Cory Mills | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2022 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromFlorida's7th district | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Stephanie Murphy |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Cory Lee Mills (1980-07-13)July 13, 1980 (age 45) Winter Haven, Florida, U.S. |
| Party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Florida State College at Jacksonville (AA) American Military University (BS,MA) |
| Website | House website Campaign website |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch/service | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1999–2003 |
| Rank | Sergeant |
| Unit | 82nd Airborne Division |
| Battles/wars | Yugoslav Wars Iraq War |
| Awards | Bronze Star |
Cory Lee Mills (born July 13, 1980) is an American politician, businessman, andArmy veteran who has served as theU.S. representative fromFlorida's 7th congressional district since 2023. A member of theRepublican Party, he previously served as aTrump appointee on theDefense Business Board from 2020 to 2021.[1]
Born and raised inCentral Florida, Mills joined theUnited States Army in 1999 and received theBronze Star while serving as aU.S. Armysniper during a deployment toIraq in 2003. After working as amilitary contractor and graduating fromAmerican Military University, he co-founded PACEM Solutions International LLC in 2014. In December 2020, Mills was appointed to the Defense Business Board by PresidentDonald Trump. In February 2021, he resigned from the board upon the request of PresidentJoe Biden.
In2022, Mills defeatedstate representativeAnthony Sabatini and six others in the Republican primary forFlorida's 7th congressional district. He went on to defeat Vice Chair of theFlorida Democratic Party Karen Green in the general election. After facing minimal opposition in the Republican primary, Mills was re-elected in the2024 general election.[2]
Cory Lee Mills was born on July 13, 1980, inWinter Haven, Florida, the son of Teresa (née Pearson) and Christopher Mills.[3] He earned an Associate of Arts degree in liberal arts and sciences fromFlorida State College at Jacksonville, followed by a Bachelor of Science degree in health sciences and a Master of Arts in international relations and conflict resolution fromAmerican Military University.[4]
From 1999 to 2003, Mills served in theUnited States Army, where he was a member of the82nd Airborne Division. He took part inOperation Allied Force during theKosovo War in 1999.[5] Mills was deployed toIraq in 2003 and received theBronze Star Medal for saving the lives of two fellow soldiers and other acts.[5] In 2025,NOTUS published a report raising questions about the award following an Army investigation exonerating Mills. One of the two men who had allegedly received life-saving care from Mills under enemy fire said his injuries had not been life-threatening and he and the helicopter pilot did not remember Mills being there. The sergeant whom Mills had allegedly rescued from an enemy insurgent said that the incident did not happen.[6]
From 2005 to 2009, he was amilitary contractor forDynCorp, working overseas inIraq andAfghanistan,[7] before working as a maritime security specialist and anti-piracy adviser for Special Tactical Services.[citation needed] He then worked for federal contractorsChemonics International and Pax Mondial Ltd.[7] and as a senior risk manager at Management Systems International.[citation needed]
In 2014, Mills co-founded PACEM Solutions International LLC, arisk management and consultingfirm. The following year, he co-founded PACEM Defense, a private security company.[8] In 2015, theUnited States Department of Defense facilitated a $228 million arms deal between PACEM and thegovernment of Iraq. As of 2023, PACEM is indebted $48 million to a Canadian lender and has been forced to close its munitions plant twice by theFlorida Department of Financial Services for failing to pay workers' compensation insurance premiums.[7] He is also co-founder of ALS Less-Lethal Systems, a company that manufactures equipment for military and law enforcement clients.[1]
In December 2020, Mills was appointed to theDefense Business Board, a board established to provide independent advice onbest business practices to senior leaders within theDefense Department.[9][10] In February 2021, PresidentJoe Biden ordered SecretaryLloyd Austin tosuspend all members of thePentagon's advisory boards (including the DBB) and to ask that allTrump appointees step down.[11]
Mills announced his candidacy for theU.S. House of Representatives inFlorida's 7th district in April 2021, challenging incumbentDemocratic representativeStephanie Murphy.[12] Murphy's seat was a target for theNational Republican Congressional Committee in the2022 elections, but she announced her retirement in December 2021.[13] Redistricting made the 7th significantly more Republican than its predecessor, cutting out its share of Orlando (including Murphy's home) while adding a slice of increasingly Republican Volusia County.
Mills faced a crowded primary, with his strongest opponent beingstate representativeAnthony Sabatini. Mills won the primary election in August 2022, earning over a third of the vote and beating Sabatini by over 10,000 votes.[14] Mills defeated Democratic nominee Karen Green in the November general election with 58.5% of the vote.[15]
Mills, as a congressional candidate, in September 2021, evacuated a woman and her three children fromAfghanistan during the2021 American withdrawal. Initially, he was going to attempt to perform anairlift, butU.S. Central Command and theState Department denied the request. Instead, he had to evacuate the family by land.[16]
Mills had initially planned to travel to Afghanistan as part of a larger group. However, three members of the group later claimed that they saw Mills with a group of sex workers during a stopover inTbilisi, Georgia. This led to Mills being ejected from the group, and he subsequently traveled to Afghanistan alone.[17]
In 2024, Mills was challenged in the Republican primary by formerstate senate candidate Mike Johnson (no relation to SpeakerMike Johnson).[18] He defeated Johnson in the primary, receiving 80.9% of the vote.[19] Mills went on to defeat Democratic nominee Jennifer Adams in the general election, receiving 56.5% of the vote.[20]
Mills handed out commemorative40 mm grenades stamped with the Republican Party logo to fellow House members as a welcoming gift.[21]
In May 2023, Mills co-sponsoreda resolution byMarjorie Taylor Greene toimpeach PresidentJoe Biden over his handling of security at theUnited States-Mexico border.[22] On May 23, 2023, he also co-sponsored Greene's resolutions to impeach Attorney GeneralMerrick Garland,[23] FBI directorChristopher Wray,[24] Secretary of Homeland SecurityAlejandro Mayorkas,[25] and U.S. attorney for D.C.Matthew M. Graves.[26]
In October 2023, Mills traveled toIsrael to help evacuate 77 Americans in the wake of theOctober 7 attacks.[27]
Mills also helped airlift 10 Americans who were volunteering at anorphanage inHaiti, amidst Haiti'sstate of crisis. He also criticizedBiden's handling of the crisis and similar crises.[28] Later, he helped rescue an additional 13 people.[29]
In 2023, Mills was among 47 Republicans to vote in favor of H.Con.Res. 21, which directed PresidentJoe Biden to remove U.S. troops fromSyria within 180 days.[30][31]
Following thefall of the Assad regime, Mills and fellow Republican representativeMarlin Stutzman became the first American politicians to visit post-Ba'athist Syria. Both met Syrian presidentAhmed al-Sharaa and the country's Christian leaders on April 18, 2025.[32] Mills described the visit, which came as the Trump administration was considering sanctions relief on Syria, as a "tremendous amount of opportunity here to help rebuild the nation but also to help with stabilization across the region."[33]
Mills became the fourth representative from Florida to endorseDonald Trump for president in the2024 presidential election, citing the need for Republican unity followingTrump's indictment.[34]
For the118th Congress:[35]
The board of the independentOffice of Congressional Ethics investigated inconsistent financial statements in August 2024; their report stated "The OCE found that from January 2023 to present, Pacem Defense/ALS, has been actively contracting with the federal government, securing close to $1,000,000 in federal contracts for munitions and weapons, distributed to prisons across the country...Specifically, since January 9, 2024, 94 contracts have been awarded to entities owned by Rep. Mills."[36]
Mills denied wrongdoing and did not cooperate with the OCE's investigations, refusing to providetax returns or explain the ownership structure of his companies.[36] On March 27, 2025, theHouse Ethics Committee announced it would investigate Mills for violating federal laws and House rules that prohibit members of Congress from contracting with the government.[37]
On November 19, the House Ethics Committee announced it was forming an investigative subcommittee to investigate the previous allegations of fraud made against Mills', as well as two alleged incidents involving Mills' conduct with women.[38]
Mills is married to Rana Al Saadi, anIraqi refugee who gainednaturalizedAmerican citizenship and served in thefirst Trump administration.[39] Mills has two sons.[40] Mills toldBlaze Media in May 2025 that he and Saadi have been "going through divorce proceedings for 2.5 years and have been separated for three years".[41] Mills also told a girlfriend that by the time they met in November 2021, Mills was still married, but separated from his wife.[42]
Mills has been residing in a luxury Maryland Avenue SW penthouse with a rent ofUS$20,833 per month. On January 22, 2025, the property manager provided Mills with a ledger showing Mills had consistently paid his rent late, racking up nearlyUS$15,000 in late fees over the previous 18 months. By July 2025, Mills faced eviction as he did not pay more thanUS$85,000 in rent between March and July.[43]
On February 21, 2025, theMetropolitan Police Department of the District of Columbia announced they were investigating an alleged physical assault of a woman by Mills at his luxury penthouse. Although she listed the same address as her home, the woman was not Mills's wife. The police report describes Mills as her "significant other for over a year."[44][45] According to the police report of the incident, the alleged victim stated that Mills "grabbed her, shoved her, and pushed her out of the door."[45] Mills was not arrested because the alleged victim recanted details of the incident.[46][47]
On February 24, it was revealed that the Metropolitan Police Department sent an arrest warrant for Mills to interimU.S. Attorney for the District of ColumbiaEd Martin on February 21, but, for unclear reasons, it was not signed by Martin.[48] This led toMSNBC News ProducerSteve Benen speculating that the arrest warrant was not signed because Martin wanted to "go easy on a Republican member of Congress as part of a broader political agenda".[49] Mills has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in the matter.[46]
On August 6, 2025, media outlets reported thatLindsey Langston, aRepublican Party of Florida committee member andMiss United States 2024, had filed a lawsuit alleging that Millsthreatened to release nude videos of her after she ended their relationship and that he threatened to harm any future romantic partners of hers. Langston told theColumbia County Sheriff's Department that she was in a relationship with Mills from November 2021 until February 2025, ending it after seeing reports of his alleged assault.[50]
On October 14, 2025, a Florida judge granted Langston arestraining order against Mills through the end of 2025. The order was issued by the judge after he had concluded that "the woman was either a victim of dating violence or that she had reason to believe she was in danger of becoming a victim of dating violence."[42]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Cory Mills | 27,452 | 38.06 | |
| Republican | Anthony Sabatini | 17,059 | 23.65 | |
| Republican | Brady Duke | 11,010 | 15.26 | |
| Republican | Ted Edwards | 4,197 | 5.82 | |
| Republican | Russell Roberts | 3,970 | 5.50 | |
| Republican | Erika Benfield | 3,912 | 5.42 | |
| Republican | Scott Sturgill | 3,055 | 4.24 | |
| Republican | Al Santos | 1,480 | 2.05 | |
| Total votes | 72,135 | 100.00 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Cory Mills | 177,966 | 58.53 | |
| Democratic | Karen Green | 126,079 | 41.47 | |
| Write-in | Cardon Pompey | 10 | 0.00 | |
| Total votes | 304,045 | 100.00 | ||
| Republicangain fromDemocratic | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Cory Mills (incumbent) | 43,096 | 80.09 | |
| Republican | Mike Johnson | 10,188 | 19.1 | |
| Total votes | 53,284 | 100.00 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Cory Mills (incumbent) | 233,937 | 56.5 | |
| Democratic | Jennifer Adams | 179,917 | 43.5 | |
| Total votes | 413,854 | 100.00 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
The first police report, provided to News4 by a source and confirmed by a second source familiar with the investigation, said: "(Her significant other for over a year) grabbed her, shoved her, and pushed her out of the door." The report says she showed the officer "bruises on her arm which appeared fresh." The first report goes on to note that during a phone call between the significant other and alleged victim, she "let officers hear Subject 1 [now identified by MPD as Mills] instruct her to lie about the origin of her bruises … Eventually, Subject 1 made contact with police and admitted that the situation escalated from verbal to physical, but it was severe enough to create bruising." According to the report, the responding police officer told the subject he would be placed under arrest. But then the woman approached police and recanted the details, including where the bruises came from. News4 reached out to the responding officer but has not heard back.
In an interview at the Capitol on Monday evening, Mills emphasized that both he and the alleged victim — who POLITICO is declining to name as a possible target of domestic violence — denied that any assault took place. The woman initiated the call to law enforcement, but said in a statement afterwards she did so in a state of being "severely jet-lagged and sleep-deprived" and that there was, in fact, "no physical altercation." "Both myself and the other individual said that what they're claiming took place never took place and that's been reported multiple times," Mills said Monday. "That's why the prosecutor, [when] MPD tried to even push it forward, denied prosecution or any follow up."
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromFlorida's 7th congressional district 2023–present | Incumbent |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded by | United States representatives by seniority 341st | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| People | |
