Trey Hollingsworth

Hollingsworth declared his campaign for the United States House of Representatives in Indiana's 9th congressional district in October 2015.[5][6][7] Running in the Republican Party primary election against Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller and State Senators Erin Houchin and Brent Waltz, Hollingsworth won with 34% of the vote.[8] He defeated Democratic nominee Shelli Yoder in the November general election[5] with 54% of the vote.[9] Hollingsworth self-financed his first campaign, personally contributing $3.1 million.[10]

Hollingsworth defeated Democratic nominee Liz Watson in the 2018 midterm elections 59% to 41%.[11] Watson was endorsed by Elizabeth Warren.[12] In 2019, Watson moved to Washington, D.C. to lead the Congressional Progressive Caucus Center.[13]

Hollingsworth was sworn into his first term on January 3, 2017, and his second term on January 3, 2019.

Hollingsworth has promised to serve no more than eight years (four terms) in the House.[14] Government reform, including creating Congressional term limits, has been a priority for him in Congress. In both the 115th and 116th Congress, Hollingsworth introduced a resolution to amend the Constitution to impose term limits on Congressional lawmakers.[15] The measure would limit Congressional terms to four terms in the House of Representatives and two terms in the Senate.[16]

The second focus of Hollingsworth's government reform proposal is a lobbying ban for members of Congress. He has introduced the Banning Lobbying and Safeguarding Trust Act, which would ban members of Congress from ever registering as a lobbyist.[17]

The third component of Hollingsworth's government reform efforts is spending reform. He believes short-term budgeting wastes taxpayer dollars and therefore has consistently voted against short-term spending bills.[18]

In December 2017, Hollingsworth voted for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.[19]

• Committee on Financial Services
  • Subcommittee on Investor Protection, Entrepreneurship, and Capital Markets
  • Subcommittee on Diversity and Inclusion

In April 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Hollingsworth said he favored ending stay-at-home orders so as to reopen the economy,[20] even though that would mean that more Americans would die.[21] "The social scientists are telling us about the economic disaster that is going on," he said. "Our GDP is supposed to be down 20% alone this quarter. It is policymakers' decision to put on our big boy and big girl pants and say [more deaths] is the lesser of these two evils. It is not zero evil, but it is the lesser of these two evils and we intend to move forward that direction. That is our responsibility and to abdicate that is to insult the Americans that voted us into office."[22] A statement provided by his office later that day said, "It's hyperbolic to say that the only choices before us are the two corner solutions: no economy or widespread casualties. We can use the best of biology and economics to enable as much of the economy to operate as possible while we work to minimize disease transmission."[23]

Hollingsworth supports the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). He considers the act government overreach and prefers a private insurance system.[24]

In December 2020, Hollingsworth was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives to sign 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 defeated[25] 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 an election held by another state.[26][27][28]

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement that called signing the amicus brief an act of "election subversion". She also reprimanded Hollingsworth 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."[29][30] New Jersey Representative Bill Pascrell, citing section three of the 14th Amendment, called for Pelosi not to seat Hollingsworth and the other Republicans who signed the brief supporting the suit, arguing 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."[31]

Hollingsworth requested that the U.S. Department of Commerce lift its Section 232 restrictions on POSCO Steel, a Korean steel company with a facility in Jeffersonville, Indiana. The Department of Commerce approved the request.[32]

On June 27, 2019, Hollingsworth voted to send $4.6 billion in aid funding to the southern border.[33]

Hollingsworth voted for three resolutions in the House of Representatives disapproving of President Trump's arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE.[34]

Hollingsworth is anti-abortion, and supports defunding Planned Parenthood. In 2017, he posted on social media a statistic showing that Bloomington, Indiana had seen an increase in abortions in 2016.[35][36][37] The Indiana State Department reported that Indiana saw a decline in abortions compared to the prior year.[38] He supports requiring health care providers to notify parents if their underage child seeks an abortion.[39]

The American Conservative Union has given him a lifetime congressional rating of 88%.

Hollingsworth voted to disapprove of President Trump's policy to ban transgender people from openly serving in the military, saying “the honor of serving our country and protecting American freedoms should be open to anyone who can pass the physical, psychological, and medical exams.”[40]