John Yarmuth facts for kids

Quick facts for kids John Yarmuth
Chair of the House Budget Committee
In office January 3, 2019 – January 3, 2023
Preceded by	Steve Womack
Succeeded by	Jodey Arrington
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Kentucky's 3rd district
In office January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2023
Preceded by	Anne Northup
Succeeded by	Morgan McGarvey
Personal details
Born	John Allan Yarmuth (1947-11-04) November 4, 1947 (age 76) Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Political party	Democratic (since 1985)
Other political affiliations	Republican (until 1985)
Spouse	Catherine Creedon ​ (m. 1981)​
Children	1
Education	Yale University (BA)
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John Allan Yarmuth (/ˈjɑːrmɪθ/ YAR-mith; born November 4, 1947) is a retired American politician and newspaper editor who served as the U.S. representative for KY's 3rd congressional district from 2007 to 2023. His district encompassed the vast majority of the Louisville Metro Area. From 2013 onward, he had been the sole Democratic member of Kentucky's congressional delegation. Yarmuth chaired the House Budget Committee from 2019 to 2023. On October 12, 2021, he announced that he would not seek reelection in 2022.

Early life and education

Yarmuth was born in Louisville, Kentucky, the son of Edna E. (née Klein) and Stanley R. Yarmuth. He is descended from Jewish immigrants from Russia and Austria. He graduated from Atherton High School. He later graduated from Yale University, majoring in American studies.

Early career

Yarmuth worked as a legislative aide for Republican U.S. Senator Marlow Cook from 1971 to 1974, then returned to Louisville and launched his publishing career by founding Louisville Today magazine, which operated from 1976 to 1982. He later worked as a vice president of University Relations at the University of Louisville from 1983 to 1986, where he was inducted into Omicron Delta Kappa as an honoris causa initiate in 2014.

Yarmuth described himself as a Rockefeller Republican in his earlier years. He left the party during Ronald Reagan's presidency, saying, "I saw this unmistakable move away from moderation when he started hosting Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson and catering to the religious right".

In 1990, Yarmuth founded the Louisville Eccentric Observer (LEO), a weekly newspaper for which he wrote a generally liberal political column that usually ran on page one. In 2003, he sold LEO to a company owned by Times Publishing Company of Pennsylvania, owner of the Erie Times-News. Yarmuth remained on board as a columnist and consultant until January 2006, when he put his column on hiatus to run for Congress.

U.S. House of Representatives

Yarmuth in May 2011

Yarmuth in 2009.

Yarmuth took office on January 3, 2007.

After winning a 2008 rematch with Anne Northup, his 2006 general election opponent, Yarmuth was rewarded by the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee with a spot on the influential Ways and Means Committee. On the committee, he worked on issues on which he campaigned before the 2008 election: Social Security, pension, Medicare, and Medicaid issues.

Yarmuth was the only Kentuckian member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.

For his tenure as the chairman of the House Budget Committee in the 116th Congress, Yarmuth earned an "A" grade from the nonpartisan Lugar Center's Congressional Oversight Hearing Index.

In 2021, Yarmuth introduced to the House the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, President Joe Biden's first major piece of legislation.

On October 12, 2021, Yarmuth announced that he will retire from Congress at the end of his term in 2023.

Committee assignments

• Committee on the Budget (chair)
• Committee on Education and Labor

Party leadership

• Regional Whip

Caucus memberships

Yarmuth's caucus memberships include:

Electoral history

Personal life

Yarmuth has served on many boards, including the Bingham Child Guidance Center and Kentucky Country Day School. He is Kentucky's first Jewish congressman. Yarmuth and his wife, Cathy Yarmuth, have one son, Aaron, who is a graduate of Kentucky Country Day. Aaron was the owner of the Louisville Eccentric Observer, and along with a group of local investors purchased the publication in 2012. In May 2021 it was sold to the Euclid Media Group.

See also

• List of Jewish members of the United States Congress