Dan Newhouse
Daniel Milton Newhouse (born July 10, 1955) is an American politician and agricultural scientist serving as the U.S. representative for . The district covers much of the central third of the state, including Yakima and the Tri-Cities. Before his election to Congress, Newhouse served as director of the Washington State Department of Agriculture and as a member of the Washington House of Representatives. He is a member of the Republican Party. Newhouse was one of ten Republicans who voted to impeach Donald Trump during Trump's second impeachment. Early life and career. Newhouse was born in Sunnyside, east  of Yakima. He was raised on a farm there by his parents, Ruth Martin (Gardner) and Irv Newhouse, with four sisters and a brother. His father's family was Dutch. His parents and all his siblings graduated from Washington State University. Newhouse's father served in the Washington State House and Senate for 34 years, retiring in 1998. Newhouse graduated from Washington State with a Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural economics in 1977. In college, he was a member of Alpha Gamma Rho fraternity. He also is a graduate of the Washington Agriculture and Forestry Leadership Program. Early career . Newhouse served four terms in the Washington House of Representatives from 2003 to 2009, representing the 15th district in eastern Yakima County, his father's old district. In 2009, Christine Gregoire, then the governor of Washington, appointed Newhouse to head the Washington State Department of Agriculture. Newly elected governor Jay Inslee did not reappoint Newhouse as agriculture director in 2013. U.S. House of Representatives. Elections. In February 2014, Newhouse entered the Republican primary for . The incumbent, Doc Hastings, did not run. Newhouse and fellow Republican Clint Didier advanced to the November election after finishing in the top two in the  August primary, marking the first time that two Republicans squared off in a general election since the state adopted the "top two" primary system. The 4th has long been Washington's most conservative district, and it was very likely that Hastings would be succeeded by another Republican. The race was very close, and was seen as a battle between the factions of the GOP; Newhouse is considered a mainstream Republican, while Didier openly identified with the Tea Party movement. Newhouse defeated Didier by a margin of 51%-49%. Newhouse faced Didier in a rematch in 2016, placing first in the blanket  primary with 44,720 votes (45.77%) to Didier's 26,892 (27.53%). In the general election, Newhouse defeated Didier, 132,517 votes (57.64%) to 97,402 (42.36%). Tenure. In December 2020, Newhouse 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 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. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement that called signing the amicus brief an act of "election subversion." She also reprimanded Newhouse 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." New Jersey Representative Bill Pascrell, citing section three of the 14th Amendment, called for Pelosi to not seat Newhouse 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." Newhouse announced his support for the second impeachment of Donald Trump on January 13, 2021, after the storming of the United States Capitol. In a statement, Newhouse condemned the "hateful and anti-American extremists" who attacked the Capitol, saying that they had been incited by "the language and misinformation of the President of  the United States." He claimed that he could not appear to condone the "unacceptable violence" or Trump's "inaction" by voting against impeachment, saying that Trump "failed to fulfill his oath of office" by not responding sooner. He voted to impeach alongside nine other Republicans that day. In his speech supporting impeachment, Newhouse said that while the article charging Trump with incitement of insurrection was "flawed", he also believed there was "no excuse" for Trump's failure to act. He expressed regret for not speaking out sooner against Trump's spreading of election misinformation. Earlier, he told "The Spokesman-Review  that while he was a Trump supporter, he believed Trump let us down" by not doing more to stop the violence. On May 19, 2021, Newhouse became one of 35 Republicans who joined all Democrats in voting to approve legislation to establish the January 6 commission meant to investigate the storming of the U.S. Capitol. LGBT Rights. In 2015, Newhouse was one of 60 Republicans voting to uphold President Barack Obama's 2014 executive order banning federal contractors from making hiring decisions that discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity. Immigration. Newhouse voted for the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act  of 2020 which authorizes DHS to nearly double the available H-2B visas for the remainder of FY 2020. Newhouse voted for the Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 1158) which effectively prohibits ICE from cooperating with Health and Human Services to detain or remove illegal alien sponsors of unaccompanied alien children (UACs). Ukraine. In 2022, Newhouse voted to provide approximately $14 billion to the government of Ukraine. Personal life. Newhouse owns a farm in Sunnyside that produces hops, tree fruit, grapes, and alfalfa. His first wife, Carol, died of cancer in 2017. They have two adult children. In 2018, Newhouse married  Joan Galvin in a small ceremony at the Congressional Prayer Room in the United States Capitol building.