John Katko

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John Katko
John Katko official photo.jpg
Ranking Member of the House Homeland Security Committee
Assumed office
January 3, 2021
Preceded byMike Rogers
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 24th district
Assumed office
January 3, 2015
Preceded byDan Maffei
Personal details
Born
John Michael Katko

(1962-11-09) November 9, 1962 (age 60)
Syracuse, New York, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Robin Gibson
​
(m. 1987)​
Children3
EducationNiagara University (BA)
Syracuse University (JD)
WebsiteHouse website

John Michael Katko (/ˈkætkoʊ/; born November 9, 1962) is an American attorney and politician who has served as the U.S. representative for New York's 24th congressional district, based in Syracuse, since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he previously was an Assistant United States Attorney who led the organized crime division at the U.S. Attorney's Office in Syracuse. In that role, he helped to prosecute gang members under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.[1]

In the 116th Congress, he was a co-chair of the House moderate Republican faction, the Tuesday Group.[2] He is the sole chair of the renamed Republican Governance Group for the 117th Congress.[3] Katko was one of ten Republicans in the House who voted to impeach Donald Trump during Trump's second impeachment.[4][5]

On January 14, 2022, Katko announced that he would not seek reelection in 2022.[6]

Early life and education

Katko was born in Syracuse in 1962 and is a 1980 graduate of Bishop Ludden High School.[7] He is of Slovak descent on his father's side.[8]

Katko attended Niagara University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science in 1984. He earned his Juris Doctor from Syracuse University College of Law in 1988.[9][10]

Legal career

Katko first entered private practice at a firm in Washington, D.C. Shortly thereafter he became a senior trial attorney in the Enforcement Division of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. He then spent 20 years as an Assistant United States Attorney in the United States Department of Justice. He served as a senior trial attorney on the Mexico–United States border in El Paso, Texas, and he was later assigned to San Juan, Puerto Rico. In April 2000, a Department of Justice-issued handgun was stolen from Katko's vehicle and used in a robbery in which two people were killed. Katko had been issued the gun after receiving a threat against his life. The Syracuse Post-Standard later reported about the episode: "Katko broke no state or federal gun laws, and he was not disciplined by the Justice Department."[11]

After leaving the Department of Justice, Katko moved to Camillus, New York, and spent 15 years working as a federal organized crime prosecutor in Syracuse, New York for the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Northern District of New York. In this role, he "led high-level narcotics prosecutions and was instrumental in formulating the Syracuse Gang Violence Task Force and successfully prosecuting the first-ever RICO gang case in the City of Syracuse, which led to a significant drop in the city's violent crime rate." He "also prosecuted political and police corruption cases." He retired from the Department of Justice in January 2013.[9][12]

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2014

See also: 2014 United States House of Representatives elections in New York § District 24

Katko challenged incumbent Representative Dan Maffei in the 2014 United States House of Representatives elections and was declared the winner on November 4 by more than 20 percentage points. This was the largest margin of defeat suffered by an incumbent in the 2014 election cycle.[13][14]

2016

See also: 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in New York § District 24

Katko ran for reelection in 2016. He ran unopposed in the Republican primary.[15] He faced Democratic nominee Colleen Deacon, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand's former district director for Central New York, in the November general election.[16] Katko was reelected with 61% of the vote,[17] even as Donald Trump lost this district by four points in the concurrent presidential election.

2018

See also: 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in New York § District 24

National Democrats thought that this was one of the seats that they should have a chance at winning because Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton won this district by four points in the 2016 election. The 2018 election was also heavily favored for the Democrats.[18] In May 2018, The New York Times reported that the Democratic primary contest had attracted interest around the country. On June 26, 2018, Dana Balter, with 63% of the vote, defeated Juanita Perez Williams, with 37%, in the Democratic primary. Katko defeated Balter with 52.6% of the vote in the November general election.[19][20]

2020

See also: 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in New York § District 24

Katko was reelected in 2020 with 53% of the vote,[21] but on January 3, 2022, the New York Independent Redistricting Commission proposed combining Ithaca, Syracuse, and Utica into one congressional district (the 24th); under that plan, Katko would likely have to face Claudia Tenney, who currently represents the 22nd district, in a primary.[22]

Tenure

In 2016, eight Katko-sponsored bills passed the House; one became law. Katko had more bills pass the House that year than any other member of the 61-member freshman class elected in 2014.[23]

On December 18, 2019, Katko voted against both articles of impeachment against Trump. Of the 195 House Republicans who voted, all voted against both impeachment articles, as did one Democrat.

On January 12, 2021, Katko became the first House Republican to say he would vote to impeach Trump in the pending vote on a second impeachment. This came in the aftermath of allegations that Trump incited a mob to storm the U.S. Capitol building. In a statement, Katko faulted Trump for fostering the environment that led to the attack and failing to "promptly and forcefully call it off." He believed that if Trump were not held to account for this behavior, it would pose "a direct threat to the future of our democracy."[24] Earlier, Katko had blamed Trump for the storming, saying the president's false claims of election fraud "incited and encouraged this unlawful and unpatriotic attack." As a result, Katko said, he could no longer support Trump.[25] He joined nine other Republicans in supporting impeachment on January 13.[26]

On February 4, 2021, Katko joined 10 other Republican House members voting with all voting Democrats to strip Marjorie Taylor Greene of her House Education and Labor Committee and House Budget Committee assignments in response to controversial political statements she had made.[27]

In March 2021, Katko voted against the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.[28]

On November 5, 2021, Katko was one of 13 House Republicans to vote for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.[29]

On January 14, 2022, Katko announced that he would not seek reelection in 2022, citing a desire to spend more time with his family. At the time, Katko was in line to chair the House Homeland Security Committee if Republicans were to win a majority in the 2022 elections. But CNN reported that perhaps also factoring into Katko's decision was that he had become a target on the right due to his support of Trump's second impeachment, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and the creation of an independent and bipartisan commission to investigate the circumstances of the January 6 insurrection.[6]

Record on bipartisanship

Katko has often been ranked among the most bipartisan members of the House.[30][31] In 2018, he was ranked the seventh-most bipartisan member of the House during the 115th United States Congress.[32] He had voted in support of Trump's position 75.6% of the time.[33] In the 116th United States Congress, the Lugar Center ranked Katko the second most bipartisan member of the House.[34] The Center for Effective Lawmaking, at Vanderbilt University and the University of Virginia, ranked him as the third-most effective House Republican in 2021.[30] In the 117th United States Congress, Katko is the third most bipartisan member of the Republican caucus. As of November 27, 2021, he has supported President Joe Biden’s position 43% of the time.[35]

Caucus memberships

Committee assignments

Political positions

Abortion

Katko opposes abortion. In 2014, he said he would reverse the Roe v. Wade 1973 Supreme Court decision if he could.[40] He has voted multiple times to defund Planned Parenthood. Katko said that he favored funding for Planned Parenthood until the Planned Parenthood 2015 undercover videos controversy, during which anti-abortion activists claimed that the videos showed Planned Parenthood illegally selling fetal tissue,[41] a claim found to be false.[42] During his 2014 campaign, Katko said he would not defund the organization.[41] At the time of the vote, he said he could not support additional funding of the organization while an investigation into its practices was ongoing.[43]

Katko voted for H.R. 8373: The Right to Contraception Act. This bill was designed to protect access to contraceptives and health care providers' ability to provide contraceptives and information related to contraception.[44] It would also fund Planned Parenthood.[45]

Budget

In February 2018, Katko supported the Bipartisan Budget Act, saying that it would bring $1.4 million to Oswego Health in his district.[46]

Civil rights

In 2019, Katko co-sponsored legislation to extend the protections of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to people regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.[47]

Health insurance

In 2017, Katko was one of only 20 Republicans to vote against the GOP Healthcare Bill. The act passed the House by a margin of 217–213.[48]

In 2019, Katko voted with seven other Republicans to pass a resolution condemning the Trump administration's efforts by Department of Justice to have the courts invalidate the Affordable Care Act.[49]

January 6 commission

On May 14, 2021, Katko and Representative Bennie Thompson, the House Homeland Security Committee chair, announced that they had struck a deal to create the January 6 commission, a bipartisan, independent commission meant to investigate the storming of the U.S. Capitol. The specifics of the commission's scope had been a topic of strong debate between Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress.[50] On May 19, Katko became one of 35 Republicans who joined all 217 Democrats present in voting to establish the commission.[51][52][53]

Parental savings accounts

In 2016, with Representative Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, Katko cosponsored the Working Parents Flexibility Act (H.R. 4699). This legislation would establish a tax-free "parental savings account" in which employers and parents could invest savings tax-free, with unused funds eligible to be "rolled into qualifying retirement, college savings or ABLE accounts for people with disabilities without tax penalties."[54]

School safety

After the shooting in Parkland, Florida, in February 2018, Katko and Representative Henry Cuellar introduced the Securing Our Children Act of 2018, which would create a commission tasked with developing school safety and security policy.[55]

Steve Bannon

On October 21, 2021, Katko was one of nine House Republicans who voted to hold Steve Bannon in contempt of Congress.[56]

LGBT rights

In 2022, Katko was one of six Republicans to vote for the Global Respect Act, which imposes sanctions on foreign persons responsible for violations of the internationally recognized human rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI) people, and for other purposes.[57][58] In July 2022, he was one of 47 Republicans to vote for the Respect for Marriage Act, which would codify same-sex marriage into law and passed the House, 267-157.[59]

Personal life

Katko was raised in suburban Camillus, New York, where he resides with his wife, Robin, and their three sons.[9]

See also

References

  1. ^ Weiner, Mark (January 14, 2014). "John Katko, former organized crime prosecutor, seeks GOP nomination for Congress". The Post-Standard. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  2. ^ "Congressional Member and Staff Organizations". Committee on House Administration. April 22, 2019.
  3. ^ Akin, Stephanie (February 18, 2021). "To Retake House, Centrists Say GOP Needs Candidates Who Can Win Swing Districts". Roll Call. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
  4. ^ "10 GOP lawmakers vote to impeach Trump, trial moves to Senate". FOX 35. January 13, 2021.
  5. ^ "These 10 House Republicans voted to impeach Trump on Wednesday". CNN. January 13, 2021. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  6. ^ a b Zanona, Melanie (January 14, 2022). "Third House Republican who voted to impeach Trump calls it quits". CNN. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  7. ^ "New York-24: John Katko (R)". National Journal. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  8. ^ Weiner, Mark (March 25, 2015). "Rep. John Katko scores winning goal, named MVP in Congressional Hockey Challenge (video)". The Post-Standard. Archived from the original on September 30, 2015.
  9. ^ a b c Braidenbach, Michelle (October 24, 2014). "Meet John Katko: Career gang prosecutor talks of taking on 'knuckleheads' in Congress". The Post-Standard. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
  10. ^ "Election preview: Rep. John Katko aims to build on successes if re-elected to Congress".
  11. ^ Weiner, Mark (August 28, 2014). "Gun stolen from congressional candidate John Katko used in robbery where 2 were killed". The Post-Standard. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  12. ^ "John Katko, '84: A Life of Advocacy". Niagara University.
  13. ^ "John Katko declared winner over Rep. Dan Maffei in race for Congress". The Post-Standard. November 5, 2014. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
  14. ^ Weiner, Mark (May 16, 2016). "House passes John Katko's bill to improve counterterrorism oversight". The Post-Standard. Retrieved May 17, 2016.
  15. ^ Tumulty, Bruce (April 27, 2016). "Democratic primary will determine challenger to Katko". Democrat and Chronicle. Retrieved April 29, 2016.
  16. ^ Weiner, Mark (September 20, 2016). "7 issues that separate John Katko, Colleen Deacon in race for Congress". The Post-Standard. Retrieved September 21, 2016.
  17. ^ Sharp, Brian (November 9, 2016). "Republican incumbents Collins, Reed and Katko win re-election". Democrat and Chronicle. Retrieved November 11, 2016.
  18. ^ Lee, Jasmine C. (March 26, 2018). "To Reclaim the House, Democrats Need to Flip 24 G.O.P. Seats. 25 Are in Clinton Territory. (Published 2018)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved January 16, 2021.
  19. ^ Foderaro, Lisa (May 30, 2018). "National Democrats Wade, Uninvited, Into New York House Race". The New York Times.
  20. ^ "New York's 24th Congressional District election, 2018". Ballotpedia.
  21. ^ "New York Election Results: 24th Congressional District". The New York Times. November 3, 2020.
  22. ^ "NY panel wants to merge districts of GOP Reps. John Katko, Claudia Tenney". The Post-Standard. January 3, 2022. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  23. ^ Theobold, William (April 11, 2016). "Arizona's Rep. Martha McSally shows a knack for moving bills despite gridlock". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved May 17, 2016.
  24. ^ Weiner, Mark (January 12, 2021). "Rep. John Katko becomes first House Republican to back Trump impeachment". The Post Standard. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  25. ^ Baker, Chris (January 7, 2021). "Rep. Katko faults Trump for inciting violence at U.S. Capitol". The Post Standard.
  26. ^ "These 10 House Republicans voted to impeach Trump on Wednesday". CNN. January 13, 2021. Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  27. ^ Foran, Clare; Diaz, Daniella; Grayer, Annie (February 4, 2021). "House votes to remove Marjorie Taylor Greene from committee assignments". CNN. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  28. ^ "FINAL VOTE RESULTS FOR ROLL CALL 49". clerk.house.gov. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. February 27, 2021. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
  29. ^ Annie Grayer. "These 6 House Democrats voted against the infrastructure bill. These 13 Republicans voted for it". CNN. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
  30. ^ a b Tang, Francis (April 17, 2022). "Rep. John Katko discusses bipartisanship in Congress, tenure in public service". The Daily Orange. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  31. ^ "Bipartisan Index". Lugar Center. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  32. ^ Harding, Robert (April 26, 2018). "Rep. John Katko ranked as one of the most bipartisan members of Congress". auburnpub.com. Auburn, New York. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  33. ^ Bycoffe, Aaron; Silver, Nate (January 30, 2017). "Tracking Congress In The Age Of Trump". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved November 4, 2018.
  34. ^ "House Scores: 116th Congress (2019-2020)". www.thelugarcenter.org. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  35. ^ Wiederkehr, Anna; Bycoffe, Aaron (April 22, 2021). "Does Your Member Of Congress Vote With Or Against Biden?". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
  36. ^ "Members". Republican Mains Street Partnership. Archived from the original on August 26, 2018. Retrieved October 4, 2017.
  37. ^ "TUESDAY GROUP CAUCUS ELECTS JOHN KATKO AS CO-CHAIR". Congressman John Katko. November 7, 2017. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  38. ^ "Featured Members". Problem Solvers Caucus. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  39. ^ "John Katko, Representative for New York's 24th Congressional District". GovTrack.us. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
  40. ^ "Rep. John Katko's votes against Planned Parenthood funding". Politifact. October 5, 2016. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  41. ^ a b Wiener, Mark (May 26, 2018). "What happened to 7 promises John Katko made to Central New York?". The Post-Standard. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
  42. ^ "Planned Parenthood Investigations Find No Fetal Tissue Sales". NPR. January 28, 2016. Retrieved June 16, 2020.
  43. ^ "House GOP votes to defund Planned Parenthood with help of John Katko". September 28, 2015. Retrieved September 23, 2016.
  44. ^ "H.R. 8373: To protect a person's ability to access contraceptives … -- House Vote #385 -- Jul 21, 2022".
  45. ^ "Democrats' contraception bill would force taxpayer funding for Planned Parenthood". July 21, 2022.
  46. ^ Parsnow, Luke (February 9, 2018). "Katko: Oswego Health to receive $1.4 million from congressional budget deal". WSTM. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  47. ^ "Congressional Democrats, GOP moderates look to enshrine LGBTQ legal protections". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  48. ^ Bryan, Bob (May 5, 2017). "Which, and why, Republicans voted against AHCA, healthcare bill". Business Insider. Retrieved May 14, 2017.
  49. ^ Brufke, Juliegrace (April 3, 2019). "The 8 Republicans who voted against Trump's anti-ObamaCare push". The Hill. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  50. ^ Herb, Jeremy; Nobles, Ryan; Grayer, Annie (May 14, 2021). "House strikes deal to create independent January 6 commission". CNN. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  51. ^ LeBlanc, Paul (May 19, 2021). "Here are the 35 House Republicans who voted for the January 6 commission". CNN. Retrieved May 19, 2021.
  52. ^ "Roll Call 154 Roll Call 154, Bill Number: H. R. 3233, 117th Congress, 1st Session". Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. May 19, 2021. p. 225-7000. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  53. ^ Cassata, Donna; Uhrmacher, Kevin (May 19, 2021). "How House Republicans voted on a commission to investigate the Jan. 6 Capitol riot". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  54. ^ "Katko bill would establish tax-free savings accounts for parents - Ripon Advance". March 10, 2016. Retrieved April 20, 2022.
  55. ^ Weiner, Mark (March 5, 2018). "Rep. John Katko wants federal commission to look at mass shootings, gun laws". The Post-Standard.
  56. ^ "These are the 9 House Republicans who voted to hold Steve Bannon in contempt of Congress". CNN.
  57. ^ "Final Vote Results for Roll Call 43". clerk.house.gov. Clerk of the United States House of Representatives. February 9, 2022. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
  58. ^ "Global Respect Act (H.R. 3485)".
  59. ^ robert.harding@lee.net, Robert Harding. "Katko votes for House marriage equality bill, Tenney lone 'no' from NY". Auburn Citizen. Retrieved July 20, 2022.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to John Katko.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 24th congressional district
2015–present 		Incumbent
Party political offices
Preceded by Chair of the Republican Governance Group
Tuesday Group: 2017–2020
2017–2022
Served alongside: Charlie Dent (2017–2018), Elise Stefanik (2017–2019), Susan Brooks (2019–2021), Fred Upton (2019–2021) 		Succeeded by
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by United States representatives by seniority
215th 		Succeeded by
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