Louie Gohmert facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Louie Gohmert
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Official portrait, 2013
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 1st district |
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| In office January 3, 2005 – January 3, 2023 |
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| Preceded by | Max Sandlin |
| Succeeded by | Nathaniel Moran |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Louis Buller Gohmert Jr.
August 18, 1953 Pittsburg, Texas, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse |
Kathy Gohmert
(m. 1978) |
| Children | 3 |
| Education | Texas A&M University (BA) Baylor University (JD) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch/service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1978–1982 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit | Army Judge Advocate General's Corps |
| Awards | Meritorious Service Medal |
Louis Buller Gohmert Jr. (born August 18, 1953) is an American lawyer and politician. He served in the United States House of Representatives for Texas's 1st congressional district from 2005 to 2023. As a member of the Republican Party, he was known for his very conservative views and was part of the Tea Party movement.
In 2015, Gohmert tried to become the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, but he was not successful. In 2021, he ran for Texas Attorney General but did not win the Republican nomination.
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Early Life and Education
Gohmert was born in Pittsburg, Texas, and grew up in Mount Pleasant, Texas. His father was an architect. He graduated from Mount Pleasant High School in 1971.
After high school, Gohmert went to Texas A&M University on a U.S. Army scholarship. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in history in 1975. While at Texas A&M, he was a class president and a leader in the Texas A&M University Corps of Cadets.
He then went to Baylor Law School and earned a Juris Doctor degree in 1977. This is the degree needed to become a lawyer.
Career Before Congress
After law school, Gohmert joined the U.S. Army JAG Corps, which is the legal branch of the army. He served as a lawyer in the army from 1978 to 1982.
In 1992, he was elected as a state district judge in Smith County, Texas. He served as a judge for ten years. In 2002, Texas Governor Rick Perry appointed him as Chief Justice on a Texas appeals court for a short time.
U.S. House of Representatives
In 2004, Gohmert ran for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. The boundaries of his district had been redrawn, which helped him win the election. He defeated the current congressman, Max Sandlin, with 61% of the vote. After that, he was reelected seven more times, usually by a large margin.
During his time in Congress, Gohmert was known for his strong conservative positions. In 2015, he challenged John Boehner for the job of Speaker of the House, but Boehner was reelected.
In 2017, Gohmert said he was worried about his safety and would not hold public town hall meetings. Over his many terms in office, one bill he wrote became a law. This 2017 law helped make the 9-1-1 emergency system simpler.
Reputation in Politics
Gohmert was known as a member of the Tea Party movement, a conservative group within the Republican Party. He became famous for making bold and often controversial statements.
Some of his comments caused a lot of debate in the media. For example, he made strong statements about political opponents like Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. He also expressed sympathy for people who were arrested after the January 6 event at the U.S. Capitol.
In May 2021, Gohmert gave a speech where he said that many people think he is "the dumbest guy in Congress." He added that he was comfortable with who he was. While some people found his comments to be unusual, he remained very popular with the voters in his home district.
Views on Government Spending
Gohmert promised to oppose tax increases. He suggested a "tax holiday" to help the economy. This would have let people keep the federal income tax from their paychecks for two months.
He often voted against spending bills because he believed they did not do enough to lower the national debt. He also supported school vouchers, which is a program that gives parents government money to help pay for private schools.
Views on Climate Change
Gohmert does not agree with the scientific view that humans are causing climate change. He has said that data supporting climate change is not trustworthy. He supported the U.S. leaving the Paris Agreement, an international agreement to fight climate change.
In 2021, during a government hearing, he asked if government agencies could change the orbit of the Moon or the Earth to help with climate change. This question was widely discussed online.
Views on Social Issues
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He also opposes LGBT rights. He voted against laws that would expand hate crime protections to include sexual orientation. He also voted against allowing gay and lesbian people to serve openly in the military.
After the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012, Gohmert suggested that if the school's principal had a rifle, she could have stopped the shooter.
Foreign Policy and National Security
Gohmert often spoke about national security. In 2010, he made claims about "terror babies." He said he heard that terrorist groups were sending pregnant women to the U.S. to have babies. These babies would be U.S. citizens and could later return to the U.S. as terrorists. When asked for proof, he did not provide any specific evidence.
In 2012, he and four other Republican members of Congress raised concerns about the Muslim Brotherhood. They worried that the group might have influence on officials in the Obama administration. These claims were criticized by many politicians from both parties, including Republicans like John McCain and John Boehner.
Immigration
Gohmert supported stronger border control. In 2018, he suggested changing the name of Cesar Chavez Day to "Border Control Day." He said that Chavez, a famous labor leader, was also concerned about illegal immigration.
During a government shutdown in 2018 over funding for a border wall, Gohmert said President Trump should keep the government closed "till hell freezes over" to get the wall funded.
2020 Election and Capitol Attack
After the 2020 United States presidential election, Gohmert supported Donald Trump's challenges to the results. He was one of 126 Republicans who supported a lawsuit that asked the Supreme Court to overturn the election results. The court refused to hear the case.
Lawsuit Against Mike Pence
In December 2020, Gohmert filed a lawsuit against Vice President Mike Pence. The lawsuit tried to give Pence the power to reject the election results from certain states. A federal judge dismissed the case, saying Gohmert did not have a legal reason to sue. Gohmert appealed the decision, but higher courts also rejected his case.
After the lawsuit was dismissed, Gohmert said on TV that if the courts don't provide a solution, people might have to "go to the streets and be as violent as antifa and BLM." He later said he was not encouraging violence.
January 6 Events
Gohmert voted against certifying the 2020 election results on January 7, 2021, the day after the attack on the U.S. Capitol.
It was later reported that Gohmert may have asked for a presidential pardon after the attack, but he denied this. He also voted against giving the Congressional Gold Medal to police officers who defended the Capitol.
Texas Attorney General Candidacy
In November 2021, Gohmert announced he would not run for reelection to Congress. Instead, he decided to run for Texas Attorney General in 2022. He challenged the current Attorney General, Ken Paxton, in the Republican primary.
Gohmert finished fourth in the primary election and did not advance to the runoff. He was replaced in his congressional seat by Nathaniel Moran.
Personal Life
Gohmert is a Southern Baptist and attends church in Tyler, Texas, where he has been a deacon and a Sunday school teacher. He and his wife, Kathy, have three daughters.
Images for kids
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Gohmert with Ben Shapiro in 2018
See also
- Conspiracy theories related to the Trump–Ukraine scandal
- United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack public hearings
