Jodey Arrington

Jodey Arrington
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 19th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2017
Preceded by	Randy Neugebauer
Personal details
Born	Jodey Cook Arrington (1972-03-09) March 9, 1972 (age 49) Plainview, Texas, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Nicole Reilly ​ ​ (m. 1995; div. 1999)​ Priscilla Jones ​ ​ (m. 2002; div. 2007)​ Anne Meyer ​ (m. 2008)​
Children	3
Education	Texas Tech University (BA, MPA)
Website	House website

Jodey Cook Arrington (born March 9, 1972) is the U.S. Representative for Texas's 19th congressional district. The district includes a large slice of West Texas, centered around Lubbock and Abilene. He is a member of the Republican Party.

Arrington was a member of George W. Bush's gubernatorial and presidential administrations.^[1] He was named appointments manager for Governor Bush in 1996. In 2000, he was appointed Special Assistant to the President and Associate Director of Presidential Personnel.^[2] In December 2001, Donald E. Powell, the 18th Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, hired Arrington as the agency's chief of staff.^[3]

Arrington later served as deputy federal coordinator for the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding. In 2006, he left the coastal rebuilding office to return to his alma mater, Texas Tech University, as its system chief of staff and later as vice chancellor for research and commercialization. Until his election to Congress, Arrington was the president of Scott Laboratories in Lubbock.

Early life and education[]

Arrington, the son of Gene and Betty Arrington, was reared in Plainview. His father played basketball at Texas Tech,^[4][5] having lettered in 1958, 1959, and 1960^[6] under coach Polk Robison. In high school, Arrington was a multi-sport athlete and a state-ranked tennis player.^[7]

After graduating from Plainview High School, Arrington attended Texas Tech, where he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta men's fraternity. He also walked on to the football team under Spike Dykes. He graduated in 1994 with a Bachelor of Arts in political science but remained at Texas Tech to pursue a Master of Public Administration degree, which he completed in 1997. In 2004, he earned a Certificate of International Business Management from the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University.

White House[]

After Bush's election as president in 2000, Arrington was asked to join the White House staff as Special Assistant to the President and Associate Director of Presidential Personnel,^[8] where he served under Clay Johnson III. For the next year, Arrington briefed and made recommendations to the President, Vice President Dick Cheney, and Chief of Staff Andy Card. During his time in the Office of Presidential Personnel, he managed an executive search team that helped the office fill more than 5,000 executive-level, board, and commission positions.^{[citation needed]} He specialized in appointments relating to energy, the environment, and natural resources.^[9]

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation[]

In late December 2001, at age 28, Arrington became one of the youngest chiefs of staff in the history of the FDIC,^[10][11] where he served under the 18th chair, Donald E. Powell.^[12] As Powell's chief of staff, he managed and oversaw the offices of the Chairman, Policy Development, and Public Affairs, all of which he reorganized to increase efficiency. In 2002, Arrington began chairing the FDIC Board Appeals Committee^[12] and served in Powell's place on the Audit Committee.^{[citation needed]}

Gulf Coast rebuilding[]

In 2005, in the wake of FEMA's response to Hurricane Katrina, Bush established by executive order the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding.^[13] Bush appointed Don Powell as Federal Coordinator, who appointed Arrington as Deputy Federal Coordinator and Chief Operating Officer. In this role, Arrington worked with the governors of the affected states, as well as military officials, local authorities and charitable organizations.^[1][3][14] Powell and Arrington were responsible for developing and executing the federal government's recovery efforts, as well as coordinating with local, state and federal officials. By the end of Arrington's first year in the Gulf Coast, he had aided Powell in the procurement and implementation of much of the $120 billion spent on infrastructure and assistance relief.^[1]

Texas Tech[]

After a year in the Gulf Coast position, Arrington returned to Texas Tech to serve as its system chief of staff.^[15] The Tech System includes Texas Tech University, Texas Tech Health Sciences Center and Angelo State University. He also served as the primary liaison to the vice chancellors throughout the system.^{[citation needed]}

In 2011, Arrington was named Vice Chancellor for Research and Commercialization at Texas Tech University System. During his seven-year tenure with the Texas Tech University System, Arrington chaired the Task Force for Enrollment Growth and was the chief architect of "Leading the Way", the strategic plan for the universities within the TTU System.^[16]

Arrington worked to secure the naming rights to the Laura W. Bush Institute for Women's Health for the university health sciences center.^[17] Since securing the naming rights in 2007, the institute has been responsible for raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for women's health care issues.^[18]

Scott Laboratories[]

In 2014, Arrington became president of Scott Laboratories in Lubbock. As president of a healthcare innovation holding company, which includes a comprehensive health system, Arrington's primary role was to launch and grow new ventures as well as supporting new revenue opportunities at the health system.

Until his election to Congress, Arrington focused on developing a telehealth startup, launching an innovative insurance product, and establishing a digital marketing platform for the health system.^[19]

U.S House of Representatives[]

Elections[]

Arrington ran unsuccessfully in 2014 in a special election for the Texas State Senate District 28. He lost to fellow Republican Charles Perry, who still holds the seat.^[20]

With Representative Randy Neugebauer of Texas's 19th congressional district retiring in 2016, Arrington ran for his seat. Former Lubbock mayor Glen Robertson led a nine-candidate field in the March 1 primary election with 27,791 votes (26.7%), followed by Arrington's 26,980 (26%). In third place was Michael Bob Starr, the former commander of Dyess Air Force Base who led handily in Abilene and received 22,256 votes (21.4%). Laredo surgeon Donald R. May finished fourth with 9,592 votes (9.2%).^[21][22] No Democrat filed, meaning that whoever won the primary would face no major-party opposition in November. (The 19th is so heavily Republican that any Democratic challenger would have faced nearly impossible odds. With a Cook Partisan Voting Index of R+26, it is the third-most Republican district in Texas and the 12th-most Republican in the nation.)

In the May 24 runoff election, Arrington defeated Robertson, 25,214 votes (53.7%) to 21,769 (46.3%).^[23][24] In the November 8 general election, Arrington polled 176,314 votes (86.7%); Libertarian Troy Bonar trailed with 17,376 (8.5%), and the Green candidate, Mark Lawson, polled 9,785 (4.8%).^[25]

When Arrington took office on January 3, 2017, he became only the fifth person to represent this district since its creation in 1935.

Tenure[]

National security[]

Arrington supported President Donald Trump's 2017 executive order curtailing Middle Eastern immigration, saying: "It is important that our commander in chief puts the safety of Americans first. Given concerns about the inadequate vetting of refugees and problems with our immigration system, this temporary pause is intended to ensure the safety of our citizens."^[26]

Unemployment benefits[]

In defending a proposal to cut access to the SNAP program (food stamps), Arrington cited the biblical passage Thessalonians 3:10, saying: "He says even when we were with you we give you this rule, 'If a man will not work he shall not eat.' And he goes on to say, 'We heard that some of you are idle.' I think that every American, Republican or Democrat wants to help the needy among us. And I think it's a reasonable expectation that we have work requirements. I think that gives more credibility, frankly, to SNAP."^[27]

Texas v. Pennsylvania[]

In December 2020, Arrington 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^[28] 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.^[29][30][31]

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement that called signing the amicus brief an act of "election subversion." She also reprimanded Arrington and the other House members who supported the lawsuit: "The 126 Republican Members that signed onto this lawsuit brought dishonor to the House. Instead of upholding their oath to support and defend the Constitution, they chose to subvert the Constitution and undermine public trust in our sacred democratic institutions."^[32][33] New Jersey Representative Bill Pascrell, citing section three of the 14th Amendment, called for Pelosi to not seat Arrington and the other Republicans who signed the brief supporting the suit, arguing that "the text of the 14th Amendment expressly forbids Members of Congress from engaging in rebellion against the United States. Trying to overturn a democratic election and install a dictator seems like a pretty clear example of that."^[34]

Committee assignment[]

• Committee on Ways and Means

Caucus membership[]

• Republican Study Committee^[35]

Awards and honors[]

Arrington received the 2003 Distinguished Public Service Award as part of the 22nd annual Center for Public Service Symposium in Lubbock.^[36]

References[]

External links[]

• U.S. House website
• Campaign website
• Jodey Arrington at Curlie
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Profile at Vote Smart
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Legislation sponsored at the Library of Congress
• Arrington article on Hurricane Katrina
• Appearances on C-SPAN

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Randy Neugebauer	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 19th congressional district 2017–present	Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by David Valadao	United States representatives by seniority 245th	Succeeded by Don Bacon

show v t Texas's delegation(s) to the 115th–present United States Congress (ordered by seniority)
115th	Senate:   J. Cornyn (R)   T. Cruz (R)	House: J. Barton L. Smith S. Johnson G. Green E. B. Johnson L. Doggett S. J. Lee M. Thornberry K. Brady K. Granger P. Sessions J. Culberson M. Burgess J. Carter J. Hensarling M. Conaway H. Cuellar L. Gohmert A. Green K. Marchant M. McCaul T. Poe P. Olson B. Farenthold B. Flores J. Castro B. O'Rourke M. Veasey F. Vela Jr. R. Weber R. Williams B. Babin W. Hurd J. Ratcliffe J. Arrington V. Gonzalez M. Cloud
116th	Senate:   J. Cornyn (R)   T. Cruz (R)	House: E. B. Johnson L. Doggett S. J. Lee M. Thornberry K. Brady K. Granger M. Burgess J. Carter M. Conaway H. Cuellar L. Gohmert A. Green K. Marchant M. McCaul P. Olson B. Flores J. Castro M. Veasey F. Vela Jr. R. Weber R. Williams B. Babin W. Hurd J. Ratcliffe J. Arrington V. Gonzalez M. Cloud C. Allred D. Crenshaw V. Escobar S. Garcia L. Gooden L. Fletcher C. Roy V. Taylor R. Wright
117th	Senate:   J. Cornyn (R)   T. Cruz (R)	House: E. B. Johnson L. Doggett S. J. Lee K. Brady K. Granger P. Sessions M. Burgess J. Carter H. Cuellar L. Gohmert A. Green M. McCaul J. Castro M. Veasey F. Vela Jr. R. Weber R. Williams B. Babin J. Arrington V. Gonzalez M. Cloud C. Allred D. Crenshaw V. Escobar S. Garcia L. Gooden L. Fletcher C. Roy V. Taylor R. Wright P. Fallon T. Gonzales R. Jackson T. Nehls A. Pfluger B. Van Duyne J. Ellzey