Tim Ryan (Ohio politician)

After Jim Traficant was convicted on criminal charges in 2002, Ryan declared his candidacy for the 17th district. As the result of redistricting following the 2000 census, the 17th, which had long been based in Youngstown, had been pushed west and included much of Portage County and part of Akron. Before the redistricting, all of Akron had been part of the 14th district, represented by eight-term Democrat Tom Sawyer. The 14th had been eliminated in 2000; most of it was drawn into the 13th district of fellow Democrat Sherrod Brown, but Sawyer's home was drawn into the 17th. Ryan was initially seen as an underdog in a six-way Democratic primary that included Sawyer.[6]

In the 2002 Democratic primary, Ryan defeated Sawyer, who was seen as insufficiently labor-friendly in the newly drawn district. In the November 2002 general election, he faced Republican Insurance Commissioner Ann Womer Benjamin as well as Traficant, who ran as an independent from his prison cell. Ryan won with 51% of the vote to Benjamin's 37%. When he took office in January 2003, he was the youngest Democrat in the House, at 29 years of age. He has been reelected five times,[8][9] only once facing a contest nearly as close as his first. In 2010, he was held to 53% of the vote; Traficant, running as an independent, took 16%. In every other election since his first run for the district, Ryan has won at least 67% of the vote.

Congressman Tim Ryan talks about Making America Competitive Again and Restoring U.S. Innovation Leadership

Ryan speaking at a rally for Hillary Clinton, October 2016

Ryan speaking at a rally for Hillary Clinton, October 2016

In his first year in office in 2003, Ryan was one of seven members of Congress to vote against the Do-Not-Call Implementation Act, and one of eight to oppose ratification of the FTC's establishment of a National Do Not Call Registry.[10]

Before the 2004 presidential election, Ryan spoke on the House floor in an impassioned speech denouncing the Bush administration’s denial of a draft reinstatement, comparing this to the administration's previous claims that Iraq was developing weapons of mass destruction, the Bush tax cuts would create jobs, and others.[11] In September 2006 he gave an equally heated speech accusing the Bush administration of trying to distract the public from key issues, such as the war in Iraq and the economy.[12]

Around 2006, Ryan was a member of the "30 Something" Working Group,[13] a House caucus for Democrats under age 40. It was organized by the Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to energize and engage younger people in politics by focusing on issues important to them.[14]

In 2010, Ryan voted for the Stupak Amendment restricting federal funding for abortions, but in January 2015, he announced that having "gained a deeper understanding of the complexities and emotions that accompany the difficult decisions [about whether to end a pregnancy]" over his time in public office, he had reversed his position on abortion and now identified as pro-choice.[15]

In 2010, Ryan introduced the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act, which sought punitive trade tariffs on countries, notably China, that were engaging in currency manipulation. It passed the House overwhelmingly but never made it to the floor in the Senate. In an October 2010 interview with conservative magazine Human Events, Ryan said tax increases on small businesses were necessary "because we have huge deficits. We gotta shore up Social Security. We gotta shrink our deficits".[16][17]

Ryan initiated a bid to replace Pelosi as House Minority Leader on November 17, 2016, prompted by colleagues after the 2016 presidential election.[18] After Pelosi agreed to give more leadership opportunities to junior members,[19] she defeated Ryan by a vote of 134–63 on November 30.[20]

Ryan supported the Iran nuclear deal to prevent Iran from acquiring weapons of mass destruction. In April 2016, he tweeted, "I was in Jerusalem a few weeks ago & saw firsthand the dangerous threat Israelis face. Israel has the right to defend itself from terror."[21]

Around 2018, Ryan helped Adi Othman, an illegal immigrant in Youngstown, Ohio, remain in the United States.[22] Othman had lived in the United States for nearly 40 years, ran several businesses in Youngstown, was married to a US citizen and had four US-born children.[22] Ryan repeatedly presented a bill to Congress whereby Othman would be granted a more thorough review of his case to stay in the United States (Othman disputed a verdict by immigration officials on a matter that affected his legal status); the fact that the bill was in motion meant that Othman could temporarily stay.[22] Othman was deported from the United States in February 2018 after President Donald Trump directed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to increase the number of arrests and deportations of illegal immigrants.[22] Ryan condemned the deportation, saying, "To watch these families get ripped apart is the most heart-breaking thing any American citizen could ever see ... Because you are for these families, it doesn't mean you are not for a secure border."[22]

Tim Ryan is the chairman of the Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch, which is investigating the 2021 storming of the US Capitol.[23]

• Committee on Appropriations[24]
  • Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch (Chairman)
  • Subcommittee on Defense
  • Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies

Ryan is a member of the following caucuses:[25]

• Co-chair of the Congressional Addiction, Treatment and Recovery Caucus
• Co-chair of the Congressional Manufacturing Caucus
• United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus[26]
• Sportsmen's Caucus
• Congressional Arts Caucus[27]
• Ohio River Basin Congressional Caucus
• Afterschool Caucuses[28]
• Medicare for All Caucus
• Blue Collar Caucus