Bruce Westerman

Bruce Eugene Westerman (born November 18, 1967) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for Arkansas's 4th congressional district. Previously, he served as member and the majority leader of the Arkansas House of Representatives.

Bruce Westerman
Chair of the House Natural Resources Committee
Assumed office
January 3, 2023
Preceded byRaúl Grijalva
Ranking Member of the House Natural Resources Committee
In office
January 3, 2021 – January 3, 2023
Preceded byRob Bishop
Succeeded byRaúl Grijalva
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Arkansas's 4th district
Assumed office
January 3, 2015
Preceded byTom Cotton
Majority Leader of the Arkansas House of Representatives
In office
January 14, 2013 – January 3, 2015
Preceded byJohnnie Roebuck
Succeeded byKen Bragg
Member of the Arkansas House of Representatives
from the 22nd district
In office
January 14, 2013 – January 3, 2015
Preceded byNate Bell
Succeeded byMickey Gates
Member of the Arkansas House of Representatives
from the 30th district
In office
January 11, 2011 – January 14, 2013
Preceded byBill Sample
Succeeded byCharles Armstrong
Personal details
Born
Bruce Eugene Westerman

(1967-11-18) November 18, 1967
Hot Springs, Arkansas, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseSharon French
Children4
EducationUniversity of Arkansas (BS)
Yale University (MS)
WebsiteHouse website

In 2014, Westerman was elected to the House to succeed Tom Cotton, who defeated U.S. Senator Mark Pryor in the 2014 Senate election.

Background

Westerman was raised in and resides in Hot Springs, Arkansas.[1] He graduated as valedictorian of Fountain Lake High School in Hot Springs. He attended the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, where he played college football for the Arkansas Razorbacks football team. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in engineering in 1990 and subsequently received a master's degree in forestry from Yale University.[2]

Westerman worked as an engineer and forester before being elected to the Arkansas House in 2010. He was formerly employed as an engineer and forester by the Mid-South Engineering Company. He served as president of the Arkansas chapter of the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineering. He is also a former chair of the Arkansas Academy of Biological and Agricultural Engineers, and served on the Fountain Lake School District school board.[1]

Arkansas House of Representatives

Elections

Westerman ran for the Arkansas House of Representatives in 2010.[3][4][5]

Tenure

Westerman served as the House Minority Leader in 2012 and House Majority Leader in 2013.[6] He was the first Republican House Majority Leader in Arkansas since Reconstruction.[7]

Committee assignments
  • Revenue And Taxation Committee
    • Subcommittee on Sales, Use, Miscellaneous Taxes and Exemptions (chair)
  • State Agencies And Governmental Affairs Committee
  • Insurance and Commerce Committee[6]

U.S. House of Representatives
Westerman speaking at an event in June 2022

2014 election

Westerman won the Republican primary on May 20, defeating Tommy Moll, 54%–46%.[8] In November, he defeated Democratic nominee James Lee Witt, a former associate of U.S. President Bill Clinton, 54%-43%.[9]

Tenure

In 2015, Westerman cosponsored a resolution to amend the US constitution to ban same-sex marriage.[10]

On June 20, 2017, as the only certified forester in the House, Westerman introduced H.R.2936 - Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2017,[11] providing for the culling of overgrown federally managed woods. After passing the House, it was introduced in the Senate on November 2, 2017, where it failed.

Westerman voted for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.[12]

In December 2020, Westerman was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives to sign an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which Joe Biden defeated[13] incumbent Donald Trump. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of an election held by another state.[14][15][16]

During the 2021 Capitol riot, Westerman, left behind in House minority leader Kevin McCarthy's office when he was evacuated by security, took a Civil War sword from a shattered display for protection and hid from rioters on a toilet.[17]

As of October 2021, Westerman had voted in line with Joe Biden's stated position 8% of the time.[18]

In the October 2023 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election, Westerman received one vote for speaker from representative Pete Stauber of Minnesota.[19]

Committee assignments

For the 118th Congress:[20]

Caucus memberships

[22]

Political positions

Abortion

Westerman believes that "Life is a right. Abortion is not." He supported the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade.[23]

Environment

Westerman considers himself a conservationist.[24] He introduced the Trillion Trees Act on April 19th, 2021, which planned to plant a trillion trees, but the bill was criticized by scientists and environmental groups.[25] Westerman has a 4% lifetime score from the League of Conservation Voters.[26]

Gun law

Westerman has received consistent "A" ratings from the NRA Political Victory Fund for his pro-gun rights legislative voting record.[27][28] He voted against the Enhanced Background Checks Act in 2021.[29]

Electoral history
Arkansas House of Representatives 30th District Election, 2010
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Bruce Westerman n/a 100.00
Arkansas House of Representatives 22nd District Election, 2012
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Bruce Westerman n/a 100.00
Arkansas 4th Congressional District Republican Primary Election, 2014
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Bruce Westerman 18,719 54.45
Republican Tommy Moll 15,659 45.55
Total votes 34,378 100.00
Arkansas 4th Congressional District Election, 2014
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Bruce Westerman 110,789 53.75
Democratic James Lee Witt 87,742 42.57
Libertarian Ken Hamilton 7,598 3.69
Write-in 2 0.0
Total votes 206,131 100.00
Republican hold
Arkansas 4th Congressional District Election, 2016
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Bruce Westerman (incumbent) 182,885 74.9
Libertarian Kerry Hicks 61,274 25.1
Total votes 244,159 100.00
Republican hold
Arkansas 4th Congressional District Republican Primary Election, 2018
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Bruce Westerman (incumbent) 40,201 79.8
Republican Randy Caldwell 10,151 20.2
Total votes 50,352 100.00
Arkansas 4th Congressional District Election, 2018
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Bruce Westerman (incumbent) 136,740 66.7
Democratic Hayden Shamel 63,984 31.2
Libertarian Tom Canada 3,952 1.9
Write-in 216 0.1
Total votes 204,892 100.00
Republican hold
Arkansas 4th Congressional District Election, 2020
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Bruce Westerman (incumbent) 191,617 69.7
Democratic William Hanson 75,750 27.5
Libertarian Frank Gilbert 7,668 2.8
Total votes 275,035 100.00
Republican hold
Arkansas 4th Congressional District Election, 2022
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Bruce Westerman (incumbent) 153,850 71.0
Democratic John White 56,745 26.1
Libertarian Gregory Maxwell 6,101 2.8
Total votes 216,696 100.00
Republican hold

References
  1. "About". Congressman Bruce Westerman. December 3, 2012.
  2. "Bruce Westerman's Biography". votesmart.org. Retrieved January 12, 2014.
  3. Westerman plans to run for Sample's seat in House. Hot Springs Village Voice. September 30, 2009
  4. Westerman to resign from Fountain Lake school board. Hot Springs Village Voice. March 24, 2010
  5. "State Representative District 030 – Certified, 2010". sos.arkansas.gov. Retrieved January 10, 2014.
  6. "Arkansas House Of Representatives". Arkanhouse.org. Archived from the original on January 2, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  7. "Bruce Westerman Enters the Speaker Chat". WSJ. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  8. "Arkansas Primary Election Results, May 20, 2014". KATV. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
  9. "RealClearPolitics – Election 2014 – Arkansas 4th District – Westerman vs. Witt". Realclearpolitics.com. Retrieved January 11, 2015.
  10. Huelskamp, Tim (February 12, 2015). "Cosponsors - H.J.Res.32 - 114th Congress (2015-2016): Marriage Protection Amendment". www.congress.gov. Retrieved April 11, 2022.
  11. Westerman, Bruce (November 2, 2017). "H.R.2936 - 115th Congress (2017-2018): Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2017". www.congress.gov. Retrieved April 2, 2019.
  12. Almukhtar, Sarah (December 19, 2017). "How Each House Member Voted on the Tax Bill". The New York Times. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  13. Blood, Michael R.; Riccardi, Nicholas (December 5, 2020). "Biden officially secures enough electors to become president". AP News. Archived from the original on December 8, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  14. Liptak, Adam (December 11, 2020). "Supreme Court Rejects Texas Suit Seeking to Subvert Election". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  15. "Order in Pending Case" (PDF). Supreme Court of the United States. December 11, 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  16. Diaz, Daniella. "Brief from 126 Republicans supporting Texas lawsuit in Supreme Court". CNN. Archived from the original on December 12, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  17. Leibovich, Mark (April 25, 2021). "Kevin McCarthy, Four Months After Jan. 6, Still on Defensive Over Trump". The New York Times. Retrieved May 20, 2021.
  18. Bycoffe, Anna Wiederkehr and Aaron (April 22, 2021). "Does Your Member Of Congress Vote With Or Against Biden?". FiveThirtyEight.
  19. Perry, Kati; Dormido, Hannah; Zakharenko, Hanna; Blanco, Adrian. "How each House member voted for speaker". Washington Post. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
  20. "Bruce Westerman". Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. Retrieved April 23, 2023.
  21. "Membership". Republican Study Committee. December 6, 2017. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
  22. "Committees and Caucuses". Congressman Bruce Westerman. December 13, 2012. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  23. Westerman, Bruce (June 24, 2022). "Westerman Reacts to the Reversal of Roe v. Wade". Congressman Bruce Westerman. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
  24. "Conservation is Conservative | Congressman Bruce Westerman". westerman.house.gov. April 23, 2021. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
  25. Joselow, Maxine (August 2, 2023). "Republicans want to plant a trillion trees. Scientists are skeptical". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  26. "Check out Representative Bruce Westerman's Environmental Voting Record". League of Conservation Voters Scorecard. July 26, 2023. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  27. "NRA-PVF | Grades | Arkansas". nrapvf.org. NRA-PVF. Archived from the original on November 4, 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  28. "NRA-PVF | Grades | Arkansas". nrapvf.org. NRA-PVF. Archived from the original on November 7, 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  29. "The Voter's Self Defense System - Bruce Westerman". Vote Smart. Retrieved June 26, 2022.
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