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John Bryant | |
|---|---|
 Bryant in 1995 | |
| Member of theTexas House of Representatives from the114th district | |
| Assumed office January 10, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | John Turner |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromTexas's5th district | |
| In office January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1997 | |
| Preceded by | Jim Mattox |
| Succeeded by | Pete Sessions |
| Member of theTexas House of Representatives from the 33-L district | |
| In office January 29, 1974 – January 11, 1983 | |
| Preceded by | Joseph Hawn |
| Succeeded by | District abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Wiley Bryant (1947-02-22)February 22, 1947 (age 78) Lake Jackson, Texas, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Education | Southern Methodist University (BA,JD) |
John Wiley Bryant (born February 22, 1947) is an American politician who has represented the114th district in theTexas House of Representatives since 2023. A member of theDemocratic Party, Bryant previously representedTexas's 5th congressional district in theUnited States House of Representatives from 1983 to 1997 and the 33-L district in theTexas House of Representatives from 1974 to 1983.
Bryant was born inLake Jackson, Brazoria County, Texas. Following a B.A. atSouthern Methodist University,Dallas, Texas in 1969 Bryant studied law at Southern Methodist University School of Law, where he graduated in 1972. He was also admitted to the Texas bar in 1972. Bryant served ascounsel to a committee of the Texas senate in 1973.[citation needed]
Bryant was elected to Texas house of representatives in a special election in 1974 and was reelected from 1974 to 1982.
He was elected as aDemocrat to the 98th Congress in 1982 and to the six succeeding Congresses, serving from 1983 to 1997.
While in the United States House of Representatives Bryant was one of theHouse impeachment managers who prosecuted the case in theimpeachment trial of JudgeAlcee Hastings. Hastings was found guilty by theUnited States Senate and removed from his federal judgeship.[1]
In 1996, Bryant was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination for theUnited States Senate. In October 1997,President Clinton appointed Bryant to head the United States' delegation to the 1997 World Radiocommunication Conference, organized by theInternational Telecommunication Union inGeneva, and accorded him the personal rank of Ambassador.[2][3]
In 2021, John Bryant filed to run for state representative in Texas's 114th district, after being out of politics for 24 years. Bryant declared, “I am so alarmed at the continued extremes to which theTrump forces have gone in trying to take our country over and now this has arrived in Texas. I want to get off the sidelines and get back into the fight.”[4] He won the primary in May 2022.[5] He won the general election in November 2022.[6]
In 2023, Bryant spearheaded opposition to a bill in the Texas legislature that would have permittedaccessory dwelling units (ADUs) in areas withsingle-family zoning. The bill was intended to increase housing supply and alleviate the housing crisis in urban areas in Texas. Bryant said that allowing ADUs would "make a commercial, uncontrollable, really unforeseeable mess out of every neighborhood in the state."[7]
In 2024, Bryant expressed opposition to legislative proposals to permit greater residential density in single-family neighborhoods. Bryant argued, "we have plenty of land for [housing] and plenty of places to put it. You don’t need to bust up single-family neighborhoods to get affordable housing."[8]
In 2025, Bryant voted against a bill that would remove the power of localNIMBYs to block new development, especially affordable and multifamily housing.[9]
In the mid-1990s he was one of the co-founders of theUnited Baseball League (UBL) which was a planned thirdmajor league. As of 2023, Bryant is a student atSouthern Methodist University'sPerkins School of Theology and taking a prayer and spirituality course as he pursues a degree in Spiritual Discipline.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromTexas's 5th congressional district 1983–1997 | 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 |
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