American politician (born 1967)
Bruce Westerman
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![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d7/Bruce_Westerman_118th_Congress.jpeg/220px-Bruce_Westerman_118th_Congress.jpeg) |
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Assumed office
January 3, 2023
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Preceded by
| Raul Grijalva
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In office
January 3, 2021 ? January 3, 2023
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Preceded by
| Rob Bishop
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Succeeded by
| Raul Grijalva
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Assumed office
January 3, 2015
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Preceded by
| Tom Cotton
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In office
January 14, 2013 ? January 3, 2015
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Preceded by
| Johnnie Roebuck
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Succeeded by
| Ken Bragg
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In office
January 14, 2013 ? January 3, 2015
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Preceded by
| Nate Bell
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Succeeded by
| Mickey Gates
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In office
January 11, 2011 ? January 14, 2013
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Preceded by
| Bill Sample
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Succeeded by
| Charles Armstrong
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Born
| Bruce Eugene Westerman
(
1967-11-18
)
November 18, 1967
(age 56)
Hot Springs, Arkansas
, U.S.
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Political party
| Republican
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Spouse
| Sharon French
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Children
| 4
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Education
| University of Arkansas
(
BS
)
Yale University
(
MS
)
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Website
| House website
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Bruce Westerman speaks in support of H.R.548, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Historic Lands Reacquisition Act
Recorded February 6, 2023
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Bruce Eugene Westerman
(born November 18, 1967) is an American politician serving as the
U.S. representative
for
Arkansas's 4th congressional district
. Previously, he served as member and the
majority leader
of the
Arkansas House of Representatives
.
In 2014, Westerman was elected to the House to succeed
Tom Cotton
, who defeated
U.S. Senator
Mark Pryor
in the
2014 Senate election
.
Background
[
edit
]
Westerman was raised in and resides in
Hot Springs
,
Arkansas
.
[1]
He graduated as
valedictorian
of
Fountain Lake High School
in Hot Springs. He attended the
University of Arkansas
in
Fayetteville
, where he played
college football
for the
Arkansas Razorbacks football
team. He graduated with a
Bachelor of Science
in
engineering
in 1990 and subsequently received a
master's degree
in
forestry
from
Yale University
.
[2]
Westerman worked as an engineer and forester before being elected to the Arkansas House in 2010. He was formerly employed as an engineer and forester by the Mid-South Engineering Company. He served as president of the Arkansas chapter of the
American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
. He is also a former chair of the Arkansas Academy of Biological and Agricultural Engineers, and served on the
Fountain Lake School District
school board
.
[1]
Arkansas House of Representatives
[
edit
]
Elections
[
edit
]
Westerman ran for the
Arkansas House of Representatives
in 2010.
[3]
[4]
[5]
Tenure
[
edit
]
Westerman served as the House Minority Leader in 2012 and House Majority Leader in 2013.
[6]
He was the first Republican House Majority Leader in Arkansas since
Reconstruction
.
[7]
Committee assignments
[
edit
]
- Revenue And Taxation Committee
- Subcommittee on Sales, Use, Miscellaneous Taxes and Exemptions (chair)
- State Agencies And Governmental Affairs Committee
- Insurance and Commerce Committee
[6]
U.S. House of Representatives
[
edit
]
Westerman speaking at an event in June 2022
2014 election
[
edit
]
Westerman won the Republican primary on May 20, defeating Tommy Moll, 54%?46%.
[8]
In November, he defeated Democratic nominee
James Lee Witt
, a former associate of
U.S. President
Bill Clinton
, 54%-43%.
[9]
Tenure
[
edit
]
In 2015, Westerman cosponsored a resolution to
amend the US constitution to ban same-sex marriage
.
[10]
On June 20, 2017, as the only certified forester in the House, Westerman introduced H.R.2936 - Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2017,
[11]
providing for the culling of overgrown federally managed woods. After passing the House, it was introduced in the Senate on November 2, 2017, where it failed.
Westerman voted for the
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017
.
[12]
In December 2020, Westerman was one of 126 Republican members of the
House of Representatives
to sign an
amicus brief
in support of
Texas v. Pennsylvania
, a lawsuit filed at the
United States Supreme Court
contesting the results of the
2020 presidential election
. The
Supreme Court
declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked
standing
under
Article III of the Constitution
to challenge the results of an election held by another state.
[13]
[14]
[15]
Westerman voted to certify both Arizona's and Pennsylvania's results in the
2021 United States Electoral College vote count
.
During the
2021 Capitol riot
, Westerman, left behind in House minority leader
Kevin McCarthy
's office when he was evacuated by security, took a
Civil War
sword from a shattered display for protection and hid from rioters on a toilet.
[16]
As of October 2021, Westerman had voted in line with
Joe Biden
's stated position 8% of the time.
[17]
In the
October 2023 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election
, Westerman received one vote for speaker from representative
Pete Stauber
of
Minnesota
.
[18]
Committee assignments
[
edit
]
For the
118th Congress
:
[19]
Caucus memberships
[
edit
]
Political positions
[
edit
]
Abortion
[
edit
]
Westerman believes that "Life is a right. Abortion is not." He supported the 2022
overturning of
Roe v. Wade
.
[23]
Environment
[
edit
]
Westerman considers himself a conservationist.
[24]
He introduced the Trillion Trees Act on April 19, 2021, which planned to plant a trillion trees, but the bill was criticized by scientists and environmental groups.
[25]
Westerman has a 4% lifetime score from the League of Conservation Voters.
[26]
Gun law
[
edit
]
Westerman has received consistent "A" ratings from the
NRA Political Victory Fund
for his pro-gun rights legislative voting record.
[27]
[28]
He voted against the
Enhanced Background Checks Act
in 2021.
[29]
Electoral history
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
"About"
.
Congressman Bruce Westerman
. December 3, 2012.
- ^
"Bruce Westerman's Biography"
. votesmart.org
. Retrieved
January 12,
2014
.
- ^
Westerman plans to run for Sample's seat in House.
Hot Springs Village Voice
. September 30, 2009
- ^
Westerman to resign from Fountain Lake school board.
Hot Springs Village Voice
. March 24, 2010
- ^
"State Representative District 030 ? Certified, 2010"
. sos.arkansas.gov
. Retrieved
January 10,
2014
.
- ^
a
b
"Arkansas House Of Representatives"
. Arkanhouse.org. Archived from
the original
on January 2, 2015
. Retrieved
January 11,
2015
.
- ^
"Bruce Westerman Enters the Speaker Chat"
.
WSJ
. Retrieved
October 19,
2023
.
- ^
"Arkansas Primary Election Results, May 20, 2014"
.
KATV
. Retrieved
May 21,
2014
.
- ^
"RealClearPolitics ? Election 2014 ? Arkansas 4th District ? Westerman vs. Witt"
. Realclearpolitics.com
. Retrieved
January 11,
2015
.
- ^
Huelskamp, Tim (February 12, 2015).
"Cosponsors - H.J.Res.32 - 114th Congress (2015-2016): Marriage Protection Amendment"
.
www.congress.gov
. Retrieved
April 11,
2022
.
- ^
Westerman, Bruce (November 2, 2017).
"H.R.2936 - 115th Congress (2017-2018): Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2017"
.
www.congress.gov
. Retrieved
April 2,
2019
.
- ^
Almukhtar, Sarah (December 19, 2017).
"How Each House Member Voted on the Tax Bill"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
December 21,
2017
.
- ^
Liptak, Adam
(December 11, 2020).
"Supreme Court Rejects Texas Suit Seeking to Subvert Election"
.
The New York Times
.
ISSN
0362-4331
.
Archived
from the original on December 11, 2020
. Retrieved
December 12,
2020
.
- ^
"Order in Pending Case"
(PDF)
.
Supreme Court of the United States
. December 11, 2020.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on December 11, 2020
. Retrieved
December 11,
2020
.
- ^
Diaz, Daniella.
"Brief from 126 Republicans supporting Texas lawsuit in Supreme Court"
.
CNN
.
Archived
from the original on December 12, 2020
. Retrieved
December 11,
2020
.
- ^
Leibovich, Mark (April 25, 2021).
"Kevin McCarthy, Four Months After Jan. 6, Still on Defensive Over Trump"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
May 20,
2021
.
- ^
Bycoffe, Anna Wiederkehr and Aaron (April 22, 2021).
"Does Your Member Of Congress Vote With Or Against Biden?"
.
FiveThirtyEight
.
- ^
Perry, Kati; Dormido, Hannah; Zakharenko, Hanna; Blanco, Adrian.
"How each House member voted for speaker"
.
Washington Post
. Retrieved
October 19,
2023
.
- ^
"Bruce Westerman"
. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives
. Retrieved
April 23,
2023
.
- ^
"Membership"
.
Republican Study Committee
. December 6, 2017
. Retrieved
March 28,
2021
.
- ^
"Committees and Caucuses"
.
Congressman Bruce Westerman
. December 13, 2012
. Retrieved
February 24,
2021
.
- ^
"About Us"
.
www.ccainstitute.org
.
- ^
Westerman, Bruce (June 24, 2022).
"Westerman Reacts to the Reversal of Roe v. Wade"
.
Congressman Bruce Westerman
. Retrieved
June 26,
2022
.
- ^
"Conservation is Conservative | Congressman Bruce Westerman"
.
westerman.house.gov
. April 23, 2021
. Retrieved
September 29,
2023
.
- ^
Joselow, Maxine (August 2, 2023).
"Republicans want to plant a trillion trees. Scientists are skeptical"
.
Washington Post
.
ISSN
0190-8286
. Retrieved
September 28,
2023
.
- ^
"Check out Representative Bruce Westerman's Environmental Voting Record"
.
League of Conservation Voters Scorecard
. July 26, 2023
. Retrieved
September 28,
2023
.
- ^
"NRA-PVF | Grades | Arkansas"
.
nrapvf.org
. NRA-PVF. Archived from the original on November 4, 2014.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
link
)
- ^
"NRA-PVF | Grades | Arkansas"
.
nrapvf.org
. NRA-PVF. Archived from the original on November 7, 2022.
{{
cite web
}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (
link
)
- ^
"The Voter's Self Defense System - Bruce Westerman"
.
Vote Smart
. Retrieved
June 26,
2022
.
External links
[
edit
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Chairs (Republican)
| Ranking Members (Democratic)
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