page_title: Joe Walsh (American politician)
section_title: Tenure
hierarchical_section_title: Joe Walsh (American politician) / U.S. House of Representatives / Tenure
caption_attribution_description: Rep. Joe Walsh speaking.
context_page_description: William Joseph Walsh is an American politician, conservative talk radio host, former social worker, and former 2020 Republican presidential candidate who served one term in the United States House of Representatives representing Illinois's 8th congressional district.
  Born and raised in the Chicago metropolitan area, Walsh began his career as a social worker providing education and job skills training to students in low income areas, gradually becoming more politically active. Walsh had unsuccessfully campaigned for Congress in 1996 and the Illinois House of Representatives in 1998, but was elected to the U.S. House in 2010, defeating three-term incumbent Melissa Bean. Though he received little Republican Party support in his bid against Bean, he was popular with the Tea Party movement. In the 1990s, he identified as a moderate Republican, but he later became a conservative and a Tea Party activist.
  During his time in Congress, Walsh was criticized for his often personal attacks against members of the Democratic Party and, specifically, President Barack Obama. He accused the president of abandoning the U.S.–Israel alliance and bankrupting the country.
context_section_description: Several days before being sworn into Congress, The New York Times criticized Walsh for his willingness to accept donations from political action committees and lobbyists. After being sworn in, Walsh announced that consistent with his opposition to government-provided health care and the 2010 health care reform legislation, he would not accept congressional health care benefits.
  During his early months in Congress, he emerged as a vocal critic of the Democratic Party and President Obama's fiscal policies, and posted a YouTube video in which he accused President Obama of bankrupting the country. He also vowed, "I won't place one more dollar of debt upon the backs of my kids and grandkids unless we structurally reform the way this town [Washington, D.C.] spends money!" He became a frequent fixture on cable TV, advocating a "no compromise" approach to deficit reduction that rejects any tax increases on the wealthy. He consistently voted against raising the federal debt ceiling and authored a balanced budget amendment to the United States Constitution. Walsh has also said that President Obama was elected "because he pushed that magical button: a black man who was articulate, liberal, the whole white guilt, all of that." In his first six months in office, Walsh received over 30 appearances on television.
  During the election season, Walsh was asked what his approach to bipartisanship would be if elected. He replied it would "not be the time right now to extend your hand across the aisle."
  In September 2011, Walsh was among 19 members of Congress criticized for ethics violations in the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington annual report.
  In November 2011, Walsh was videotaped meeting with his constituents, becoming visibly aggressive and swearing at a woman who questioned him about his comment that the marketplace and the banks were not responsible "for the mess we're in right now." He later apologized for being "too passionate".
  In Congress, Walsh held 363 town hall meetings, more than any other member of Congress.
caption: Walsh speaking at a Tea Party rally on March 31, 2011
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