Troy Edwin Nehls ( ; born April 7, 1968) is an American politician and former law-enforcement officer serving as the U.S. representative for Texas's 22nd congressional district since 2021. Before his election to Congress, he served as the

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

for

Fort Bend County, Texas Fort Bend County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. The county was founded on December 29, 1837, and organized the next year. It is named for Fort Bend, a blockhouse at a bend of the Brazos River. The community developed around th ...

from 2013 to 2021. Nehls is a member of the Republican Party. Nehls’s district, which was once represented by prominent representatives

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' ...

and

Tom DeLay Thomas Dale DeLay (; born April 8, 1947) is an American author and retired politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, DeLay represented Texas's 22nd congress ...

, includes most of the southwestern portion of the Houston Metropolitan Area, including a portion of the cities of Sugar Land, Needville and Rosenberg. It also includes part of the Greater Katy area. Nehls is a strong supporter and defender of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

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 ...

, and has, among other things, called for renaming

Dulles International Airport Washington Dulles International Airport ( ) – commonly known by its former name of Dulles International Airport, by its airport code of IAD, or simply as Dulles Airport – is an international airport in the Eastern United States, located w ...

after Trump and called on the Republican Party to obediently support whatever Trump says and does.

Early life and education

Nehls was born in

Beaver Dam, Wisconsin Beaver Dam is a city in Dodge County, Wisconsin, United States, along Beaver Dam Lake (Wisconsin), Beaver Dam Lake and the Beaver Dam River. The population was 16,708 at the 2020 census, making it the largest city primarily located in Dodge Co ...

. His father, Edwin Nehls, served in the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

and as

Dodge County, Wisconsin Dodge County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 89,396. Its county seat is Juneau, Wisconsin, Juneau. The county was created from the ...

. Nehls enlisted in the

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed ...

in 1988. He served

tours of duty For military personnel, a tour of duty is usually a period of time spent in combat or in a hostile environment. In an army, for instance, soldiers on active duty serve 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the length of their service commitment. ...

in Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan, and earned two

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

s. He earned his

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

from

Liberty University Liberty University (LU), known simply as Liberty, is a Private university, private Evangelicalism in the United States, evangelical Christian university in Lynchburg, Virginia, United States. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservativ ...

and a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in criminal justice from University of Houston–Downtown.

Career

Military and law enforcement

In 1988, Nehls joined the Army Reserve. Nehls moved to Fort Bend County, Texas, in 1994, and joined the police department of Richmond, Texas. In 1998, he was fired for reasons including destruction of evidence. In 2004, Nehls was elected

constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. ''Constable'' is commonly the rank of an officer within a police service. Other peo ...

for Fort Bend County, while he was serving as a reservist in Iraq. He retired from the Army Reserve with the rank of

major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

in 2009. In 2012, Nehls was elected sheriff of Fort Bend County, taking office in January 2013. He was reelected in 2016. In July 2019, he announced that he would not seek reelection as sheriff in November 2020. In October 2008, Nehls was awarded the

Combat Infantryman Badge The Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) is a United States Army military decoration. The badge is awarded to infantrymen and Special Forces (United States Army), Special Forces soldiers in the rank of Colonel (United States), colonel and below, wh ...

for his service in Afghanistan in March 2008. In March 2023, the military rescinded the award of the badge to Nehls, because he was not eligible to receive ithe was neither an infantryman nor a special forces operator, but was instead a civil affairs officer. The revocation became public in May 2024. Nehls continued to wear the badge, saying that he disagreed with the revocation, and that he believed "this is a concerted effort to discredit my military service and continued service to the American people as a member of Congress." Nehls subsequently stopped wearing the badge owing in large part to these stolen-valor claims against him.

Congress

Nehls formed an

exploratory committee In the election politics of the United States, an exploratory committee is an organization established to help determine whether a potential candidate should run for an elected office. They are most often cited in reference to candidates for pre ...

for for the 2018 elections, which would have pitted him against incumbent Republican Pete Olson, but decided in December 2017 not to run for that office. In mid-July 2019, Nehls created a website where he asked Fort Bend County residents whether he should run for Congress in the 22nd congressional district, which covers Katy, Sugar Land, and Pearland. On July 25, 2019, Olson announced he would not seek re-election in 2020. In December 2019, Nehls announced that he would run for the seat.

U.S. House of Representatives

2020 election

Nehls finished first in the March 2020 Republican primary with 40.5% of the vote. In the July runoff, he defeated second-place finisher Kathaleen Wall, receiving 70% of the vote. According to his campaign website, Nehls ran to improve mental and physical health care for veterans and to protect oil and gas jobs in Texas. Two days after he became the nominee, the "Standing with President Trump" page on that website was removed. In the general election in November, Nehls faced Democratic nominee Sri Preston Kulkarni. He defeated Kulkarni, 52% to 45%, and assumed office on January 3, 2021.

117th Congress

In his first week in the U.S. House, Nehls and other members of Congress were seen assisting U.S. Capitol Police in barricading the door to the House floor from protesters during the

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

. Nehls admonished rioters trying to enter the House chamber. On January 7, 2021, Nehls joined 121 other Republican members of Congress in objecting to counting certain electoral votes in the 2020 presidential election. On January 13, 2021, he voted against the second impeachment of President

. After President

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 ...

delivered a speech to a joint session of Congress in April 2021, Nehls approached Biden and said he wanted to work together on criminal-justice reform. Biden administration staff subsequently reached out to Nehls's office. On May 25, 2021, Nehls partnered with Representative Val Demings to introduce H.R. 3529, the Second Chance Opportunity for Re-Entry Education (SCORE) Act, to direct grant funds to county jails for career-training programs for nonviolent, incarcerated individuals to reduce jail recidivism. On January 3, 2022, Nehls entered a full transcript of an interview on ''

The Joe Rogan Experience ''The Joe Rogan Experience'' is a podcast hosted by American comedian, presenter, and UFC color commentator Joe Rogan. It was initiated on December 24, 2009, on YouTube by Rogan and comedian Brian Redban, who was its sole co-host and produce ...

'' with

Robert W. Malone Robert Wallace Malone (born October 20, 1959) is an American physician and biochemist. His early work focused on Messenger RNA, mRNA technology, pharmaceuticals, and Drug repositioning, drug repurposing research. He is credited for the first s ...

into the

Congressional Record The ''Congressional Record'' is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress, published by the United States Government Publishing Office and issued when Congress is in session. The Congressional Record Ind ...

to circumvent what he said was censorship by

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

. In the wake of the FBI search of presidential records at Mar-a-Lago in 2022, Nehls announced his support for Donald Trump for president in 2024 and denounced the FBI and Department of Justice as "corrupt". in 2022, Nehls published his book ''The Big Fraud: What Democrats Don’t Want You to Know about January 6, the 2020 Election, and a Whole Lot Else'', which laid out his thoughts on events around that presidential election.

118th Congress

Nehls in January 2024 indicated that he would not support an immigration bill regarding the

Mexico–United States border The international border separating Mexico and the United States extends from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Gulf of Mexico in the east. The border traverses a variety of terrains, ranging from urban areas to deserts. It is the List of ...

being negotiated by the Senate and the Biden administration, because the bill would "help Joe Biden's approval rating". Nehls further said, "Congress doesn’t have to do anything to secure our southern border and fix it." During the

2024 State of the Union Address The 2024 State of the Union Address was given by the 46th president of the United States, Joe Biden, on March7, 2024, at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time Zone, EST, in the chamber of the United States House of Representatives, House of Representativ ...

, Nehls wore a shirt featuring Donald Trump's mug shot and the words "Never Surrender!" He later co-sponsored a bill to rename

after Trump in April. On March 26, 2024, the

United States House Committee on Ethics The U.S. House Committee on Ethics, often known simply as the Ethics Committee, is one of the committees of the United States House of Representatives. Before the 112th Congress, it was known as the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. Th ...

announced Nehls was the subject of an investigation. The committee did not specify the focus of the investigation, but Nehls said it was related to his campaign's finances. On May 10, 2024, the independent

Office of Congressional Ethics The Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE), established by the U.S. House of Representatives in March 2008, is a nonpartisan, independent entity charged with reviewing allegations of misconduct against members of the House of Representatives and thei ...

reported its findings that probable cause was determined, indicating that Nehls had converted campaign funds for personal use, and recommended further review. On the issue of Trump's threatened tariffs, Nehls said, "If Donald Trump says tariffs work, tariffs work. Period. Because Donald Trump is really never wrong." Following a GOP conference meeting with President-elect Trump on November 13, 2024, Nehls enthused to gathered news reporters:

Committee assignments

* U.S. House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure ** Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials (Chairman) ** Subcommittee on Highways and Transit *

United States House Committee on the Judiciary The U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, also called the House Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is charged with overseeing the administration of justice within the federal courts, f ...

* Committee on the January 6 Attack (retracted by

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 ...

)

Caucus memberships

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, ...

*Western Caucus *Border Security Caucus *Bipartisan Taskforce for Combating Antisemitism *General Aviation Caucus

Electoral history

Personal life

Nehls has a twin brother, Trever. Trever Nehls served in the Army Reserve for 24 years, including tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Another brother, Todd, served in the

Wisconsin Army National Guard The Wisconsin Army National Guard has dual state and federal roles, and is jointly funded and maintained by both governments. Its federal mission is to provide trained units to the United States Army in time of war or national emergency. Its sta ...

and is a former sheriff of Dodge County. Trever succeeded Troy as a constable for Fort Bend County in 2013, and won the Republican nomination to succeed him as the sheriff of Fort Bend County in March 2020. Nehls and his wife, Jill, an educator, have three daughters. Nehls 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 ...

. On May 18, 2023, the

National Shooting Sports Foundation The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) is an American national trade association for the firearms industry that is based in Newtown, Connecticut. Formed in 1961, the organization has more than 8,000 members: The NSSF helps write safety a ...

(NSSF) awarded Nehls its Real Solutions Champion award for "his contributions to keeping communities safe during his law enforcement and Congressional career".

References

External links

Representative Troy Nehls
official U.S. House website
Campaign website
* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Nehls, Troy 1968 births Living people American law enforcement officials American nationalists Christians from Texas Liberty University alumni Military personnel from Wisconsin People from Fort Bend County, Texas Politicians from Beaver Dam, Wisconsin Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas Texas sheriffs Texas Republicans University of Houston–Downtown alumni United States Army officers United States Army reservists 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives