Robert William Bishop (born July 13, 1951) is an American politician who served as the

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

for from 2003 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he became the dean of Utah's congressional delegation after the retirement of

Orrin Hatch Orrin Grant Hatch (March 22, 1934 – April 23, 2022) was an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator from Utah from 1977 to 2019. Hatch's 42-year Senate tenure made him the longest-serving Republican U.S. senato ...

from the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

in 2019. Prior to his congressional tenure, Bishop was a Utah State Representative (1978–1994), including two final years as Speaker of the Utah House of Representatives, as well as Chair of the

Utah Republican Party The Utah Republican Party is the affiliate of the Republican Party in the U.S. state of Utah. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling all four of Utah's U.S. House seats, both U.S. Senate seats, the governorship, and has sup ...

(1997–2001). He was a candidate for

Lieutenant Governor of Utah The office of the lieutenant governor of Utah was created in 1975. Nine people have held the position since then. Prior to the creation of the lieutenant governor's office, the succession to the governorship of Utah was held by the Utah Secretary ...

as Thomas Wright's running mate in the 2020 election.

Early life and education

Bishop was born in

Kaysville, Utah Kaysville is a city in Davis County, Utah. It is part of the Ogden–Clearfield metropolitan area. The population was 27,300 at the time of the 2010 census, with an estimated population of 32,390 in 2019. History Shortly after Latter Day Sain ...

, and graduated from Davis High School. He served as a Mormon missionary in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

from 1970 until 1972. Bishop received a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

from the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

in 1974.

Career

He taught civics classes at Brigham City's Box Elder High School from 1974 to 1980; he next taught

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

in Ogden, Utah at Ben Lomond High School; then he returned to teaching

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

and

history History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

classes at Box Elder High School until his retirement from teaching in 2002. While a teacher at Box Elder, Bishop partnered with the Close Up Foundation to help students participate in Close Up's

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

based civic education programs.

Utah politics

Bishop was a member of the

Utah House of Representatives The Utah House of Representatives is the lower house of the Utah State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Utah. The House is composed of 75 representatives elected from single member constituent districts. Each district conta ...

from 1978 to 1994. He was House Majority Leader and later served as Speaker of the House from 1992 until 1994. In 1997, he was elected chairman of the

, and served for two terms in this position. He has also worked as a legislative lobbyist in Washington.

U.S. House of Representatives

In 2002, Bishop returned to politics when he ran for the Republican nomination in the 1st District. 22-year incumbent Jim Hansen had recently announced his retirement. At the state Republican convention, he finished first in the seven-candidate field and went on to face State Representative

Kevin Garn Kevin Stacy Garn (born January 14, 1955) is an American politician and the former Republican majority leader of the Utah House of Representatives. Until his resignation on March 13, 2010, following personal disclosures, he represented District 16 ...

in a primary. He defeated Garn in that primary with 59.8 percent of the vote, all but assuring him of being the next congressman from this heavily Republican district. As expected, he won the general election with 61% of the vote. He has won re-election in 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, and 2012 with even larger margins. In 2014, he was reelected with 64% of the vote. In the 2016 election cycle, 92.6% of contributions to Bishop's political campaign came from outside Utah, the highest out-of-state percentage of any member of the House, with much of the contributions coming from the energy and agribusiness sectors, according to an analysis by

OpenSecrets OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying. It was created from a merger of the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics (NIMP) ...

Political positions

Federalism

In 2010 Bishop introduced to the House an amendment to the United States Constitution, known as the "repeal amendment," which would allow a majority vote of the states to overturn any act of the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

Land use and the environment

Bishop supports repeal of the

Endangered Species Act of 1973 The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA or "The Act"; 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq.) is the primary law in the United States for protecting imperiled species. Designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of ec ...

, saying it has been "hijacked" to control land and block economic development, and that he "would love to invalidate" the law. Bishop is among those most critical of the

Antiquities Act The Antiquities Act of 1906 (, , ), is an act that was passed by the United States Congress and signed into law by Theodore Roosevelt on June 8, 1906. This law gives the President of the United States the authority to, by presidential procla ...

. Bishop opposed the designation of the

Bears Ears National Monument Bears Ears National Monument is a United States national monument located in San Juan County in southeastern Utah, established by President Barack Obama by presidential proclamation on December 28, 2016. The monument protects of public land su ...

and supports repealing or shrinking the designation. Bishop supports transferring federal public lands to the states. Despite this, Bishop sponsored a successful amendment to the 2006

National Defense Authorization Act The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is the name for each of a series of United States federal laws specifying the annual budget and expenditures of the U.S. Department of Defense. The first NDAA was passed in 1961. The U.S. Congress o ...

to create the Cedar Mountain Wilderness, specifically to block transportation access to the Private Fuel Storage nuclear storage facility on

Goshute The Goshutes are a tribe of Western Shoshone Native Americans. There are two federally recognized Goshute tribes today: * Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation, located in Nevada and Utah * Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians of Utah o ...

Skull Valley Indian Reservation The Skull Valley Indian Reservation (Gosiute dialect: Wepayuttax) is located in Tooele County, Utah, United States, approximately southwest of Salt Lake City. It is inhabited by the Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians of Utah, a federally reco ...

land in Tooele County.Judy Fahys
Utah N-waste site backers call it quits
''Salt Lake Tribune'' (December 21, 2012). In February 2011, Bishop introduced a budget amendment that would have defunded the

National Landscape Conservation System National Conservation Lands, formally known as the National Landscape Conservation System, is a collection of lands in 873 federally recognized areas considered to be the crown jewels of the American West.Bureau of Land Management land, including the National Monument,

National Conservation Area National Conservation Area is a designation for certain protected areas in the United States. They are nature conservation areas managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) under the National Landscape Conservation System. Restrictions vary b ...

, National Wilderness Preservation,

National Wild and Scenic Rivers The National Wild and Scenic Rivers System was created by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968 (Public Law 90-542), enacted by United States Congress, the U.S. Congress to preserve certain rivers with outstanding natural, cultural, and recreat ...

National Scenic Trail The National Trails System is a series of trails in the United States designated "to promote the preservation of, public access to, travel within, and enjoyment and appreciation of the open-air, outdoor areas and historic resources of the Nati ...

National Historic Trail The National Trails System is a series of trails in the United States designated "to promote the preservation of, public access to, travel within, and enjoyment and appreciation of the open-air, outdoor areas and historic resources of the Nati ...

systems and other systems. After coming under fire for introducing this amendment, Bishop withdrew it. On April 10, 2013, Bishop introduced the Ensuring Public Involvement in the Creation of National Monuments Act. The bill would amend the

Antiquities Act of 1906 The Antiquities Act of 1906 (, , ), is an act that was passed by the United States Congress and signed into law by Theodore Roosevelt on June 8, 1906. This law gives the President of the United States the authority to, by presidential procla ...

to subject national monument declarations by the President to the

National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is a United States environmental law that promotes the enhancement of the environment and established the President's Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). The law was enacted on January 1, 1970.Un ...

(NEPA). At present, the

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

can unilaterally designate areas of federally-owned land as a national monument, whereas national parks and other areas are required to be enacted into law by the

. Bishop argued that "the American people deserve the opportunity to participate in land-use decisions regardless of whether they are made in Congress or by the President". He claims his new bill would ensure "that new national monuments are created openly with consideration of public input". In March 2019, Bishop said that "the ideas behind the Green New Deal are tantamount to

genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the Lat ...

". Asked to elaborate how this was similar to genocide, Bishop answered, "I’m an ethnic. I’m a westerner." Asked whether he believed that the Green New Deal would kill him, Bishop said, "If you actually implement everything they want to. Killing would be positive if you implement everything the Green New Deal actually wants to. That’s why the Green New Deal is not ready for prime time."

Utah GOP closed primary

Bishop was chairman of the Utah Republican Party when the decision was made to close primaries to nonparty members in the late 1990s. The Utah Democratic party holds open primaries. When asked about Democrats changing their party affiliation to vote in the 2020 Republican primary, he replied "“instead of piddling around with the Republican primary. Doing it this way ... the best you can call it is dishonorable. It really is a slimy way of doing things.” He said the only reason Democrats are attempting to “pervert the process” is to help advance a candidate. “That’s inherently wrong,” Bishop said. In a recent editorial, Bishop restated his view: "A leading Democrat wants to create havoc in the system. For what aim? Maybe to elect the “correct” candidates? Maybe to help Democrats have a bigger voice in the elections?"

Committee assignments

* Committee on Natural Resources - Ranking Member ** Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation *

House Armed Services Committee The U.S. House Committee on Armed Services, commonly known as the House Armed Services Committee or HASC, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is responsible for funding and oversight of the Department of De ...

Caucus memberships

Tenth Amendment Task Force
(Co-Founder) * Second Amendment Task Force * Congressional Lupus Caucus * House GOP Policy Committee (Vice Chair) * Co-founder of the Western States Coalition * past Chairman of the

Congressional Western Caucus The Congressional Western Caucus is a caucus within the United States House of Representatives composed of 62 members. Although it has historically been bipartisan, it is currently composed almost exclusively of Republicans (with the sole excepti ...

Tea Party Caucus The Tea Party Caucus (TPC) was a congressional caucus of conservative members of the Republican Party in the United States House of Representatives. The Caucus was founded in July 2010 by Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann in coordination w ...

Republican Study Committee The Republican Study Committee (RSC) is a study group of conservative members of the Republican Party in the United States House of Representatives. As of 2021, the Chairman of the RSC is Representative Jim Banks of Indiana. Although the prima ...

* House Baltic Caucus *

Congressional Constitution Caucus The Congressional Constitution Caucus is a congressional caucus made up of 41 members of the United States Congress. The caucus was founded in 2005; it had 37 members the first year it was founded. The group was founded and formerly led by Repu ...

(Co-Chair) *

United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus The U.S. Congressional International Conservation Caucus, founded in September 2003, is a bipartisan congressional organization with the conviction that “the United States of America has the opportunity, the obligation and the interests to advanc ...

Electoral history

Lieutenant gubernatorial candidacy

Bishop announced in July 2019 that he would not seek reelection to the House in 2020. He mentioned the same year that he was considering running for governor, but considered himself a "horrible" candidate. He joined Thomas Wright's ticket as a candidate for lieutenant governor in the

2020 Utah gubernatorial election The 2020 Utah gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the governor of Utah, concurrently with the 2020 U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the United States Senate and elections to the United States House ...

but later lost the primary.

Personal life

Bishop is married to Jeralynn Hansen, a former Miss Peach Queen for Brigham City, Utah. He and his family reside in Brigham City. The Bishops have four sons and one daughter. Well known for his three-piece suits, Bishop was named the third-best-dressed congressmen in 2012 according to the Washingtonian.

References

External links

* * * , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bishop, Rob 1951 births 20th-century Mormon missionaries 21st-century American politicians American educators American lobbyists American Mormon missionaries in Germany Latter Day Saints from Utah Living people Republican Party members of the Utah House of Representatives People from Brigham City, Utah People from Kaysville, Utah Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Utah Speakers of the Utah House of Representatives State political party chairs of Utah Tea Party movement activists University of Utah alumni Utah State University faculty