David Karnes

Karnes was born in Omaha, Nebraska. He attended Benson High School and the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, where he was a member of the swimming team[2] and graduated in 1971. As an undergrad he joined Beta Theta Pi fraternity, serving one term as chapter president. He remained in Lincoln to attend law school.

In 1981, Karnes was selected and served as a White House Fellow, only the second Nebraskan to achieve that honor.[3] Following his tenure at the White House, in 1982 Karnes became executive assistant to the Under Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Ronald Reagan and subsequently served as special counsel for the Federal Home Loan Bank Board.

In 1983 he became chairman of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Topeka Board of Directors, serving in that capacity from 1983 to 1987. During that time he also served as general counsel for an agribusiness and merchandising firm.[4]

Karnes served on the boards of, or acted as an advisor to, publicly traded U.S. companies, including Fannie Mae, Data Transmission Network Corporation, and RJT Securities, Inc.

He served on the Omaha Airport Authority board,[8] and was a director of several private companies, including Frontier Bank, FSB of Park City, Utah, El Paseo Bank of Palm Desert, California, Orion Healthcare Corporation (healthcare technology), Waitt Media, Inc. (broadcasting, commercial advertising and entertainment), Tri Med Research, Inc. (medical technology), Farnam Group, Inc. (multifamily real estate development), Regency Court, L.L.C. (retail real estate), and Big Red Companies, Inc. (gaming and technology).

Karnes' additional affiliations included the Advisory Board of Financial Institutions Partners II ($100 million financial services hedge fund), the University of Nebraska Technology Park L.L.C.[9] (director and executive committee), eOne Group, Inc. (web development and systems integration) (director), and Solutionary, Inc. (data, internet and systems security) (director).

Karnes served as a member of the United States Advisory Committee on Trade Policy and Negotiations. This committee is appointed by the president and is composed of chief executive officers of 40 of America's largest corporations as well as presidents of key agriculture and labor organizations. The Committee, established by the U.S. Congress in 1974, is the principal trade advisory group representing America's private sector to the president and Congress on all trade issues such as the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the World Trade Organization, and the North American Free Trade Agreement.

In January 2016, Karnes endorsed New Jersey governor Chris Christie for president in that year's election.[10]

He was married to Dr. Elizabeth Karnes from 1971 to her death in 2003; they had four daughters.[11] On June 14, 2008, Karnes married Kristine Dorn, a partner at Kutak Rock and 1998 Graduate of Creighton University School of Law. They had two children together.[12][13]

In 2019, Karnes was diagnosed with metastatic squamous cell skin cancer. He was part of a clinical trial in Boston, Massachusetts, but treatment was unsuccessful, and he died there on October 25, 2020, at age 71.[11]

• United States Congress. "David Karnes (id: K000011)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Appearances on C-SPAN