Ed Royce | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chair of theHouse Foreign Affairs Committee | |
| In office January 3, 2013 – January 3, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Ileana Ros-Lehtinen |
| Succeeded by | Eliot Engel |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia | |
| In office January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2019 | |
| Preceded by | William Dannemeyer |
| Succeeded by | Gil Cisneros |
| Constituency | 39th district (1993–2003) 40th district (2003–2013) 39th district (2013–2019) |
| Member of theCalifornia Senate from the32nd district | |
| In office December 6, 1982 – January 2, 1993 | |
| Preceded by | Ruben Ayala |
| Succeeded by | Rob Hurtt |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Edward Randall Royce (1951-10-12)October 12, 1951 (age 74) Los Angeles,California, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Education | California State University, Fullerton (BA) |
Edward Randall Royce (born October 12, 1951) is an American retired politician and lobbyist. He served as a member of theUnited States House of Representatives fromCalifornia from 1993 to 2019. A member of theRepublican Party, Royce served as Chairman of theUnited States House Committee on Foreign Affairs from 2013 to 2019. He previously served as a member of theCalifornia Senate from 1982 to 1993.
He was reelected to his seat in2016,[1] having spent over $3.5 million on his campaign.[2] On January 8, 2018, Royce announced that he would retire fromCongress at the end of his term and not run for reelection in2018.[3]
In September 2020, Royce became a lobbyist at the law firmBrownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck.[4]
Royce was born inLos Angeles,California. He graduated fromKatella High School inAnaheim, California. He earned hisBachelor of Arts degree inAccounting andFinance in 1977 fromCalifornia State University, Fullerton.[5]
Royce was a business owner andcorporate tax manager for aPortland cement company before becoming aCalifornia State Senator in 1983, serving in that post until his election to the U.S. House of Representatives.
After redistricting following the1990 United States census, incumbent Republican U.S. RepresentativeWilliam Dannemeyer decided to retire and run for the1992 U.S. Senate election. Royce won the Republican primary for what was thenCalifornia's 39th congressional district, which included most of northern Orange County and southern Los Angeles County.
He defeated Democrat Molly McClanahan in the general election with 57% of the vote.[6]
He won re-election to the 39th district four more times with at least 63% of the vote. After redistricting after the2000 United States census, his district was renumbered the 40th and cut back to northern Orange County. He won re-election from this district five more times with at least 63% of the vote.[7]
After redistricting, Royce's home in Fullerton was drawn into the 39th district. That district had previously been the 42nd District, represented by fellow RepublicanGary Miller. Although it was geographically more Miller's district than Royce's, Royce would have been favored in a primary battle with Miller–which would have been the real contest in this heavily Republican district. Ultimately, Miller opted to move to the neighboring 31st District,[8] effectively handing the seat to Royce.
Royce defeated Jay Chen in the general election.[9]
In 2012 he was endorsed by 11 of 14 Republicans[10] as chairman of theHouse Foreign Affairs Committee and has served as chairman since January 2013.[11]
Royce voted in favor of theTax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.[12]
Situated in a district that supportedHillary Clinton in the 2016 Presidential election by a margin of eight points,[17] Royce was widely viewed as one of the most vulnerable members of Congress.[18] As of December 2017, polling in the 39th District showed a 36% approval rating for Royce and a 60% disapproval rating forPresident Trump.[19] Additionally, the data showed that a large majority of voters disapproved of Royce's public support and vote in favor of the RepublicanTax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.[19] Acknowledging the difficult campaign ahead and the end of his six-year term as Chairman of theHouse Foreign Relations Committee,[20] Royce decided to announce his retirement and decision to not run for reelection in 2018 viaTwitter on January 8, 2018.[3]
Thirty minutes following his announcement,President Trump formally nominated Royce's wifeMarie Royce to beAssistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs.[21] In retiring, Royce joined the "casualty list" of 36 Republican members of the 115th Congress who have left or announced their intention to leave theHouse of Representatives.[22]
In September 2020, it was announced that Royce would join law firmBrownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck as a lobbyist.[4] In this role, he has worked as aregistered foreign agent on behalf of the government ofSaudi Arabia.[23] In 2025, it was reported that Royce would lobby on behalf of technology firmNvidia.[24]
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Royce voted in line with President Trump's position in 97.9% of the votes in the115th United States Congress.[25] For the114th United States Congress, Royce was ranked as the 27th most bipartisan member of the U.S. House of Representatives (and the most bipartisan member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California) in the Bipartisan Index created byThe Lugar Center and theMcCourt School of Public Policy that ranks members of the United States Congress by their degree of bipartisanship (by measuring the frequency each member's bills attract co-sponsors from the opposite party and each member's co-sponsorship of bills by members of the opposite party).[26] Over his career, Royce has received nearly $7 million from PACs.[27] In the 2016 race, he raised over $4.2 million and spent over $3.5 million.[2]
His campaign committee received funds from Northwest Excavating,Deutsche Bank,Morgan Stanley and NorPac. The Sunlight Foundation gave Royce's web site a 24 percent rating for transparency,[28] with 40 percent being considered a passing score. Royce's website highlights support fromconservative groups such as60 Plus[29] and business organizations such as theNational Taxpayers Union andCitizens Against Government Waste. He received praise from the American Share Holders Association,Citizens for a Sound Economy, and the Small Business Survival Committee.[30]
For the 113th Congress, the Washington Post named Royce as one of the “10 most effective lawmakers in the U.S. Congress”, citing his authorship of the Global Anti-Poaching Act (H.R. 2494) and the Hizballah International Financing Prevention Act of 2015 (H.R. 2297).[31]
Royce's voting record, his scores on VoteMatch, and ratings by theCato Institute indicate mixed or moderate positions onfree trade,[32][33]privatization ofsocial security, campaign finance,[32] and tax reform.[33]
Royce is pro-life.[34]
One of Royce's early signature issues was banking deregulation. He has sponsored legislation ontax policy, small businesses, and credit. Many of his biggest campaign contributors have been banks: his five top contributors in 2006 were Credit Union National Assn, Irvine Co., Wells Fargo, Orange County Teachers Fed Credit Union, and GUS plc. He is among the representatives receiving the largest percentage of their campaign contributions from the banking industry.[35]
On November 13, 2013, Royce introduced theCredit Union Share Insurance Fund Parity Act (H.R. 3468; 113th Congress) into the House.[36] The bill would expand federal deposit insurance to includeInterest on Lawyer Trust Accounts (IOLTAs) and similar escrow accounts housed within credit unions.[37]
Royce has a "C" rating fromNORML regarding his voting record oncannabis-related matters. He voted against allowing veterans access tomedical marijuana, if legal in their state, per their Veterans Health Administration doctor's recommendation.[38]
Royce had a "A" rating from theNRA Political Victory Fund regarding his voting record ongun-related matters.[34][39]
In the wake of the 2016Orlando nightclub shooting, Royce posted on Facebook: "We need to defeat the terrorists and make it our top national security priority to prevail in the war against radicalIslamic extremism."[40]
He has received 14 "Taxpayer Friend Awards" from the National Taxpayers' Union.[41] Royce opposes funding for theOverseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC).[42] Royce has posited that these overseas investments expose taxpayers to a serious potential liability, just like the S&L crisis did.[43]
Royce sponsored anti-stalking legislation signed into law by President Bill Clinton, which was based on legislation Royce had authored as a California State Senator. In 2003, he sponsored another bill as US representative related to victims.[44][45]
On May 4, 2017, he voted to repeal thePatient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and pass theAmerican Health Care Act.[46][47]
Inforeign policy, Royce's voting record has earned a 0% rating from the peace organizationSANE.[33] In 2011, Royce voted against theNational Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 as part of a controversial provision that allows the government and the military to indefinitely detain American citizens and others without trial.[48]
In 2016, Royce criticized the Iran nuclear agreement and Obama administration harshly, saying the deal was "a financial windfall” for Iran and a "a cash bonanza, a boost to its international standing, and a lighted path toward nuclear weapons."[49] He called for re-introducing sanctions on Iran.[50] Later, in 2017, after Donald Trump had become president, Royce said that he was in favor of staying in the Iran nuclear agreement.[51][52]
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Royce serves as a senior member of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia. He and has been especially involved in policy regarding North Korea, working on issues such as human rights, counterfeiting of U.S. currency, nuclear proliferation,[53] and stopping repatriation of refugees.[54] Royce's district includesFullerton, which has a large population of Korean immigrants.[citation needed] During a slow-rolling crisis in 2017 between the US and North Korea, Royce introduced legislation expanding sanctions against North Korea and requiring that its designation as a state sponsor of terror be reinstated.[55]
Royce was a supporter of the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2002, he voted in favor of authorizingPresidentGeorge W. Bush to use force in Iraq.[56] In 2003, he voted yes on an emergency appropriation of $78 billion for thewars in Iraq andAfghanistan.[33] From 2003 to 2006, he voted in favor of the annual supplemental spending bill to continue funding for the Iraq war.[56][57] In 2005, he voted against Amendment 214 to HR 1815, which called on Bush to develop a plan for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq; in favor of Amendment 488 to HR 2601 to keep troops in Iraq; and in favor of HR 612 opposing a timetable for withdrawal of troops from Iraq.[58] In 2006, he voted for HR 861, a resolution labeling the war in Iraq as part of aglobal war against terrorism.[56]
He has supported U.S. broadcasting efforts in Asia, initiating legislation to createRadio Free Asia andRadio Free Afghanistan on the model ofRadio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.[59] Royce had a mixed voting record on the 2011US involvement in Libya.[60] In 2015, he supported theSaudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen.[61]
In 2018, Royce condemned thegenocide of theRohingya Muslim minority inMyanmar and called for a stronger response to the crisis, saying that "Defining these atrocities for what they are is critical to building international public awareness – and support – to stop them."[62]
Royce was formerly chair of the Africa Subcommittee. He co-led, withColin Powell, a delegation to observeNigeria'shistoric elections in 1999 and led a delegation toDarfur to bring attention to the ongoinggenocide in 2005 and led efforts in the House to bringCharles Taylor, the formerPresident of Liberia, to stand trial before the Special Court ofSierra Leone.[63][64]
On April 26, 2013, Royce introduced theNorth Korea Sanctions Enforcement Act of 2013 (H.R. 1771; 113th Congress), a bill that would increase U.S. sanctions onNorth Korea.[65] Royce said that "by shutting down North Korea's illicit activities, we deprive the Kim regime of the money he needs to pay his generals and to conduct nuclear weapons research."[66] Royce also argued that "North Korea is undoubtedly one of the most significant security threats that we here face and our allies face."[66]
On June 27, 2013, Royce introduced theElectrify Africa Act of 2013 (H.R. 2548; 113th Congress), a bill that would direct thePresident to establish a multiyear strategy to assist countries insub-Saharan Africa develop an appropriate mix of power solutions to provide sufficientelectricity access to people living in rural and urban areas in order to alleviatepoverty and drive economic growth.[67]
On November 13, 2013, Royce introduced theTaiwan Relations Act Affirmation and Naval Vessel Transfer Act of 2014 (H.R. 3470; 113th Congress) into the House.[68] The bill would allow the sale of severalOliver Hazard Perry-class frigates toMexico,Thailand, andTaiwan.[68] Four naval vessels would be sold to Taiwan for about $10 million each.[69] Mexico and Thailand would each receive two vessels as a grant.[68] Royce argued in favor of the bill saying that "these ships would bolster Taiwan's defense."[70] Royce also said that "these transfers help support the priorities of the U.S. Navy while strengthening the capability of allies and our close partners to meet our share maritime security objectives."[70]
In January 2017, Royce introduced a House resolution condemning theUN Security Council Resolution 2334, which condemnedIsraeli settlement building in the occupiedPalestinian territories as a violation of international law.[71]
Royce is married toMarie Therese Porter, a businesswoman, former professor atCalifornia State Polytechnic University, Pomona, and theAssistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs.[citation needed]
Royce isRoman Catholic.[75]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia's 39th congressional district 1993–2003 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia's 40th congressional district 2003–2013 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia's 39th congressional district 2013–2019 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theHouse Foreign Affairs Committee 2013–2019 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former U.S. Representative | Order of precedence of the United States as Former U.S. Representative | Succeeded byas Former U.S. Representative |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
