming from NPR, American Public ...
; published March 22, 2022; retrieved March 22, 2022 Braun later stated that he was not paying attention to the question and that the Constitution prohibits discrimination of any kind based on race.
Donald Trump
According to FiveThirtyEight
''FiveThirtyEight'', sometimes rendered as ''538'', is an American website that focuses on opinion poll analysis, politics, economics, and sports blogging in the United States. The website, which takes its name from the number of electors in th ...
, Braun voted with Donald Trump's position 90.9% of the time between Braun's inauguration and Trump's departure from office two years later.
During Trump's first impeachment and impeachment trial
An impeachment trial is a trial that functions as a component of an impeachment. Several governments utilize impeachment trials as a part of their processes for impeachment, but differ as to when in the impeachment process trials take place and how ...
, regarding the Trump–Ukraine scandal
The "Trump–Ukraine scandal" refers to efforts by U.S. President Donald Trump to coerce Ukraine and other countries into providing damaging narratives about 2020 Democratic Party presidential candidate Joe Biden, and giving misinformatio ...
, Braun became one of Trump's most prominent defenders, defending him in many media appearances. He voted to acquit Trump, and when asked whether it is acceptable for Trump to withhold U.S. foreign aid to coerce a foreign leader to investigate Joe Biden, he said that he did not believe that such behavior was proper but that "it didn't happen." Braun also said that Trump did what he did out of a desire to reduce corruption in Ukraine. After Trump was acquitted, Braun said that Trump "hopefully" learned something from the trial.
Effort to overturn 2020 presidential election result
After Biden won 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:
**C ...
, Trump refused to concede and made baseless claims of election fraud. Braun defended, and joined in, Trump's attempt to overturn the election results and subvert the democratic process. He wrote a ''Washington Examiner'' editorial criticizing the media for not taking accusations of voter fraud seriously. There is no evidence of widespread voter fraud or irregularities in the 2020 election. Along with 10 other Republican senators, Braun initially pledged to object to the counting of the electoral votes in several key states.[ After the storming of the Capitol by a violent pro-Trump mob, Braun reversed himself and voted against objections to the election results, saying that he "didn't feel comfortable with today's events."]
In Trump's second impeachment trial, on charges of incitement of insurrection
Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, establis ...
, Braun voted to acquit Trump.
On May 28, 2021, Braun abstained from voting on the creation of an independent commission to investigate the January 6 storming of the Capitol.
Economy
Braun supported the Republican Party's tax legislation in 2017. He said the tax reform bill was "revenue-neutral"; the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that the bill would increase U.S. debt. Braun has called for cuts to the U.S. budget, saying that the U.S. "has a spending problem."
Environmentalism
Braun is a self-described conservationist. He has called Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg
Greta Tintin Eleonora Ernman Thunberg (; born 3 January 2003) is a Swedish environmental activist who is known for challenging world leaders to take immediate action for climate change mitigation.
Thunberg's activism began when she persuaded ...
an "inspiration" and advocated that the Republican Party be more aggressive in combating climate change. He opposed the 2015 Paris climate change agreement, but supports using reforestation
Reforestation (occasionally, reafforestation) is the natural or intentional restocking of existing forests and woodlands (forestation) that have been depleted, usually through deforestation, but also after clearcutting.
Management
A debate ...
, carbon pricing
Carbon pricing (or pricing), also known as cap and trade (CAT) or emissions trading scheme (ETS), is a method for nations to reduce global warming. The cost is applied to greenhouse gas emissions in order to encourage polluters to reduce the co ...
, and carbon capture Carbon capture may refer to:
* Carbon capture and utilization, where the captured carbon dioxide is used
* Carbon sequestration, where the captured carbon dioxide is stored
** Carbon capture and storage, referring to carbon sequestration from point ...
to reduce or mitigate carbon dioxide emissions. He also serves as the chair of the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus
The Climate Solutions Caucus is a bipartisan caucus of U.S. legislators supported by the Citizens' Climate Lobby whose members work to achieve action addressing the risks from climate change. The House of Representatives and Senate each have a ...
, which was founded in October 2019. Braun sponsored the Growing Climate Solutions Act, a bill that would make it simpler for farmers to sell carbon credits on existing carbon trading markets in California and in the Northeast.
Braun has a 4% lifetime score from the environmental advocacy group League of Conservation Voters
The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) is an American environmental advocacy group. LCV says that it "advocates for sound environmental laws and policies, holds elected officials accountable for their votes and actions, and elects pro-environmen ...
.
Trade
In 2018, Braun supported Trump's trade and tariff policies, saying that they have "yielded phenomenal results." Previously, he supported free trade policies.
Braun voted in support of the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement
The Agreement between the United States of America, the United Mexican States, and Canada (USMCA) Commonly known as the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) in the United States and the Canada–United States–Mexico Agreement (CU ...
.
Health care
Braun opposes 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 ...
, supports efforts to repeal it, and supports a lawsuit to strike down the entirety of the ACA. Braun has called for "free-market competition" and "market-driven" solutions on health care. During his 2018 Senate campaign, he criticized incumbent Democratic Senator Joe Donnelly as a "defender of Obamacare." Braun expressed support for keeping in place protections for individuals with preexisting conditions (a popular provision of the ACA), although both House repeal efforts supported by Braun and the lawsuit supported by Braun would effectively end protections for individuals with preexisting conditions.
Immigration
Braun has said, "building the wall must be the first step to any solution" on illegal immigration. He opposes a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants who came to the United States as minors, known as DREAMers.
LGBT rights
Asked for his view on the legalization of same-sex marriage, Braun said, "I believe in traditional marriage." He fought to keep marriage defined as "between a man and a woman" in the Indiana Republican Party platform. In the Indiana state legislature, he supported the Indiana Religious Freedom Restoration Act and opposed amendments to the bill that would have banned discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Police reform
In June 2020, after the murder of George Floyd, Braun introduced legislation to reform qualified immunity
In the United States, qualified immunity is a legal principle that grants government officials performing discretionary (optional) functions immunity from civil suits unless the plaintiff shows that the official violated "clearly established statu ...
, a legal doctrine that shields police officers from lawsuits over constitutional violations if the violated constitutional right has not been clearly established in a previous court decision. His legislation would have made it easier to sue police officers for rights violations. But after an interview with Tucker Carlson
Tucker Swanson McNear Carlson (born May 16, 1969) is an American television host, conservative political commentator and writer who has hosted the nightly political talk show '' Tucker Carlson Tonight'' on Fox News since 2016.
Carlson began ...
and backlash from police union
A police union is a trade union for police officers. Police unions formed later than most other occupations, reflecting both a conservative tendency and relatively superior working conditions. The first police unions formed in the United States. Sh ...
s the next month, Braun dropped his bill. In May 2021, he wrote, "I oppose any reform to the current doctrine of qualified immunity" and opposed federal efforts to reform local police departments.
COVID-19 pandemic
In September 2021, Braun opposed the planned COVID-19 vaccine mandate for companies with more than 100 employees, calling it as the "biggest overreach by federal government I’ve seen." In October 2021, he invited Chicago police officers who were suspended for refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19 to work in Indiana, saying, "plenty of departments are hiring now."
Electoral history
Personal life
Braun and his wife, Maureen, have four children. He is 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 ...
. Braun's brother, Steve Braun, was also a politician in Indiana.
References
External links
Official U.S. Senate website
* campaign site
*
*
*
, -
, -
, -
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Braun, Mike
1954 births
Businesspeople from Indiana
Harvard Business School alumni
Indiana Republicans
Living people
Braun family of Indiana
Members of the Indiana House of Representatives
People from Jasper, Indiana
School board members in Indiana
Wabash College alumni
Republican Party United States senators from Indiana
Indiana Democrats
American chief executives of manufacturing companies
Catholics from Indiana