Michael Jonathan Cloud (born May 13, 1975) is an American politician representing

Texas's 27th congressional district Texas's 27th congressional district of the United States House of Representatives covers the coastal bend of Texas' Gulf Coast consisting of Corpus Christi, Texas, Corpus Christi and Victoria, Texas, Victoria up to Bastrop County, Texas, Bastr ...

in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

since 2018. He is a member of the Republican Party. Cloud is a member of the new House Department of Government Efficiency Committee.

Early life and career

Cloud graduated from

Oral Roberts University Oral Roberts University (ORU) is a Private university, private Evangelicalism, evangelical university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Founded in 1963, the university is named after its founder, Charismatic Christianity, Charismatic Christian preacher Oral ...

in 1997 with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

in mass media communications. At Oral Roberts, he was on the cross country and track teams. He chaired the Victoria County Republican Party from 2010 to 2017.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2018 special election

Cloud succeeded Republican

Blake Farenthold Randolph Blake Farenthold (born December 12, 1961) is an American politician and lobbyist. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Farenthold co-hosted a conservative talk-radio program before beginning a career in po ...

, who resigned amid controversy due to settling a sexual harassment lawsuit with public money. He won the Republican runoff for the regularly scheduled election with help from the

Club for Growth The Club for Growth is a 501(c)(4) political organization active in the United States, with a fiscally conservative agenda focused on tax cuts and other economic policy issues. Club for Growth's largest funders are billionaires Jeff Yass a ...

and the endorsement of

Ron Paul Ronald Ernest Paul (born August 20, 1935) is an American author, activist, and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1976 to 1977, and again from 1979 to 1985, as well as for Texas' ...

, who had previously represented parts of the district. On June 30, 2018, he won the special election, defeating Democratic nominee Eric Holguin, 55% to 32%.

2018 regular election

Cloud defeated Holguin again in November, along with independent candidate James Duerr and

Libertarian Libertarianism (from ; or from ) is a political philosophy that holds freedom, personal sovereignty, and liberty as primary values. Many libertarians believe that the concept of freedom is in accord with the Non-Aggression Principle, according ...

candidate Daniel Tinus, with 60.3% of the vote.

2020

Cloud defeated Democratic nominee Ricardo "Rick" De La Fuente and Libertarian candidate Phil Gray with 63.1% of the vote.

Tenure

Cloud was sworn in on July 10, 2018. In December 2020, Cloud was one of 126 Republican members of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

to sign an

amicus brief An amicus curiae (; ) is an individual or organization that is not a party to a legal case, but that is permitted to assist a court by offering information, expertise, or insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case. Whether an ''amic ...

in support of '' Texas v. Pennsylvania'', a lawsuit filed at the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

defeated incumbent

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked

standing Standing, also referred to as orthostasis, is a position in which the body is held in an upright (orthostatic) position and supported only by the feet. Although seemingly static, the body rocks slightly back and forth from the ankle in the ...

under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of an election held by another state. During the

2021 storming of the United States Capitol On January 6, 2021, the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., was attacked by a mob of supporters of President Donald Trump in an attempted self-coup,Multiple sources: * * * * * * * * * * * * * two months after his defea ...

, Cloud and his colleagues were ushered to a secure location. Later, video footage of him surfaced in which he refused to wear a mask, in violation of House rules. Cloud was one of 12 House Republicans to vote against HR 1085, to award three

Congressional Gold Medal The Congressional Gold Medal is the oldest and highest civilian award in the United States, alongside the Presidential Medal of Freedom. It is bestowed by vote of the United States Congress, signed into law by the president. The Gold Medal exp ...

s to the United States Capitol Police who protected the Capitol on January 6, 2021. In a statement defending his vote, he said, "I have always stood by and supported our brave law enforcement and still do but this bill was not truly about that, despite its name. Instead of simply being about honoring the Capitol Police who bravely protected the Capitol on January 6th, Speaker Pelosi included damaging language that unnecessarily weighs down the bill. The text refers to the Capitol as the temple of democracy. Simply put, it’s not a temple and Congress should not refer to it as one. The federal government is not a god." In June 2021, Cloud and 20 other House Republicans voted against a similar resolution. On January 3, 2023, at the beginning of the 118th Congress, Cloud voted for

Jim Jordan James Daniel Jordan (born February 17, 1964) is an American politician who has served in the U.S. House of Representatives as the representative for since 2007. He is a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party. ...

to be the U.S. House speaker, in rebuke of

House minority leader Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives, also known as floor leaders, are congresspeople who coordinate legislative initiatives and serve as the chief spokespersons for their parties on the House floor. These leaders are el ...

Kevin McCarthy Kevin Owen McCarthy (born January 26, 1965) is an American politician who served as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 55th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from January until he was Remova ...

. Cloud voted to provide Israel with support following 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.

Iraq

In June 2021, Cloud was one of 49 House Republicans to vote to repeal the AUMF against Iraq.

Syria

In 2023, Cloud was among 47 Republicans to vote in favor of H.Con.Res. 21 which directed President

to remove U.S. troops from

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

within 180 days.

Immigration

Cloud voted against the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020 which authorizes DHS to nearly double the available H-2B visas for the remainder of FY 2020. Cloud voted against the Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 1158), which effectively prohibits

Immigration and Customs Enforcement The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE; ) is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the United States from transnational crime and ille ...

from cooperating with the

Department of Health and Human Services The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the US federal government created to protect the health of the US people and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...

to detain or remove illegal alien sponsors of Unaccompanied Alien Children. He demanded answers in October 2024 from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement regarding a report that found nearly 300,000 migrant children disappeared from tracking.

Big Tech

In 2022, Cloud was one of 39 Republicans to vote for the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2022, an antitrust package that would crack down on corporations for anti-competitive behavior.

Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023

Cloud was among the 71 Republicans who voted against final passage of the

Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 On January 19, 2023, the United States hit its United States debt ceiling, debt ceiling, leading to a debt-ceiling crisis, part of an ongoing political debate within United States Congress, Congress about United States federal budget, federal ...

in the House.

Committee assignments

* Appropriations Committee ** Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government ** Subcommittee on Homeland Security ** Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies * Committee on Oversight and Accountability * Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic

Caucus memberships

Freedom Caucus The Freedom Caucus, also known as the House Freedom Caucus, is a congressional caucus consisting of Republican Party (United States), Republican members of the United States House of Representatives. It is generally considered to be the most Cons ...

Republican Study Committee The Republican Study Committee (RSC) is a congressional caucus of conservative members of the Republican Party in the United States House of Representatives. In November 2024, Representative August Pfluger was elected as the chair of the RSC, ...

Electoral history

Personal life

Cloud is

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

References

External links

Congressman Cloud
official U.S. House website
Campaign website
* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Cloud, Michael Jonathan 1975 births Living people 21st-century Texas politicians Oral Roberts University alumni People from Victoria, Texas Politicians from Baton Rouge, Louisiana Protestants from Texas Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives