Troy Edwin Nehls (born April 7, 1968) is an American politician and former law enforcement officer who is 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

Texas's 22nd congressional district Texas's 22nd congressional district of the United States House of Representatives covers a largely suburban south-central portion of the metropolitan area. The district includes the majority of Fort Bend County, including most of the cities of ...

. From 2013 to 2021, he served as the

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

for Fort Bend County, Texas. Nehls is 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 Part ...

Early life and education

Nehls was born in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. His father, Edwin Nehls, served in the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

and as

Dodge County, Wisconsin Dodge County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 89,396. Its county seat is Juneau. The county was created from the Wisconsin Territory in 1836 and organized in 1844. Dodge County com ...

. Nehls enlisted in the

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed F ...

in 1988. He served

tours of duty For military personnel, a tour of duty is usually a period of time spent in combat or in a hostile environment. In an army, for instance, soldiers on active duty serve 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the length of their service commitment. ...

in Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and earned two

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

s. He earned his

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 ...

from

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 ...

and a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in criminal justice from University of Houston–Downtown.

Career

Nehls moved to Fort Bend County, Texas, in 1994, and joined the police department of Richmond, Texas. In 1998, he was fired for reasons including destruction of evidence. In 2004, Nehls was elected

constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

for Fort Bend County, while he was serving in Iraq. He retired from the Army Reserve with the rank of

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

in 2009. In 2012, Nehls was elected sheriff of Fort Bend County, taking office in January 2013. He was reelected in 2016. Nehls formed an exploratory committee for in the 2018 elections against incumbent Republican Pete Olson, but decided in December 2017 not to run for that office. In July 2019, he announced that he would not seek reelection as sheriff in 2020. As a US Army reservist, Nehls was awarded the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) for combat actions.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2020

In mid-July 2019, Nehls created a website where he asked Fort Bend County residents whether he should run for Congress in the 22nd congressional district, which covers Katy, Sugar Land, and Pearland. On July 25, 2019, Olson announced he would not seek reelection in 2020. In December 2019, Nehls announced that he would run for the seat. Nehls finished first in the March Republican primary with 40.5% of the vote. In the July runoff, he defeated second-place finisher

Kathaleen Wall The 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the 36 U.S. representatives from the state of Texas, one from each of the state's 36 congressional districts. The elections coincided wit ...

with 70% of the vote. He faced Democratic nominee Sri Preston Kulkarni in the general election in November. According to his campaign website, Nehls ran in order to improve mental and physical health care for veterans and to protect oil and gas jobs in Texas. Two days after he became the nominee, the "Standing with President Trump" page on that website was removed. In the general election, Nehls defeated Kulkarni, 52% to 45%. He assumed office on January 3, 2021.

117th Congress

In his first week in the U.S. House, Nehls and other members of Congress were seen assisting U.S. Capitol Police in barricading the door to the House floor from protesters during the

2021 United States Capitol attack On January 6, 2021, following the defeat of then-U.S. President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, a mob of his supporters attacked the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. The mob was seeking to keep Trump in pow ...

. On January 7, 2021, Nehls joined 121 other Republican members of Congress in objecting to counting certain electoral votes in 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 ...

. On January 13, 2021, he voted against the second impeachment of 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 ...

. After President Joe Biden delivered a speech to a joint session of Congress in April 2021, Nehls approached Biden and said he wanted to work together on criminal justice reform. Biden administration staff subsequently reached out to Nehls's office. On May 25, 2021, Nehls partnered with Representative Val Demings to introduce H.R. 3529, The Second Chance Opportunity for Re-Entry Education (SCORE) Act, to direct grant funds to county jails for career training programs for non-violent, incarcerated individuals to reduce jail recidivism. On January 3, 2022, Nehls entered a full transcript of an interview on '' The Joe Rogan Experience'' with Robert W. Malone into the

Congressional Record The ''Congressional Record'' is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress, published by the United States Government Publishing Office and issued when Congress is in session. The Congressional Record Inde ...

in order to circumvent what he said was censorship by

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

. In the wake of the FBI search of presidential records at Mar-a-Lago in 2022, Nehls announced his support for Donald Trump for president in 2024 and denounced the FBI and Department of Justice as "corrupt". in 2022, Nehls published his book ''The Big Fraud'', in which he comments on the 2020 presidential election. Nehls's bill, H.R. 6064, passed the House by a vote of 414-2 and was signed into law by President Joe Biden on December 27, 2022. H.R. 6064 directs the VA and National Academies of Science and Medicine to review VA examinations that are provided for mental and physical conditions linked to military sexual trauma and assess the impairments of individuals arising from such trauma.

Committee assignments

* U.S. House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure ** Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials (Chairman) ** Subcommittee on Highways and Transit ** Subcommittee on Aviation *

United States House Committee on the Judiciary The U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, also called the House Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is charged with overseeing the administration of justice within the federal courts, a ...

* Committee on the January 6 Attack (retracted by Kevin McCarthy)

Caucus memberships

* Republican Study Committee *

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 ...

*Western Caucus *Border Security Caucus *Bipartisan Taskforce for Combating Antisemitism *General Aviation Caucus

Political Positions

Syria

In 2023, Nehls 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 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 ...

within 180 days.

Electoral history

Personal life

Nehls has a twin brother, Trever. Trever Nehls served in the Army Reserve for 24 years, including tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Another brother, Todd, served in the

Wisconsin Army National Guard The Wisconsin Army National Guard ("Guard") has dual state and federal roles, and is jointly funded and maintained by both governments. Its federal mission is to provide trained units to the United States Army in time of war or national emergenc ...

and is a former sheriff of Dodge County. Trever succeeded Troy as a constable for Fort Bend County in 2013, and won the Republican nomination to succeed him as the sheriff of Fort Bend County in March 2020. Nehls and his wife, Jill, an educator, have three daughters.

References

External links

Representative Troy Nehls
official U.S. House website
Campaign website
* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Nehls, Troy 1968 births Living people American law enforcement officials Liberty University alumni Military personnel from Wisconsin People from Fort Bend County, Texas Politicians from Beaver Dam, Wisconsin Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas Texas sheriffs University of Houston–Downtown alumni United States Army officers United States Army reservists