John Kennedy (Louisiana politician) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
John Kennedy
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Official portrait, 2017
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| United States Senator from Louisiana |
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| Assumed office January 3, 2017 Serving with Bill Cassidy
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| Preceded by | David Vitter |
| Treasurer of Louisiana | |
| In office January 10, 2000 – January 3, 2017 |
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| Governor | Mike Foster Kathleen Blanco Bobby Jindal John Bel Edwards |
| Preceded by | Ken Duncan |
| Succeeded by | John Schroder |
| Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Revenue | |
| In office January 8, 1996 – April 30, 1999 |
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| Governor | Mike Foster |
| Preceded by | Leon R. Tarver II |
| Succeeded by | Brett Crawford |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
John Neely Kennedy
November 21, 1951 Centreville, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican (since 2007) |
| Other political affiliations |
Democratic (before 2007) |
| Spouse |
Rebecca Stulb
(m. 1990) |
| Children | 1 |
| Education | Vanderbilt University (BA) University of Virginia (JD) Magdalen College, Oxford (BCL) |
| Website | |
John Neely Kennedy (born November 21, 1951) is an American politician and lawyer. He has served as a United States senator for the state of Louisiana since 2017. He is a member of the Republican Party. Before becoming a senator, he was the Louisiana State Treasurer for 17 years. He is not related to President John F. Kennedy.
Kennedy was born in Centreville, Mississippi. He earned degrees from Vanderbilt University, the University of Virginia School of Law, and the University of Oxford in England. He began his political career working for Louisiana Governor Buddy Roemer.
In 1999, Kennedy was elected as the state treasurer of Louisiana. He was reelected four times. He first ran for the U.S. Senate in 2004 and 2008 but was not successful. In 2007, he switched from the Democratic Party to the Republican Party.
In 2016, Kennedy ran for the U.S. Senate again and won. He was reelected in 2022, winning in almost every parish in Louisiana. As a senator, he is known for his direct way of speaking and asking questions during hearings.
Contents
Early Life and Education
John Kennedy was born in Centreville, Mississippi, and grew up in Zachary, Louisiana. He was the co-valedictorian (one of the top students) of his class when he graduated from Zachary High School in 1969.
He went to Vanderbilt University, where he studied philosophy, political science, and economics. He graduated with high honors in 1973. After Vanderbilt, he earned a law degree from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1977. He then studied at the University of Oxford in England and earned another law degree in 1979.
Before entering politics, Kennedy worked as a lawyer. He was also a professor at the law school of Louisiana State University from 2002 to 2016.
Early Political Career
In 1988, Governor Buddy Roemer hired Kennedy as a special lawyer for his office. Kennedy helped the governor with important issues like campaign finance reform. This means he helped create new rules for how people can donate money to political campaigns.
Kennedy also worked on a law called the Louisiana Products Liability Act. This law made it clearer when a company could be held responsible if its product hurt someone. He left the governor's office in 1991 to run for state attorney general, but he did not win.
In 1996, Governor Mike Foster appointed Kennedy as the Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Revenue. This department is in charge of collecting state taxes.
Helping People Find Lost Money
As Secretary of Revenue, Kennedy started a program to return unclaimed property to Louisiana residents. Unclaimed property is money that people have forgotten about, like old bank accounts or security deposits.
Kennedy's team set up events at malls and created a website to help people find their lost money. This program was very successful and returned hundreds of thousands of dollars to citizens. He continued this work when he later became state treasurer.
Treasurer of Louisiana (2000–2017)
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In 1999, Kennedy was elected as the Louisiana State Treasurer. The treasurer is in charge of managing the state's money. He was reelected four times and served in this role until 2017.
As treasurer, Kennedy continued his work on the unclaimed property program. Over the years, the program returned about $400 million to 600,000 people in Louisiana.
He also worked to save the state money by refinancing its debt. Refinancing is like getting a new loan with a lower interest rate to pay off an old loan. This saved Louisiana hundreds of millions of dollars.
Kennedy was also known for fighting against government waste and corruption. He often pushed for more transparency in how the state spent its money. He believed in cutting spending instead of raising taxes.
Switching Political Parties
For many years, Kennedy was a member of the Democratic Party. In 2004, he even supported the Democratic candidate for president, John Kerry.
However, in 2007, Kennedy announced that he was switching to the Republican Party. He said his views were more in line with the Republicans. He has been a Republican ever since.
Campaigns for U.S. Senate
Kennedy ran for the U.S. Senate three times. His first two attempts in 2004 and 2008 were unsuccessful.
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In 2016, he ran for a third time. This time, he won the election and became one of Louisiana's two U.S. senators. During his campaign, he was supported by many groups and by then-President-elect Donald Trump.
In 2022, Kennedy was reelected for a second term in the Senate. He won with 62% of the vote, defeating 12 other candidates.
U.S. Senate (2017–Present)
Kennedy was sworn into the U.S. Senate on January 3, 2017. In the Senate, he serves on several important committees, including the Judiciary Committee and the Appropriations Committee. The Appropriations Committee helps decide how the U.S. government spends its money.
Questioning Nominees
Kennedy has become well-known for the way he questions people who are nominated for important government jobs, especially judges. He often asks them basic legal questions to test their knowledge.
In 2017, he questioned three of President Trump's nominees for federal judge positions. He did not think they were qualified, and the White House later withdrew their nominations. He has also questioned President Biden's nominees in a similar way.
Passing Laws
Kennedy has written and helped pass several laws. One important law was the Holding Foreign Companies Accountable Act. This law requires companies from other countries that are listed on U.S. stock exchanges to follow American accounting rules.
He also worked on bills to help small businesses recover after disasters and to extend the National Flood Insurance Program, which is very important for Louisiana.
Notable Votes and Positions
- Supreme Court: Kennedy voted to confirm Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. He voted against the confirmation of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.
- Impeachment: He voted against the impeachment of President Donald Trump in both 2020 and 2021.
- COVID-19 Relief: Kennedy voted for the first COVID-19 relief package in 2020 but voted against later packages in 2021, saying they included too much wasteful spending.
- Infrastructure: He voted against a major infrastructure bill in 2021, arguing that not enough of the money went to real infrastructure like roads and bridges.
Political Views
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John Kennedy is considered a conservative Republican. Here are some of his key political positions:
- Government Spending: He is a strong critic of government debt and wasteful spending. He believes in a smaller government and lower taxes.
- Judges: He believes that judges should interpret the law as it is written and not create new laws from the bench. This is known as judicial restraint.
- Border Security: He supports stronger security at the U.S. border and has called for tougher penalties for people who cross the border illegally.
- Energy: He supports the oil and gas industry, which is a major part of Louisiana's economy. He has also supported efforts to reduce certain greenhouse gases.
- Gun Rights: He is a strong supporter of the right to own guns and has an "A+" rating from the NRA Political Victory Fund.
- Flood Insurance: He has worked to reform the National Flood Insurance Program to make it more affordable for people in coastal states like Louisiana.
Personal Life
Kennedy and his wife, Becky, have one son. They are founding members of their local Methodist church.
Even though he has the same name as a famous president, he is not part of the well-known Kennedy family from Massachusetts.
Images for kids
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Kennedy and other congressional Republicans greeting President Trump at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, January 2019
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Kennedy on the senate floor speaking about inflation in December 2022
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Kennedy greeting Russian official Vyacheslav Volodin in July 2018
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See also
In Spanish: John N. Kennedy para niños
- List of American politicians who switched parties in office
