Frederick B. Keller (born October 23, 1965) is an American politician from the Commonwealth of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, who 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

Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district is located in southwestern Pennsylvania, which includes Pittsburgh and much of Allegheny County. It has been represented since January 3, 2023 by Summer Lee. Prior to 2018, the 12th district was located ...

from 2019 to 2023. He was a

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 ...

member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 85th district from 2011 until his resignation in May 2019 following election to the U.S. House. On February 28, 2022, Keller announced that he would not seek reelection in

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretariat; The global monkeypo ...

after being drawn out of his Congressional district.

Early life and career

Keller was born in Page, Arizona, to parents who were native Pennsylvanians that had moved west for work. After graduating from

Shikellamy High School Shikellamy High School is a public high school located in Sunbury, Pennsylvania, United States. The building was built in 1929. It is part of the Shikellamy School District. It is the sole public high school for the communities of Northumberland, ...

in 1984, Keller got a job at Conestoga Wood Specialties, a factory that makes cabinets and other wooden kitchen products, in Beavertown, Pennsylvania. He was ultimately promoted to become the plant operations manager. In 1990, Keller began a real estate property business, and attended Don Paul Shearer Real Estate school in 1995.

Pennsylvania House of Representatives

In 2010, Keller ran as a

for the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in the 85th district, seeking to succeed Republican Russ Fairchild, who was retiring. He was elected to the Pennsylvania House, and was reelected every two years through 2018. He was appointed to the board of trustees of the Pennsylvania Public School Employees' Retirement System in 2019.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2019 special election

Following

Tom Marino Thomas Anthony Marino (born August 13, 1952) is an American politician and attorney, who served as a United States Representative from Pennsylvania from 2011 to 2019. He represented the from January 3, 2011 to January 3, 2019, and the from Janu ...

's resignation from the

United States House of Representatives 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 ...

in January 2019, Keller declared his candidacy in the

2019 Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district special election A special election was held on May 21, 2019, to fill the remainder of the term for in the United States House of Representatives for the 116th United States Congress. Tom Marino, a Republican, resigned from office effective January 23. Backg ...

. He won the Republican nomination at a conference meeting on March 2. Keller won the general election on May 21, defeating previous 2018 Democratic nominee Marc Friedenberg, and resigned from his state House seat on May 22. He was sworn in on June 3.

2020

Keller ran for and won reelection on November 3, 2020, against Lee Griffin, gaining 70.8% of the vote.

Tenure

In December 2020, Keller was one of 126 Republican members of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

who 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 ...

in support of '' Texas v. Pennsylvania'', a lawsuit filed at the

United States Supreme Court 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 ...

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: **C ...

, in which Joe Biden prevailed over incumbent

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 P ...

. 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 the election held by another state. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement that called signing the amicus brief an act of "election subversion." Additionally, Pelosi reprimanded Keller and the other House members who supported the lawsuit: "The 126 Republican Members that signed onto this lawsuit brought dishonor to the House. Instead of upholding their oath to support and defend the Constitution, they chose to subvert the Constitution and undermine public trust in our sacred democratic institutions."

Immigration

Keller voted against the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020, which authorizes DHS to nearly double the available H-2B visas for the remainder of FY 2020. Keller voted against the Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 1158), which effectively prohibits ICE from cooperating with Health and Human Services to detain or remove illegal alien sponsors of unaccompanied alien children (UACs).

Committee assignments

Committee on Education and Labor 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 *

Committee on Oversight and Reform The Committee on Oversight and Reform is the main investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee's broad jurisdiction and legislative authority make it one of the most influential and powerful panels in the ...

Caucus memberships

* Chairman, Bureau of Prisons Reform Caucus * Conservative Climate Caucus *

Republican Study Committee The Republican Study Committee (RSC) is a study group of conservative members of the Republican Party in the United States House of Representatives. As of 2021, the Chairman of the RSC is Representative Jim Banks of Indiana. Although the prima ...

Electoral history

Personal life

Keller has three siblings. Soon after he began working, Keller married his wife Kay. Together, they have two grown children, one of whom survived after being hospitalized on life support and being told there was no chance for recovery. As of April 2019, the Kellers also had two grandchildren.

References

External links

*
State Representative Fred Keller
official caucus site
Fred Keller (R)
official PA House site (archived May 2019) * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Keller, Fred 1965 births 21st-century American politicians American cabinetmakers Candidates in the 2019 United States elections Living people People from Page, Arizona People from Snyder County, Pennsylvania Republican Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania