Keith Self
Rep. Keith Self official photo, 118th Congress.jpg
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Texas's 3rd district
Assumed office
January 3, 2023
Preceded byVan Taylor
Personal details
Born (1953-03-20) March 20, 1953 (age 69)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
EducationUnited States Military Academy (BS)
University of Southern California (MA)
WebsiteHouse website
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Army
Years of service1975–1999

Keith Alan Self (born March 20, 1953) is an American politician and former county judge who is the United States representative for Texas's 3rd congressional district.

Early life and education

Self was born in 1953 at a military hospital in Philadelphia and graduated from Tascosa High School in Amarillo, Texas.[1][2] He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from the United States Military Academy in 1975.[3][4]

Career

Self served in the United States Army from 1975 to 1999. He was a member of the Army Special Forces and Army Rangers. He was deployed to Qatar, Egypt, Germany, Afghanistan, and Belgium.[2] Self later served as the county judge[a] for Collin County, Texas. He was a candidate for Texas's 3rd congressional district in the March 2022 Republican primary, finishing second to incumbent Van Taylor and advancing to a May runoff.[5] After the primary, Taylor announced that he would end his congressional campaign amid accusations of infidelity, giving Self the nomination.[6][7] Self won the November general election.[8]

Tenure

On January 3, 2023, at the beginning of the 118th Congress, Self voted for Jim Jordan and later for Byron Donalds to be the U.S. House Speaker, in rebuke of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.[9][10][11] "I love the new [U.S. House] rules. I’m looking for somebody that will enforce them", Self said.[9] In the 12th round of voting, Self changed his vote to McCarthy, saying "we are making progress... This will change this House, let’s be very clear".[12] Self was one of 15 Republicans to change their votes.[11][12] McCarthy finally won the speakership on the 15th vote, held early in the morning on Saturday, January 7, with Self voting in favor.[13][14]

As a consequence of the delay in selecting a new speaker, Self was formally sworn in as a member of the House of Representatives in the early morning of January 7, 2023,[15] despite the 118th Congress convening on January 3.[9][16]

Political positions

Fiscal policy

Self has said that he considers the growth of U.S. national debt "the existential threat that our nation faces today".[17]

Notes

  1. ^ A county judge in Texas is equivalent to a county executive in most U.S. states and is so titled because he or she oversees a commissioners' court, rather than a court of law.

References

  1. ^ "Bio - Keith Self for Congress". Keith Self for Congress. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  2. ^ a b Sayles, Damon. "Keith Self: Ultra-conservative, military mindset describes county judge". Star Local. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  3. ^ "Keith Self for Congress". Keith Self for Congress. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  4. ^ "Keith Self". Ballotpedia. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  5. ^ "Texas Third Congressional District Primary Election Results". The New York Times. March 1, 2022. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  6. ^ Mooney, Michael (March 2, 2022). "Rep. Van Taylor apologizes for affair with ex-ISIS widow, drops out of runoff". Axios. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  7. ^ "Texas Republican drops re-election bid after affair with woman once married to IS leader". the Guardian. March 2, 2022. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  8. ^ Svitek, Patrick (March 2, 2022). "U.S. Rep. Van Taylor ends reelection campaign after he admits to affair". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved March 3, 2022.
  9. ^ a b c Caldwell, Emily (January 4, 2023). "North Texan Keith Self among Republicans opposing McCarthy in fight for House speaker". The Dallas Morning News. Dallas, Texas. Retrieved January 6, 2023. "I love the new rules. I'm looking for somebody that will enforce them," Self said Tuesday after the House adjourned. "That's what I'm working on."
  10. ^ Fung, Katherine (January 3, 2022). "Full List of House Republicans Who Voted Against Kevin McCarthy for Speaker". Newsweek. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
  11. ^ a b McCartney, Allison; Parlapiano, Alicia; Wu, Ashley; Cochrane, Emily (January 6, 2022). "Live Vote Count: Tracking the House Speaker Votes". The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved January 6, 2022.
  12. ^ a b Morton, Joseph; Gillman, Todd J.; Alvey, Rebekah; Caldwell, Emily (January 4, 2023). "House adjourned, McCarthy closes in on Speaker of the House after 15 holdouts flip". The Dallas Morning News. Dallas, Texas. Retrieved January 6, 2023. "We are making progress," Self said... "This will change this House, let's be very clear," Self said after voting for McCarthy.
  13. ^ Karni, Annie (January 7, 2022). "McCarthy Wins Speakership on 15th Vote After Concessions to Hard Right". The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  14. ^ Morton, Joseph; Gillman, Todd J.; Alvey, Rebekah (January 7, 2023). "McCarthy elected Speaker of the House on 15th ballot, ending stalemate". The Dallas Morning News. Dallas, Texas. Retrieved January 7, 2023.
  15. ^ "118th Congress Begins" (Press release). United States House of Representatives. January 9, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2023.
  16. ^ Zak, Dan; Terris, Ben (January 4, 2023). "Does the House even exist right now?". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 5, 2023. Retrieved January 6, 2023. ... the 434 members-elect could not decide on a speaker of the House […] Rep.-elect Troy E. Nehls (R-Tex.), a Freedom Caucus guy who is nevertheless voting for Rep.-elect Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) […] The 118th Congress has indeed begun … But the House technically has no members and cannot proceed with the business of the American people.
  17. ^ Fink, Jack (January 5, 2023). "North Texas Congressman-elect Keith Self on why he isn't voting for Kevin McCarthy". CBS News DFW. Retrieved January 11, 2023. During an interview with CBS11 before Thursday's five votes he said, "I want someone to lead this Republican conference to address the existential threat that our nation faces today."… That threat he said is the growing national debt, which has jumped to more than $31 trillion.((cite news)): CS1 maint: url-status (link)

External links

U.S. House of Representatives Preceded byVan Taylor Member of the U.S. House of Representativesfrom Texas's 3rd congressional district 2023–present Incumbent U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) Preceded byHillary Scholten United States representatives by seniority 426th Succeeded byEric Sorensen
Texas's current delegation to the United States Congress
Current members of the United States House of Representatives
Texas's delegation(s) to the 118th–present United States Congresses (ordered by seniority)
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