Jody Hice | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromGeorgia's10th district | |
| In office January 3, 2015 – January 3, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Paul Broun |
| Succeeded by | Mike Collins |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Jody Brownlow Hice (1960-04-22)April 22, 1960 (age 64) Atlanta,Georgia, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Asbury University (BA) Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (MDiv) Luther Rice College and Seminary (DMin) |
Jody Brownlow Hice (born April 22, 1960) is an American politician, radio show host, and political activist who served as theU.S. representative forGeorgia's 10th congressional district from 2015 to 2023. He is a member of theRepublican Party.
Hice was a candidate in the2022 Georgia Secretary of State election, running against incumbentBrad Raffensperger, a fellow Republican. Raffensperger refused to overturn the results of the2020 presidential election in Georgia after former PresidentDonald Trump and his Republican allies, including Hice, made baseless claims of fraud. After Hice announced his candidacy, Trump endorsed him.[1] On May 24, 2022, he lost the primary to Raffensperger.[2]
Hice is a native ofAtlanta and received his Bachelor of Arts degree fromAsbury College inWilmore, Kentucky, a Master of Divinity degree fromSouthwestern Baptist Theological Seminary inFort Worth, Texas, and a Doctor of Ministry degree fromLuther Rice Seminary in Atlanta, Georgia.[3]
In 1998, he became senior pastor of the Bethlehem First Baptist Church inBethlehem, Georgia, until April 2010.[4] In addition, he was first vice president of the Georgia Baptist Convention (2004–05) and Professor of Preaching atLuther Rice Seminary. In 2002, he startedLet Freedom Ring, a talk radio show originally heard onWIMO 1300 AM,Bethlehem, Georgia.[5] Hice was senior pastor at The Summit Church, a Southern Baptist church, inLoganville, Georgia, from 2011 until December 2013, when he stepped down to run for office.
Hice unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for the U.S. House of Representatives inGeorgia's 7th congressional district in2010, losing the runoff to former congressional aideRob Woodall.[6]
Georgia's 10th congressional district became anopen seat when the sitting representative,Paul Broun, announced his bid for U.S. Senate in 2014.[7] Hice was the second to formally enter the race on April 15, 2013, citing government spending as his foremost concern.[8] He was soon joined by five other candidates, leading to a seven-way primary campaign. Hice finished first in the May 20 primary with 34% of the vote, followed closely by trucking company ownerMike Collins with 33%.[9]
Since no candidate won 50% of the vote, a primary runoff election between Hice and Collins ensued. The race quickly grew heated amid accusations of campaign sign theft from both sides and reports of supporters being harassed at debates.[10] Hice won the runoff with 54% of the vote.[11]
Hice won the November general election with 66.52% of the vote in a Republican wave year.[12]
After winning the Republican primary with 78% of the vote, Hice faced Democratic nominee Tabitha A. Johnson-Green.[13]
During an October 2018 campaign event in which he appeared with Georgia Secretary of StateBrian Kemp, Hice decried former PresidentBarack Obama as having "pushed his own socialist agenda" during his two terms in office. Hice urged the small crowd to oppose the resurgence of Democratic candidates in the 2018 midterm elections, saying, "it's time for this so-called blue wave to be body-slammed!"[14] He defeated Johnson-Green in the general election.[15]
After winning the Republican primary, Hice once again faced Democratic nominee Johnson-Green. He won the general election.[16]
In January 2021, Hice made anunsuccessful objection to the counting of Georgia's electoral votes. Georgia SenatorKelly Loeffler had planned on objecting to Georgia's electors, but withdrew her objection after the2021 United States Capitol attack earlier in the day. Hice was one of the 139Republican representatives who voted to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Congress that day.[17]
On March 22, 2021, Hice announced that he would run against incumbentGeorgia Secretary of StateBrad Raffensperger, a fellow Republican, in2022.[23] Raffensperger refused to overturn the results of the 2020 election in Georgia after Trump and his Republican allies, including Hice, madefalse claims of fraud.[24][25][1] After Hice announced his run, Trump endorsed him.[1][26] During his campaign, Hice continued to make numerous false claims about the 2020 election.[27] On May 24, 2022, Hice lost the primary to Raffensperger, who garnered enough votes to avoid a runoff.[28]
.jpg)
Hice calls himself a "constitutional conservative."[29] He has a history of repeatedly sharing quotes falsely attributed to theFounding Fathers.[29] He has been described as a staunch Trump loyalist and anAmerica First Republican.[30]
Hice supports abalanced budget amendment.[31]
Hice supports auditing theFederal Reserve and its activities around mortgages. He co-sponsored theFederal Reserve Transparency Act.[31]
Hice voted for theTax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.[32][33]
Along with all other Senate and House Republicans, Hice voted against theAmerican Rescue Plan Act of 2021.[34]
Hice opposesabortion.[35] He has said that supporters of abortion rights are worse thanAdolf Hitler.[35] Hice believes that life begins at fertilization orcloning. He opposes family planning assistance that includes abortion.[36]
In June 2021, Hice was one of 21 House Republicans to vote against a resolution to give theCongressional Gold Medal to police officers who defended the U.S. Capitol onJanuary 6.[37]
In 2021, during a House vote on a measure condemning theMyanmar coup d'état that overwhelmingly passed, Hice was one of 14 Republican representatives to vote against it, for reasons reported to be unclear.[38]
In July 2021, Hice voted against the bipartisan ALLIES Act, which would increase by 8,000 the number ofspecial immigrant visas for Afghan allies of the U.S. military duringits invasion of Afghanistan, while also reducing some application requirements that caused long application backlogs; the bill passed in the House 407–16.[39]
Hice was one of 19 House Republicans to vote against the final passage of the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act.[40]
In February 2022, Hice co-sponsored the Secure America's Borders First Act, which would prohibit the expenditure or obligation of military and security assistance to Kyiv over the U.S. border with Mexico.[41]
Hice has a "D" rating from pro-marijuana legalization groupNORML for his voting history regardingcannabis-related issues.[42]
Hice opposessame-sex marriage.[43] According toRight Wing Watch, he comparedhomosexuality toalcoholism and opposed a ban onconversion therapy.[44] In a 2012 book, Hice wrote that gay people were plotting to recruit and sodomize children, citing as proof an essay by gay writer Michael Swift that he took out of context.[35] In 2015, Hice cosponsored a resolution toamend the Constitution to ban same-sex marriage.[45] Hice condemned the Supreme Court decision inObergefell v. Hodges, which held that same-sex marriage bans violated the constitution.[46] He has compared gay relationships toincest andbestiality.[35]
Hice was a leading supporter of the public display of theTen Commandments in government buildings; he founded Ten Commandments Georgia, Inc., a group advocating for the display of the Ten Commandments in every Georgia county courthouse. Hice began the initiative as a pastor, waging a fight against theAmerican Civil Liberties Union over a display in theBarrow County Courthouse, and later supported similar efforts in the Morgan County Superior Courthouse.[47]
In September 2008, Hice was one of 33 pastors across America to participate in "Pulpit Freedom Sunday"[48] in opposition to theJohnson Amendment, a provision of the tax code that prohibitstax-exempt organizations (such as churches) from endorsing or opposing political candidates. In the sermon, Hice endorsedSenatorJohn McCain forPresident.[49]
Hice has argued that Christians have been "tricked" into a "false belief" inseparation of church and state.[50][51] He asserted that church-state separation leads to government corruption.[50]
In his 2012 bookA Call to Reclaim America, Hice wrote, "Although Islam has a religious component, it is much more than a simple religious ideology. It is a complete geo-political structure and, as such, does not deserveFirst Amendment protection."[52] In his bookIt's Now or Never, Hice quoted former U.S. generalWilliam G. Boykin as stating that there is aMuslim Brotherhood plot to take over the United States.[53]
In December 2020, Hice was one of 126 Republican members of theHouse of Representatives to sign anamicus brief in support ofTexas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at theUnited States Supreme Court contesting the results of the2020 presidential election, in whichJoe Biden defeated Trump.[54] The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lackedstanding underArticle III of the Constitution to challenge the results of an election held by another state.[55][56][57]
House SpeakerNancy Pelosi issued a statement that called signing the amicus brief an act of "election subversion." She also reprimanded Hice 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."[58][59]
Hice supportedefforts to impeach President Joe Biden. During the117th United States Congress, Hice co-sponsored two resolutions toimpeach President Biden.[60][61] During the 117th Congress, Hice also co-sponsored a resolution to impeach Secretary of Homeland SecurityAlejandro Mayorkas[62] and a resolution to impeach Secretary of StateAntony Blinken.[63]
In March 2021, in a statement on the House floor, Hice argued againststatehood for the District of Columbia and HR 51 by claiming that D.C. would be the only state "without an airport, without a car dealership." Hice was criticized for his statements because airports and car dealerships are not prerequisites for statehood and because D.C. does have car dealerships. RepresentativeJamie Raskin called his argument "frivolous" and accused Republicans of attempting to "gin up whatever arguments they can think of" to oppose D.C. statehood.[64]
Hice voted against the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020, which authorizes DHS to nearly double the available H-2B visas for the remainder of FY 2020.[65][66]
Hice voted against the Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 1158),[67] which effectively prohibitsImmigration and Customs Enforcement from cooperating with theDepartment of Health and Human Services to detain or removeillegal alien sponsors ofUnaccompanied Alien Children.[citation needed]
He is married to Dee Dee Hice.[68]
Media related toJody Hice at Wikimedia Commons| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromGeorgia's 10th congressional district 2015–2023 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former US Representative | Order of precedence of the United States as Former US Representative | Succeeded byas Former US Representative |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
