Mike Kelly (Pennsylvania politician)

George Joseph "Mike" Kelly Jr. (born May 10, 1948) is an American in the Republican Party who has been a U.S. Representative since 2011 and is currently serving as representative for Pennsylvania's 16th congressional district.[2] The district, numbered as the 3rd district from 2011 to 2019, is based in Erie and stretches from the northwest corner of the state to the outer northern suburbs of Pittsburgh.

Mike Kelly
Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from Pennsylvania
Assumed office
January 3, 2011
Preceded byKathy Dahlkemper
Constituency3rd district (2011–2019)
16th district (2019–present)
Personal details
Born
George Joseph Kelly Jr.

(1948-05-10) May 10, 1948
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)
Victoria Phillips
(m. 1973)
Children4
EducationUniversity of Notre Dame (BA)
Net worth$10.4 million (2018)[1]
WebsiteHouse website

Since being elected to Congress, Kelly has been involved in various political controversies, including his positions on the environment, healthcare, and deep state conspiracy theories about Barack Obama. He is known for his support of Donald Trump, characterizing the 2019 effort to impeach Trump as being akin to Pearl Harbor and filing a lawsuit in state court to invalidate all mail-in ballots cast in Pennsylvania during the 2020 United States presidential election.

Education and early career

Kelly was born on May 10, 1948, in Pittsburgh,[3] but has spent most of his life in the outer northern suburb of Butler. He attended the University of Notre Dame.[4]

Automotive business

After college, he worked for his father's Chevrolet/Cadillac car dealership. In 1995, he took over his father's business, and then added Hyundai and KIA to his dealership lineup.[5]

In March 2019, a local TV station discovered that there were 17 vehicles for sale on Kelly's Uniontown and Butler lots which were the subject of recall notices, but they had not been repaired. The station contacted both the businesses and the congressman's office without receiving responses.[6] A month later, a reporter found three of those vehicles with active recalls still for sale.[6] In November 2015, Kelly had spoken on the floor of Congress in support of a bill that would have given permission to dealers to loan or rent vehicles despite there being National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) safety recall notices on such vehicles. Kelly had said, “There is not a single person in our business that would ever put one of our owners in a defective car or a car with a recall. But that could happen. That could happen.” The congressional bill failed to pass.[6]

Paycheck Protection Program

Kelly personally benefited on the Paycheck Protection Program (coronavirus relief), as three of his car dealerships obtained a combined total of between $450,000 and $1.05 million not to lay off staff.[7] Kelly's spokesperson defended Kelly, saying those car dealerships were a "small family business" and that the jobs were "at risk because of [Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf’s] business shut down order."[7]

United States House of Representatives

Elections

2010

Kelly challenged incumbent Rep. Kathy Dahlkemper in 2010.[8] He won the election by 10%,[9] largely by running up his margins outside of heavily Democratic Erie.

2012

Kelly defeated Democrat Missa Eaton 55%–41%.[10] His district had been made slightly friendlier in redistricting. The district was pushed slightly to the south, absorbing some rural and Republican territory east of Pittsburgh. At the same time, eastern Erie County was drawn into the heavily Republican 5th district. The 3rd and 5th were drawn so that the boundary between the two districts ran along the eastern boundary of the city of Erie.

2014

Kelly defeated Democrat Dan LaVallee of Cranberry Township 60.5%–39.5%.[11]

2016

Kelly ran unopposed and received 100% of the vote.

2018

After the Pennsylvania Supreme Court threw out Pennsylvania's original congressional map in February 2018, Kelly's district was renumbered as the 16th and made slightly more compact. It regained the eastern portion of Erie County that had been drawn into the 5th. To make up for the increase in population, its southern portion was pushed to the west, ending just outside of Kelly's hometown of Butler.[12]

PoliticsPA wrote that the new 16th was far less safe for Kelly than the old 3rd. Public Policy Polling found that Kelly had a 48% to 43% lead over Democratic opponent Ron DiNicola.

Kelly ultimately defeated DiNicola 51.6%–47.2%, his first close contest since his initial run for the seat.

2020

Kelly defeated Democrat Kristy Gnibus of Erie 59.34%–40.66%, an improvement over his performance in 2018. Kelly received 210,088 votes to Gnubus's 143,962.[13]

Ratings

Kelly has received the following ratings from advocacy organizations:[14]

Committee assignments

In addition, Kelly serves as the co-chair of the Northeast-Midwest Congressional Coalition, a bipartisan group of U.S. Representatives from the 18 Northeastern and Midwestern States.[15] He is an appointed member of the President's Export Council.

Political positions and controversies

"Deep state" conspiracy theories

When speaking at a Mercer County Republican Party event in 2017, Kelly advanced the conspiracy theory that former president Barack Obama was running a "shadow government" to undermine President Trump.[16][17][18] When asked about these remarks, Kelly said that they were meant to be private.[19][16] After the remarks made national news, Kelly's spokesperson said that Kelly did not believe that Obama "is personally operating a shadow government".[16][17][18]

Donald Trump

Kelly has argued against the release of President Donald Trump's tax returns by the House Ways and Means Committee.[20]

In December 2019, Kelly likened the impeachment to the Attack on Pearl Harbor.[21] He said the date in which Trump was impeached is "another date that will live in infamy," referring to President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's December 1941 statement about the Pearl Harbor attack.[21]

Amid ballot counting in the 2020 election, Kelly filed a lawsuit to stop Pennsylvania from allowing voters to "cure" (fix mistakes on) their ballots.[22] After Joe Biden won the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Kelly filed a suit arguing that all mail-in ballots cast in the state (more than 2.5 million) should be discarded, which would result in flipping the state to Donald Trump.[23] Or if that was not possible, that the electors for president should instead be chosen by the Republican controlled legislature.[24] If successful, this suit would have retroactively disenfranchised millions of voters in the Pennsylvania election.[24] However, on November 28, 2020, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court unanimously rejected Kelly's suit, additionally ruling to "dismiss with prejudice." The court's order stated in part:

The want of due diligence demonstrated in this matter is unmistakable. Petitioners filed this facial challenge to the mail-in voting statutory provisions more than one year after the enactment of Act 77. At the time this action was filed on November 21, 2020, millions of Pennsylvania voters had already expressed their will in both the June 2020 Primary Election and the November 2020 General Election and the final ballots in the 2020 General Election were being tallied, with the results becoming seemingly apparent. Nevertheless, Petitioners waited to commence this litigation until days before the county boards of election were required to certify the election results to the Secretary of the Commonwealth. Thus, it is beyond cavil that Petitioners failed to act with due diligence in presenting the instant claim. Equally clear is the substantial prejudice arising from Petitioners’ failure to institute promptly a facial challenge to the mail-in voting statutory scheme, as such inaction would result in the disenfranchisement of millions of Pennsylvania voters.[25][26]

In December 2020, Kelly was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives who signed an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which Joe Biden prevailed[27] over incumbent Donald Trump. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of the election held by another state.[28][29][30]

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement that called signing the amicus brief an act of "election subversion." Additionally, Pelosi reprimanded Kelly 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."[31][32] New Jersey Representative Bill Pascrell, citing section three of the 14th Amendment, called for Pelosi to not seat Kelly and the other Republicans who signed the brief supporting the suit. Pascrell argued that "the text of the 14th Amendment expressly forbids Members of Congress from engaging in rebellion against the United States. Trying to overturn a democratic election and install a dictator seems like a pretty clear example of that."[33]

Environment

In July 2014, Kelly compared the Environmental Protection Agency to terrorists while attacking EPA regulations limiting power plant emissions, saying "You talk about terrorism – you can do it in a lot of different ways,... But you terrorize the people who supply everything this country needs to be great – and you keep them on the sidelines – my goodness, what have we become?"[34]

In September 2018, Kelly was rated 0% by the Clean Water Action group.[35]

Healthcare

On August 1, 2012, Kelly called the HHS mandate of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) - which requires health insurers or employers that provide their employees with health insurance to cover some contraceptive costs in their health insurance plans - an attack on Americans' constitutionally protected religious rights and that August 1, 2012, would go down in infamy as "the day that religious freedom died".[36]

Joe Biden's stutter

On October 27, 2020, Kelly appeared to mock Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden's speech impediment during a campaign call for President Donald Trump. Kelly mimicked Biden's stutter, quipping, "We-we-we, we'll work it out, we'll work it out." Kelly went on to add, "Let him [Biden] go ahead and mumble and bumble whatever he wants," and joked about giving the 77-year-old Biden tapioca.[37]

Redistricting

When Kelly was elected, the district was located in the northwestern corner of the state, stretching from Erie to rural territory near Pittsburgh. In February 2018, after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled the Pennsylvania districts to be unconstitutionally gerrymandered, most of his district became a part of the 16th district.

Personal life

Kelly lives in Butler, Pennsylvania, with his wife Victoria. They have four children, George III, Brendan, Charlotte, and Colin, and ten grandchildren.[38] He is the brother-in-law of Tennessee's 1st congressional district Congressman Phil Roe. He is Catholic.[39] In 2019 he stated that, as a person of Irish and Anglo-Saxon descent, he considers himself a person of color—a term often used to describe people of non-white backgrounds.[40] On March 27, 2020, he tested positive for COVID-19.[41]

References

  1. "Ranking the Net Worth of the 115th". Retrieved August 5, 2019.
  2. Hildebrand, Nick. "Clock starts to tick for Kelly to get specific about his agenda". The Herald. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  3. "KELLY, Mike (1948-), Biography". Biographical Directory of the United States ongress. United States Congress/Office of the House Historian. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  4. "Mike Kelly - Full Biography". Official website. Retrieved December 8, 2020.
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on January 7, 2011. Retrieved September 24, 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. Pennsylvania law allows sale of potentially dangerous recalled vehicles, WTAE, Paul Van Osdol, April 26, 2019. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  7. "Treasury, SBA data show small-business loans went to private-equity backed chains, members of Congress". The Washington Post. 2020.
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on May 5, 2020. Retrieved October 14, 2020.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  9. "USA TODAY: Latest World and US News - USATODAY.com". USA TODAY. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  10. "2016 Election Results: President Live Map by State, Real-Time Voting Updates". Election Hub. Retrieved May 15, 2018.
  11. "Pennsylvania Election Results". Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  12. Cohn, Nate. "The New Pennsylvania Congressional Map, District by District". The New York Times. Retrieved May 14, 2019.
  13. https://www.electionreturns.pa.gov/General/OfficeResults?OfficeID=11&ElectionID=undefined&ElectionType=undefined&IsActive=undefined
  14. "Mike Kelly, Representative for Pennsylvania's 3rd Congressional District - GovTrack.us". GovTrack.us. Retrieved September 17, 2018.
  15. "Northeast-Midwest Insititute » The Northeast-Midwest Congressional Coalition". www.nemw.org. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  16. "Analysis | GOP congressman offers strange Obama conspiracy theory — and even stranger explanations". Washington Post. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
  17. "Kelly backtracks on claim of Obama". Early Returns. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
  18. "Western PA congressman backs off 'strange' Obama shadow gove". @politifact. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
  19. "Philly Clout: Congressman's conspiracy theory was supposed to be 'private'". Philly.com. Retrieved March 13, 2017.
  20. "GOP Warns That Releasing Trump's Taxes Could Lead to More Transparency". Retrieved February 8, 2019.
  21. Reuters, Source (December 18, 2019). "Republican congressman Mike Kelly compares impeachment inquiry to Pearl Harbor - video". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved December 20, 2019.
  22. Ngu, Justin Elliott,Jessica Huseman,Isaac Arnsdorf,Dara Lind,Lydia DePillis,Sally Beauvais,Ash. "Whether the GOP Can Stop Voters From Legally Fixing Rejected Mail-In Ballots Could Decide the Election". ProPublica. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  23. Palattella, Ed. "Pa. Supreme Court dismisses Mike Kelly-led lawsuit that sought to invalidate mail-in votes". GoErie.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  24. Roebuck, Jeremy (November 21, 2020). "Republican Pa. congressman seeks court order throwing out all mail ballots in long-shot suit". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  25. Pa. Supreme Court dismisses Mike Kelly-led lawsuit that sought to invalidate mail-in votes Ed Palattella. Erie Times-News. November 28, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2020
  26. Order. IN THE SUPREME COURT OF PENNSYLVANIA MIDDLE DISTRICT U.S. Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. November 28, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  27. Blood, Michael R.; Riccardi, Nicholas (December 5, 2020). "Biden officially secures enough electors to become president". AP News. Archived from the original on December 8, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  28. Liptak, Adam (December 11, 2020). "Supreme Court Rejects Texas Suit Seeking to Subvert Election". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  29. "Order in Pending Case" (PDF). Supreme Court of the United States. December 11, 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  30. Diaz, Daniella. "Brief from 126 Republicans supporting Texas lawsuit in Supreme Court". CNN. Archived from the original on December 12, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2020.
  31. Smith, David (December 12, 2020). "Supreme court rejects Trump-backed Texas lawsuit aiming to overturn election results". The Guardian. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  32. "Pelosi Statement on Supreme Court Rejecting GOP Election Sabotage Lawsuit" (Press release). Speaker Nancy Pelosi. December 11, 2020. Retrieved December 13, 2020.
  33. Williams, Jordan (December 11, 2020). "Democrat asks Pelosi to refuse to seat lawmakers supporting Trump's election challenges". TheHill. Archived from the original on December 12, 2020. Retrieved December 12, 2020.
  34. "Congressman Compares EPA's New Climate Rule To Terrorism". Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  35. "Mike Kelly, Jr.'s Political Summary". Vote Smart. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  36. "Congressman: 'We're Still Home of the Brave, But We're Not the Land of the Free Anymore'". CNS News. Retrieved May 14, 2018.
  37. https://www.newsweek.com/pennsylvania-rep-appears-mock-joe-bidens-stutter-during-trump-campaign-call-1542608
  38. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 12, 2010. Retrieved September 24, 2010.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  39. "RollCall.com - Member Profile - Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa". media.cq.com.
  40. Cole, Devan. "White GOP congressman says he isn't offended by racist Trump tweets because 'I'm a person of color'". www.cnn.com. CNN. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  41. Cornwell, Susan. "U.S. Representative Mike Kelly tests positive for coronavirus". Reuters. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Kathy Dahlkemper
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Pennsylvania's 3rd congressional district

2011–2019
Succeeded by
Dwight Evans
Preceded by
Lloyd Smucker
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Pennsylvania's 16th congressional district

2019–present
Incumbent
U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by
Bill Keating
United States Representatives by seniority
146th
Succeeded by
Adam Kinzinger
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