Michael Patrick Guest (born February 4, 1970) is an American attorney and Republican politician. He has represented Mississippi's 3rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives since 2019. He became the ranking member of the United States House Committee on Ethics upon the August 2022 death of Jackie Walorski, and became its chair in the 118th Congress after Republicans won a House majority that November.
Michael Guest | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chair of the House Ethics Committee | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Susan Wild |
| Ranking Member of the House Ethics Committee | |
| In office August 19, 2022 – January 3, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Jackie Walorski |
| Succeeded by | Susan Wild |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Mississippi's 3rd district | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Gregg Harper |
| District Attorney of Rankin County and Madison County | |
| In office 2008–2019 | |
| Preceded by | David Clark |
| Succeeded by | John Bramlett |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Michael Patrick Guest February 4, 1970 Woodbury, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Haley Kennedy |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Mississippi State University (BS) University of Mississippi (JD) |
| Website | House website |
Early life and education
editMichael Patrick Guest[1] was born on February 4, 1970.[2] He graduated from Mississippi State University with a bachelor's degree in accounting and the University of Mississippi School of Law with a Juris Doctor. He served as the Assistant District Attorney for Madison and Rankin counties from 1994 to 2008, and became District Attorney in 2008.[3] Guest and his family are members of Brandon Baptist Church, where he serves as a deacon and Sunday school teacher.[4]
U.S. House of Representatives
edit
Elections
edit2018
editGuest ran for the United States House of Representatives in Mississippi's 3rd congressional district to succeed Gregg Harper, who chose not to seek reelection.[5] In the six-way June Republican primary election, Guest received the most votes (45%), with Whit Hughes coming in second with 22%.[6] Because no candidate received 50% of the vote, Guest and Hughes faced each other in a primary runoff election,[7] which Guest won.[6] Guest defeated State Representative Michael Evans, the Democratic nominee, in the general election.[8]
Guest campaigned as a strong supporter of President Donald Trump.[6]
2020
editGuest was reelected in 2020 with 64.7% of the vote, defeating Democrat Dort Benford.[9]
Tenure
editIn December 2020, Guest 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, in which Joe Biden defeated[10] Trump. 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.[11][12][13]
On May 19, 2021, Guest was one of 35 Republicans who joined all Democrats in voting to approve legislation to establish the January 6, 2021 commission meant to investigate the storming of the U.S. Capitol.[14]
In November 2021, Business Insider reported that Guest had violated the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act of 2012, a federal transparency and conflict-of-interest law, by failing to properly disclose trades in BP and ExxonMobil stock by his wife's family trust; as a result, Guest paid a $200 fine.[15]
In June 2022, after a leaked decision by the Supreme Court of the United States to revoke the right to abortion in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, Guest wrote to the Department of Homeland Security to demand action in the wake of attacks by Jane's Revenge, which Guest called an "anarchist extremist group" that targets crisis pregnancy centers and other anti-abortion organizations.[16]
In August 2022, Guest was named ranking member of the House Ethics Committee upon the death of former ranking member Jackie Walorski.[17]
Guest was among the 71 Republicans who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the House.[18]
Guest voted to support Israel following the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.[19][20]
He also proposed the resolution that expelled George Santos from Congress.[21]
In 2024, Guest voted against the $60 billion military aid package for Ukraine, although much of the money would go to his constituency.[22]
Committee assignments
editFor the 118th Congress:[23]
- Army Caucus
- Border Security Caucus
- Chicken Caucus
- Fire Services Caucus
- Freshman Working Group on Addiction
- Law Enforcement Caucus
- National Guard and Reserve Caucus
- Prayer Caucus
- Pro-Life Caucus
- Republican Study Committee[25]
- Rice Caucus
- Sportsman Caucus
- Steel Caucus
- Suburban Caucus
- Unmanned Systems Caucus
Electoral history
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Michael Guest | 29,157 | 44.8 | |
| Republican | Whit Hughes | 14,464 | 22.2 | |
| Republican | Perry Parker | 10,562 | 16.2 | |
| Republican | Sally Doty | 6,608 | 10.2 | |
| Republican | Morgan Dunn | 3,820 | 5.9 | |
| Republican | Katherine Tate | 416 | 0.6 | |
| Total votes | 65,027 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Michael Guest | 31,121 | 65.1 | |
| Republican | Whit Hughes | 16,691 | 34.9 | |
| Total votes | 47,812 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Michael Guest | 160,284 | 62.3 | |
| Democratic | Michael Evans | 94,461 | 36.7 | |
| Reform | Matthew Holland | 2,526 | 1.0 | |
| Total votes | 257,271 | 100.0 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Michael Guest (incumbent) | 67,269 | 89.8 | |
| Republican | James Tulp | 7,618 | 10.2 | |
| Total votes | 74,887 | 100.0% | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Michael Guest (incumbent) | 221,064 | 64.7 | |
| Democratic | Dorothy "Dot" Benford | 120,782 | 35.3 | |
| Total votes | 341,846 | 100.0 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
References
edit- ^ Statement of Organization, Friends of Michael Guest
- ^ Michael Guest - Candidate for House of Representatives MS 3rd District. (Republican)
- ^ "Candidate Questionnaire: Michael Guest". Jackson Free Press. May 30, 2018.
- ^ "About Michael". April 30, 2018.
- ^ "District Attorney Michael Guest running to replace Gregg Harper". Clarion-Ledger. January 5, 2018.
- ^ a b c Fowler, Sarah (June 27, 2018). "Michael Guest defeats Whit Hughes in GOP House primary runoff". Clarion-Ledger.
- ^ "Michael Guest, Whit Hughes head to Republican runoff in MS03 race". Clarion-Ledger. June 6, 2018.
- ^ Sarah Fowler, Republican Michael Guest defeats Democrat Michael Evans in #MS03, Clarion Ledger (November 7, 2018).
- ^ "Republican Michael Guest wins reelection to U.S. House in Mississippi's 3rd Congressional District". WJTV. November 4, 2020. Retrieved August 13, 2022.
- ^ Blood, Michael R.; Riccardi, Nicholas (December 5, 2020). "Biden officially secures enough electors to become president". AP News. Archived from the original on December 8, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
- ^ 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.
- ^ LeBlanc, Paul (May 19, 2021). "Here are the 35 House Republicans who voted for the January 6 commission". CNN. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
- ^ Rojas, Warren (November 5, 2021). "Republican Rep. Michael Guest failed to properly disclose family stock trades". Business Insider. Archived from the original on March 6, 2023. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
- ^ Sabes, Adam (June 17, 2022). "Minnesota pregnancy center vandalized by 'Jane's Revenge': 'We should've done more'". Fox News. Retrieved August 7, 2022.
- ^ Cohen, Zach (August 19, 2022). "Republican Tapped to Serve in Secretive Ethics Role No One Wants". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
- ^ Gans, Jared (May 31, 2023). "Republicans and Democrats who bucked party leaders by voting no". The Hill. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
- ^ Demirjian, Karoun (October 25, 2023). "House Declares Solidarity With Israel in First Legislation Under New Speaker". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
- ^ Washington, U. S. Capitol Room H154; p:225-7000, DC 20515-6601 (October 25, 2023). "Roll Call 528 Roll Call 528, Bill Number: H. Res. 771, 118th Congress, 1st Session". Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Vielkind, Jimmy; Ferek, Katy Stech (December 1, 2023). "George Santos Expelled From Congress in Tense House Vote". WSJ. Retrieved December 1, 2023.
- ^ Thiessen, Marc (April 25, 2024). "These politicians voted against their states' best interests on Ukraine aid". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
- ^ "Michael Guest". Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved August 17, 2023.
- ^ "Committees and Caucuses". Representative Michael Guest. January 3, 2021. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
- ^ "Membership". Republican Study Committee. December 6, 2017. Retrieved August 27, 2022.
External links
edit- Congressman Michael Guest official U.S. House website
- Michael Guest for Congress