Paul Gosar facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Paul Gosar
Official portrait, 2016
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arizona
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2011
Preceded by	Ann Kirkpatrick
Constituency	1st district (2011–2013) 4th district (2013–2023) 9th district (2023–present)
Personal details
Born	Paul Anthony Gosar (1958-11-27) November 27, 1958 (age 66) Rock Springs, Wyoming, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Maude Connor ​ (m. 1988)​
Children	3
Relatives	Pete Gosar (brother)
Education	Creighton University (BS, DDS)

Paul Anthony Gosar (born November 27, 1958) is an American politician and dentist. He has served in the U.S. House of Representatives for Arizona since 2011. He first represented Arizona's 1st district, then the 4th district, and currently the 9th district. He is a member of the Republican Party.

Paul Gosar has been a strong supporter of former President Donald Trump. He voted to challenge the results of the 2020 U.S. presidential election. In November 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives officially criticized him and removed him from his committee roles. This happened after he posted a video on social media that showed him attacking other politicians. This was only the 24th time in U.S. history that a House member was officially criticized in this way. In January 2023, after Republicans gained control of the House, his committee assignments were given back to him.

Early Life and Education

Paul Gosar was born in Rock Springs, Wyoming, on November 27, 1958. He is the oldest of ten children. His grandparents came from Slovenia and the Basque region of France and Spain. He grew up in Pinedale, Wyoming, and finished high school there in 1977. His parents were strong Republicans. His brother, Pete Gosar, was a leader in the Democratic Party in Wyoming.

In 1981, Paul Gosar earned his bachelor's degree from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. He then earned his Doctor of Dental Surgery (D.D.S.) degree from Creighton's dental school in 1985.

Early Career

From 1989 to 2010, Gosar worked as a dentist in Flagstaff, Arizona. He was named "Dentist of the Year" by the Arizona Dental Association in 2001. He also served as the president of the association from 2004 to 2005.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2010 Election

In 2009, Gosar decided to run for Congress for the first time. He challenged the sitting Democratic representative, Ann Kirkpatrick, in Arizona's 1st district. He was supported by the Tea Party movement.

Gosar won the Republican primary election. He also received support from former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Gosar won the general election in November 2010 with 49.7% of the votes.

2012 Election

After new district maps were drawn, Gosar decided to run in the new 4th district. This district was very supportive of Republicans. He rented an apartment in Prescott, Arizona, which he said was his official home.

Gosar won the Republican primary easily. In the November general election, he defeated his Democratic opponent with 67% of the votes. This secured his second term in Congress.

Later Elections

Gosar continued to win his elections by large margins.

• In 2014, he won with 70% of the vote.
• In 2016, he won with 71% of the vote.
• In 2018, six of Gosar's nine brothers and sisters publicly spoke out against him. They supported his Democratic opponent, David Brill, in TV ads. They said their brother did not care about people in rural Arizona. Paul Gosar said his siblings were "disgruntled Hillary supporters." He still won the election with 68.2% of the vote.
• In 2020, he was reelected with 69.7% of the vote. Six of his siblings again supported his opponent.
• In 2021, after new district maps were drawn, Gosar announced he would run for reelection in Arizona's 9th congressional district. He won in 2022.

Actions in Congress

Paul Gosar has been involved in several notable events during his time in Congress.

In January 2020, Gosar shared a changed photo on Twitter. It showed former President Obama meeting with the Iranian President. This meeting never happened. Gosar later said, "No one said this wasn't photoshopped."

In December 2020, Gosar worked with Democratic Representative Tulsi Gabbard. They introduced a bill to change a law that protects online companies from being responsible for what users post.

Attending a Conference

In February 2021, Gosar gave a speech at the America First Political Action Conference. This event was hosted by Nick Fuentes, who has been criticized for his views. Gosar later said that racism and violence are wrong. He defended his attendance by saying he wanted to listen to young people who are getting involved in politics.

2021 Censure

In November 2021, Gosar posted a video online. It was a parody of the anime series Attack on Titan. The video showed characters with the faces of Gosar, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and President Joe Biden. It showed Gosar attacking the characters representing Ocasio-Cortez and Biden. Gosar said the video was "entertaining" and "wasn't a threat."

Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked for an investigation into the video. On November 17, 2021, the House voted to officially criticize Gosar and remove him from his committee assignments. This vote was 223 to 207. Only two Republicans voted with the Democrats. After being criticized, Gosar retweeted the video again.

2022 and 2023

In February 2022, Senate leader Mitch McConnell criticized Gosar for attending the America First Political Action Conference again.

Committee Assignments

For the current 118th Congress, Paul Gosar serves on these committees:

• Committee on Natural Resources
  • Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources
  • Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations (Chair)
• Committee on Oversight and Accountability
  • Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services
  • Subcommittee on National Security, the Border, and Foreign Affairs

Caucus Memberships

Gosar is part of several groups in Congress, including:

• Republican Study Committee
• Congressional Western Caucus (chair)
• Congressional Interstate 11 Caucus (co-chair)
• Congressional Solar Caucus
• Congressional Inventions Caucus (co-chair)
• Freedom Caucus
• Congressional Constitution Caucus
• U.S.-Japan Caucus
• Second Amendment Caucus

Efforts to Challenge the 2020 Election

Paul Gosar was a key figure in efforts to challenge the results of the 2020 United States presidential election.

"Stop the Steal"

A November 2020 tweet from Gosar about the 2020 election results.

After the 2020 election, Gosar was one of many Republican members of Congress who asked the U.S. Attorney General to investigate claims of voter fraud. He claimed that voting machines were faulty and that votes were counted unfairly. He also asked for an audit of votes in Maricopa County, Arizona. Gosar strongly objected to counting electoral votes for Joe Biden from certain states.

Gosar took part in "Stop the Steal" protests. He compared these efforts to historical battles. He also said that then-President-elect Joe Biden was an "illegitimate usurper."

Involvement in the 2021 Capitol Attack

In December 2020, a political activist claimed that he, Gosar, and other representatives were "planning something big." This plan was to put pressure on Congress to reject the election results.

On January 6, 2021, during the official counting of Electoral College votes, Gosar and Senator Ted Cruz led a challenge to Arizona's election results. This counting was interrupted when a crowd of Trump supporters attacked the Capitol. Gosar was one of the first members of Congress to suggest that the violence was caused by "antifa," a group he blamed for the events.

When Congress met again that night, the challenge to Arizona's vote was rejected. Gosar, along with two other Arizona representatives, voted to reject Arizona's results.

After the Capitol attack, three of Gosar's siblings called for him to be removed from Congress. They said his actions were like "treason." It was also reported that Gosar and another representative asked for pardons from President Trump on his last day in office. No pardons were given to them.

In June 2021, Gosar was one of 21 House Republicans who voted against giving a special medal to police officers who defended the Capitol on January 6.

Political Views

Paul Gosar is known for his very conservative political views. During Donald Trump's presidency, Gosar voted in line with Trump's positions most of the time. During Joe Biden's presidency, he has voted in line with Biden's positions only a small percentage of the time.

LGBT Rights

Gosar is against expanding LGBT rights. In December 2022, he voted against the Respect for Marriage Act. This law made same-sex and interracial marriage legal across the country.

Environment

Gosar has a low score from environmental groups. He has expressed doubts about global warming. In 2017, he introduced a resolution that would allow drilling for oil, gas, and minerals in U.S. National Parks. The Washington Post has described Gosar as "no friend of environmentalists."

In 2015, Gosar tried to remove the head of the EPA, Gina McCarthy. He claimed she had "lied to the American people" about environmental rules. An EPA spokesperson said his attempt had "zero merit."

Gosar also supports changing the Endangered Species Act. He calls it "costly" and "burdensome."

Foreign Policy

In 2019, Gosar supported a letter to President Trump. It said that the use of military force should be approved by Congress.

In 2019, Gosar was one of 60 representatives who voted against criticizing Trump's decision to remove troops from Syria.

In 2020, Gosar voted against a defense law that would stop the president from removing soldiers from Afghanistan without Congress's approval.

In June 2021, Gosar was one of 49 House Republicans who voted to end the 2002 law that allowed the Iraq War.

In October 2022, Gosar invited the presidents of Ukraine and Russia to Arizona for peace talks about the war.

Gun Rights

Gosar believes the Second Amendment is very important. He has said he will "continue to oppose efforts to restrict" gun rights. He has received high ratings from gun rights organizations like the NRA Political Victory Fund and Gun Owners of America.

Health Care

Gosar was against the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). He supports people being able to choose their own doctors, types of care, and insurance plans. While he supported water fluoridation as a dentist, in 2022 he spoke against it, saying it might reduce human intelligence.

Immigration

The Arizona Republic has called Gosar "one of the staunchest opponents in Congress to legalizing undocumented dreamers." Gosar believes the U.S. border needs to be secured immediately. He is against giving amnesty to people who have entered the country illegally. He has supported building a wall on the Mexico-U.S. border. He has also suggested stopping all immigration for 10 years.

Native Americans

In December 2014, Gosar caused controversy when he called American Indians "wards of the federal government." He made this comment during a discussion about a land swap. This swap would give land sacred to the Apache people in Arizona to a mining company. A spokesperson for Gosar said his comments were misunderstood.

Ties to Conservative Groups

In October 2017, Gosar suggested that a white nationalist rally was "created by the left." He also suggested that the organizer of the rally might have been supported by George Soros. Seven of Gosar's siblings wrote a letter saying his claims about Soros were "despicable slander" and "anti-semitic."

In July 2018, Gosar spoke at a rally in London supporting Tommy Robinson, an anti-Islam activist. Gosar emphasized the importance of free speech.

In February 2021, Gosar spoke at the America First Political Action Conference, hosted by Nick Fuentes.

Support for Impeaching Biden Administration Officials

During the 117th Congress, Gosar supported three resolutions to impeach President Joe Biden. He also supported resolutions to impeach Attorney General Merrick Garland and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.

Electoral History

Personal Life

Paul Gosar is married to Maude Gosar, and they have three children.

He is Catholic. However, he has criticized Pope Francis's leadership. In 2015, he chose not to attend Pope Francis's speech to Congress. He disagreed with the Pope's views on climate change, calling them "socialist."

Gosar has had back surgeries for arthritis and compressed vertebrae. He believes this is due to years of hunching over as a dentist, as well as genetics.

In 2018, six of Gosar's siblings appeared in ads supporting his political opponent. They said they wanted to protect their family's name and that Paul Gosar was not working for his district.

Images for kids

• 

  Gosar speaking at the 2018 Arizona Manufacturing Summit in Phoenix, Arizona

• 

  Paul Gosar with Donald Trump in 2019

See also

In Spanish: Paul Gosar para niños

• Pete Gosar
• Arizona's 4th congressional district
• List of United States representatives expelled, censured, or reprimanded