Troy Nehls

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Troy Nehls
Troy Nehls 117th U.S Congress.jpg
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 22nd district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2021
Preceded byPete Olson
Sheriff of Fort Bend County
In office
January 1, 2013 – January 1, 2021
Preceded byMilton Wright[1]
Succeeded byEric Fagan[2]
Personal details
Born (1968-04-07) April 7, 1968 (age 53)
Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)
Jill Broxson
​
(m. 2009)​
Children3
Residence(s)Richmond, Texas, U.S.
EducationLiberty University (BA)
University of Houston–Downtown (MA)
WebsiteHouse website
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Army
Years of service1988–2009
RankMajor
UnitUnited States Army Reserve
Wars

Troy Edwin Nehls (born April 7, 1968)[3] is an American politician and law enforcement officer who is the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district. From 2013 to 2021, he served as the sheriff for Fort Bend County, Texas. Nehls is a member of the Republican Party.

Early life and education[]

Nehls was born in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin. His father, Edwin Nehls, served in the Korean War and as sheriff of Dodge County, Wisconsin.[4] Nehls enlisted in the United States Army Reserve in 1988. He served tours of duty in Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and earned two Bronze Stars.[4] He earned his bachelor's degree from Liberty University and a master's degree in criminal justice from University of Houston–Downtown.[5]

Career[]

Nehls moved to Fort Bend County, Texas, in 1994, and joined the police department of Richmond, Texas.[5] In 1998, he was fired for reasons including destruction of evidence. [6]

In 2004, Nehls was elected constable for Fort Bend County, while he was serving in Iraq.[4] He retired from the Army Reserve with the rank of major in 2009.[4] In 2012, Nehls was elected sheriff of Fort Bend County, taking office in January 2013.[7] He was reelected in 2016.

Nehls formed an exploratory committee for Texas's 22nd congressional district in the 2018 elections against incumbent Republican Pete Olson, but decided in December 2017 not to run for that office.[8] In July 2019, he announced that he would not seek reelection as sheriff in 2020.[9]

U.S. House of Representatives[]

Elections[]

2020[]

Main article: 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Texas § District 22

In mid-July 2019, Nehls created a website where he asked Fort Bend County residents whether he should run for Congress in the 22nd congressional district, which covers Katy, Sugar Land, and Pearland.[10] On July 25, 2019, Olson announced he would not seek reelection in 2020.[11] In December 2019, Nehls announced that he would run for the seat.[12]

Nehls finished first in the March Republican primary[13] with 40.5% of the vote. In the July runoff, he defeated second-place finisher Kathaleen Wall with 70% of the vote.[14][15] He faced Democratic nominee Sri Preston Kulkarni in the general election in November.[15]

According to his campaign website, Nehls ran in order to improve mental and physical health care for veterans and to protect oil and gas jobs in Texas.[16] Two days after he became the nominee, the "Standing with President Trump" page on that website was removed.[17]

In the general election, Nehls defeated Kulkarni, 52% to 45%. He assumed office on January 3, 2021.[18][19]

117th Congress[]

In his first week in the U.S. House, Nehls and other members of Congress were seen assisting U.S. Capitol Police in barricading the door to the House floor from protesters during the 2021 United States Capitol attack.[20]

On January 7, 2021, Nehls joined 121 other Republican members of Congress in objecting to counting certain electoral votes in the 2020 presidential election.[21] On January 13, 2021, he voted against the second impeachment of President Donald Trump.

After President Joe Biden delivered a speech to a joint session of Congress in April 2021, Nehls approached Biden and said he wanted to work together on criminal justice reform. Biden administration staff subsequently reached out to Nehls's office.[22] On May 25, 2021, Nehls partnered with Representative Val Demings to introduce H.R. 3529, The Second Chance Opportunity for Re-Entry Education (SCORE) Act, to direct grant funds to county jails for career training programs for non-violent, incarcerated individuals to reduce jail recidivism.[23]

On January 3, 2022, Nehls entered a full transcript[24][25] of an interview on The Joe Rogan Experience with Robert W. Malone into the Congressional Record in order to circumvent what he said was censorship by social media.[26][24] The interview contained a claim by Malone about "a third of the population basically being hypnotized".

Committee assignments[]

Caucus memberships[]

  • Republican Study Committee[29]
  • Border Security Caucus
  • Bipartisan Taskforce for Combating Antisemitism
  • General Aviation Caucus

Electoral history[]

Texas's 22nd congressional district: 2020 results[30][31]
Year Republican Votes Pct Democratic Votes Pct Libertarian Party Votes Pct
2020 Troy Nehls 204,537 51.7% Sri Preston Kulkarni 175,738 44.4% Joseph LeBlanc Libertarian 15,452 3.9%

Personal life[]

Nehls has a twin brother, Trever. Trever Nehls served in the Army Reserve for 24 years, including tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Another brother, Todd, served in the Wisconsin Army National Guard and is a former sheriff of Dodge County.[4] Trever succeeded Troy as a constable for Fort Bend County in 2013,[7] and won the Republican nomination to succeed him as the sheriff of Fort Bend County in March 2020.[32]

Nehls and his wife, Jill, an educator, have three daughters.[5]

References[]

  1. ^ "Retiring sheriff leaves behind rich legacy after 16 years in office". Fort Bend Independent. February 26, 2012.
  2. ^ Lewis, Brooke A. (November 5, 2020). "Fort Bend makes history, elects Eric Fagan as first Black sheriff since Reconstruction". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  3. ^ "Troy Nehls". Retrieved January 13, 2021.
  4. ^ a b c d e Sudhalter, Michael (June 15, 2012). "Nehls Twins' careers highlighted by dedication to public service". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c Clark, Natalie Cook (June 1, 2019). "Sheriff Troy Nehls: A Legacy of Public Service". Katy Magazine. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  6. ^ Schneider, Andrew (December 8, 2017). "Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls Won't Run For Congress in 2018". Houston Public Media.
  7. ^ a b Emswiler, David (July 22, 2013). "Sheriff Troy Nehls: A career law enforcement officer who comes from a law enforcement family". Fort Bend Herald. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  8. ^ McClellan, Theresa D. (December 13, 2017). "Sheriff won't run for Congress". Fort Bend Star. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  9. ^ Lewis, Brooke A. (July 10, 2019). "Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls won't seek another term". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  10. ^ Willey, Scott Reese (July 25, 2019). "Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls explores run for Congress". Fort Bend Herald. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  11. ^ Benning, Tom (July 25, 2019). "Sugar Land Rep. Pete Olson will not run for re-election in district expected to be competitive in 2020". Dallas News. Retrieved July 25, 2019.
  12. ^ Scherer, Jasper (December 8, 2019). "Fort Bend's Nehls announces bid for Congress". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved June 23, 2020.
  13. ^ Nix, Kristi (March 4, 2020). "Nehls brothers, family members celebrate primary election results". ExpressNews.com. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
  14. ^ "AP: Troy Nehls defeats Kathaleen Wall in GOP primary runoff for Texas' 22nd Congressional District". KHOU 11. Associated Press. July 14, 2020. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
  15. ^ a b Axelrod, Tal (July 14, 2020). "Troy Nehls wins GOP primary in competitive Texas House district". The Hill. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  16. ^ Panetta, Grace Madison Hall (August 28, 2020). "Democrat Sri Preston Kulkarni faces off against Republican Troy Nehls in Texas' 22nd Congressional District". Business Insider.
  17. ^ Scherer, Jasper (July 24, 2020). "His approval faltering, Republicans in battleground Houston districts start to distance from Trump". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved October 21, 2020.
  18. ^ Sanchez, Carolina (November 3, 2020). "Republican Troy Nehls defeats Sri Preston Kulkarni in Texas 22 race". FOX 26 Houston KRIV-TV. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
  19. ^ Vella, Lauren (November 4, 2020). "Republican Fort Bend County Sheriff wins Texas House seat". The Hill. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  20. ^ Beavers, Olivia (January 21, 2021). "How lawmakers trapped in the House stood their ground". Politico.
  21. ^ Sprunt, Barbara (January 7, 2021). "Here Are The Republicans Who Objected To The Electoral College Count : Insurrection At The Capitol: Live Updates". NPR. Retrieved January 21, 2021.
  22. ^ Livingston, Abby (April 29, 2021). "Freshman GOP Texas congressman made a personal pitch to Joe Biden: Let me help with criminal justice reform". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved May 14, 2021.
  23. ^ "Congressman Troy e. Nehls Announces Introduction of SCORE Act". May 26, 2021.
  24. ^ a b "Joe Rogan Experience #1757 – Dr. Robert Malone, MD Full Transcript". Congressman Troy Nehls. January 3, 2022. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
  25. ^ 2021 Congressional Record, Vol. 167, Page e1403 (3 January 2022)
  26. ^ Fenton, Tom (January 4, 2022). "YouTube takes down anti-vax Joe Rogan interview with Dr Robert Malone". The Independent. Retrieved January 6, 2022 – via Yahoo! Sports.
  27. ^ "Congressman Nehls Announces Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Assignment | Representative Troy Nehls". nehls.house.gov. January 25, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  28. ^ "Congressman Nehls Announces Veterans' Affairs Committee Assignment | Representative Troy Nehls". nehls.house.gov. January 27, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  29. ^ "Member List". Republican Study Committee. Retrieved December 21, 2017.
  30. ^ "2008 General Election Results". Secretary of State. State of Texas. November 4, 2008. Retrieved November 6, 2008.[dead link]
  31. ^ "2018 General Election Results". Secretary of State. State of Texas. November 6, 2018. Retrieved January 27, 2019.
  32. ^ "Twin of Fort Bend County sheriff Troy Nehls wins GOP primary while deployed overseas". ABC13 Houston. March 4, 2020. Retrieved February 8, 2022.

External links[]

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Pete Olson
 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 22nd congressional district
2021–present 		Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by United States representatives by seniority
413th 		Succeeded by
Marie Newman
Retrieved from ""