Diana Harshbarger facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Diana Harshbarger
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's 1st district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2021
Preceded by	Phil Roe
Personal details
Born	(1960-01-01) January 1, 1960 (age 65) Kingsport, Tennessee, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Robert Harshbarger
Children	Bobby Harshbarger
Education	East Tennessee State University (BS) Mercer University (PharmD)

Diana Lynn Harshbarger (/ˈhɑːrʃbɑːrɡər/ harsh-BAR-gər; born January 1, 1960) is an American pharmacist, businesswoman, and politician. A member of the Republican Party, she has served as the U.S. representative for Tennessee's 1st congressional district since January 3, 2021. Her district is based in the Tri-Cities area in northeastern Tennessee.

Early life and career

Harshbarger was born in Kingsport, Tennessee, and raised in nearby Bloomingdale. She is the first person in her family to graduate from high school. She earned her bachelor's degree from East Tennessee State University and her Doctor of Pharmacy from Mercer University.

Harshbarger has been a licensed pharmacist since 1987. She and her husband, Bob, operate Premier Pharmacy, a compounding pharmacy.

U.S. House of Representatives

Election

2020

After six-term incumbent and fellow Republican Phil Roe opted to retire from the United States House of Representatives, Harshbarger announced her candidacy to succeed him in the United States House of Representatives for Tennessee's 1st congressional district. She won the 17-way August 5 Republican primary and defeated Democratic nominee Blair Walsingham in the November general election. She had effectively clinched a seat in Congress with her victory in the primary, since the 1st is one of the few ancestrally Republican districts in the South; it has been in Republican hands for all but four years since 1861, and Democrats have garnered as much as 40% of the vote only twice since 1898. When Harshbarger took office on January 3, 2021, she became the fifth woman elected to Congress from Tennessee, but only the third who was not a stand-in for her husband, after Diane Black and Marsha Blackburn. The 1st historically gives its incumbents very long tenures in Washington; Harshbarger is only the ninth person to hold the seat in 100 years.

Tenure

On January 6, 2021, supporters of President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol during debate. Lawmakers fled to an undisclosed location for safety. Later that evening, Harshbarger joined 139 other Republican House members in voting to sustain objections to the certification of the results of the 2020 U.S. presidential election, based on claims of voter fraud.

In August 2021, Business Insider reported that Harshbarger 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 over 700 stock trades worth between $728,000 and $10.9 million.

Harshbarger supports efforts to impeach President Joe Biden. In September 2021 Harshbarger co-sponsored a resolution by Marjorie Taylor Greene to impeach President Joe Biden over the withdrawal of United States troops from Afghanistan. In May, 2023, she co-sponsored a resolution by Greene to impeach Biden over his handling of security at the United States–Mexico border. Also in May 2023, she co-sponsored Greene's resolutions to impeach Attorney General Merrick Garland, FBI director Christopher Wray, Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, and U.S. attorney for D.C. Matthew M. Graves.

Harshbarger was among the 71 Republicans who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the House.

In 2024, Harshbarger voted against the $60 billion military aid package for Ukraine, although much of the money would go to her constituency.

In 2024, Harshbarger spoke against expanded coverage of anti-obesity drugs for Medicaid and Medicare recipients. She said, "Obesity is not a disease. It’s a side effect of different things, like unhealthy eating or whatever. So no, I’m not in favor of that, because it’s going to put us in dire straits and run us out of money."

Committee assignments

• Committee on Education and Labor
  • Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions
  • Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Investment
• Committee on Homeland Security
  • Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection and Innovation
  • Subcommittee on Oversight, Management and Accountability

Caucus memberships

• GOP Doctors Caucus
• Rural Broadband Caucus
• Tennessee Valley Corridor Caucus
• Republican Study Committee
• Freedom Caucus

Electoral history

2020

2022

Personal life

Harshbarger is a Baptist. She is married and has a son, Bobby Harshbarger. Bobby is currently the Republican state Senator-elect for Tennessee's 4th Senate district.

See also

• Women in the United States House of Representatives