August Lee Pfluger ( ; born December 28, 1977) is an American politician and reserve military officer from the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. He is the U.S. representative for . Pfluger succeeded fellow Republican Mike Conaway in 2021.

Early life and education

Pfluger's four-times-great-grandfather, German immigrant Henry Pfluger Sr. (1803–1867), founded Pflugerville, Texas. His maternal grandfather, a member of the

United States Army Air Corps The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical ri ...

in World War II, inspired Pfluger to become a pilot. Born in Harris County in 1977, Pfluger attended Central High School in

San Angelo, Texas San Angelo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tom Green County, Texas, United States. Its location is in the Concho Valley, a region of West Texas between the Permian Basin (North America), Permian Basin to the northwest, Chihuahuan Desert ...

, where he played quarterback for the school's

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

team. He is an Eagle Scout. He earned 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 ...

degree in political science from the

United States Air Force Academy The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academies, United States service academy in Air Force Academy, Colorado, Air Force Academy Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colorado Springs. I ...

. Pfluger then earned a Master of Science degree in aeronautical science from

Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) is a private university focused on aviation and aerospace programs based in Daytona Beach, Florida, and Prescott, Arizona, United States. It is the largest accredited university system specializing in ...

, a Master of Science in military and operations science from Air University, and a Master of Science in international business and policy from

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

Military service

Pfluger earned his commission to the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

in 2000. He served in active duty for 20 years, flying the

Northrop T-38 Talon The Northrop T-38 Talon is a two-seat, twinjet Supersonic aircraft, supersonic jet trainer designed and produced by the American aircraft manufacturer Northrop Corporation. It was the world's first supersonic trainer as well as the most produced. ...

, F-15C Eagle and

F-22A Raptor The Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22 Raptor is an American Twinjet, twin-engine, Jet engine, jet-powered, Night fighter, all-weather, supersonic Stealth aircraft, stealth fighter aircraft. As a product of the United States Air Force's Advanced Ta ...

aircraft, He commanded 380th Expeditionary Operations Group in Al Dhafra Air Base He then deployed in

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 ...

and Northern

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. During his service Pfluger earned several medal and awards including Meritorious Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters,

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establi ...

with one oak leaf clusters and Air Force Commendation Medal with one oak leaf clusters, He completed 2,000 hours including the over 300 combat hours and was progressively promoted to the rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

. Pfluger later served on the

United States National Security Council The United States National Security Council (NSC) is the national security council used by the president of the United States for consideration of national security, military, and Foreign relations of the United States, foreign policy matter ...

(NSC) during Donald Trump's first presidency. He remained in the

Air Force Reserve The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of commis ...

after leaving active duty. He also appeared briefly in the '' Fighter Pilot: Operation Red Flag'' IMAX film in 2004.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2020

Pfluger resigned from the NSC to run for 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 ...

for . Representative Mike Conaway, who had represented the district since its creation in 2005, was retiring after eight terms. Pfluger cleared 50% of the vote in a crowded 10-way Republican Party primary, enough to win the nomination in a single round. He faced Democratic nominee Jon Mark Hogg 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 ...

Wacey Alpha Cody in the November general election. However, with Republicans having a nearly 10-to-1 registration advantage in the district, Pfluger was heavily favored to win in November. Indeed, Hogg was only the fifth Democrat to run in the district since its creation in 2005. As expected, Pfluger easily defeated Hogg in the general election.

2022

Pluger ran unopposed, winning a second term.

2024

Pfluger ran unopposed again, winning a third term.

Tenure

Pfluger took office on January 3, 2021. On January 6, the day of the storming of the United States Capitol, he and 146 of his fellow congressional Republicans voted to block certification of President-elect

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 ...

's 2020 victory, as part of the

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 ...

-led effort to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election. Specifically, he voted against certifying

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

's and

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

's electoral votes. In August 2021, ''

Business Insider ''Business Insider'' (stylized in all caps: BUSINESS INSIDER; known from 2021 to 2023 as INSIDER) is a New York City–based multinational financial and business news website founded in 2007. Since 2015, a majority stake in ''Business Inside ...

'' reported that Pfluger had violated the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act of 2012, a federal transparency and conflict-of-interest law, by failing to properly disclose stock trades made by him or his wife worth between $10,007 and $150,000. On July 18, 2023, he proposed a congressional non-binding resolution which stated that “the State of Israel is not a

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

or apartheid state", that Congress rejects "all forms of antisemitism and xenophobia" and that “the United States will always be a staunch partner and supporter of Israel." It passed with support from 217 Republicans and 195 Democrats. In March 2024, Pfluger, Representative Don Davis, and a news reporter wrote an opinion piece in the ''

Washington Examiner The ''Washington Examiner'' is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative news magazine based in Washington, D.C., consisting of a website and a weekly printed magazine. It is owned by Philip Anschutz through MediaDC, a subsidiar ...

''. The piece criticized the push by many members of Congress to condition U.S. aid to Israel.

Committee assignments

* Committee on Homeland Security * Committee on Foreign Affairs *

Committee on Energy and Commerce A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

Caucus membership

* Republican Study Committee * Congressional Western Caucus

Political positions

Energy

Pfluger opposes a moratorium on

fracking Fracking (also known as hydraulic fracturing, fracing, hydrofracturing, or hydrofracking) is a well stimulation technique involving the fracturing of formations in bedrock by a pressurized liquid. The process involves the high-pressure inje ...

or on issuing new oil and gas permits for drilling on

federal lands Federal lands are lands in the United States owned and managed by the federal government. Pursuant to the Property Clause of the United States Constitution ( Article 4, section 3, clause 2), Congress has the power to retain, buy, sell, and regu ...

. According to

OpenSecrets OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks and publishes data on campaign finance and lobbying, including a revolving door database which documents the individuals who have worked in both the public sector an ...

, Pfluger has received over $1.9 million from the oil & gas industry.

Immigration

Pfluger supported the Impeachment of Alejandro Mayorkas.

Internet

Pfluger voted for the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.

Labor

Pfluger voted against the PRO Act.

Reproductive health

Pfluger opposes efforts to repeal the Hyde Amendment and opposed the Biden administration rescinding the Mexico City policy.

Science

Pfluger voted against funding the

National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...

Sex and gender

Pfluger voted against the Equality Act of 2021. Pfluger voted against the Equal Pay for Team USA Act of 2022 which "guarantees equal pay and benefits for ''all'' athletes who represent the United States in global athletic competitions (...) regardless of gender". Pfluger voted against the

Respect for Marriage Act The Respect for Marriage Act (RFMA; ) is a landmark United States federal law passed by the 117th United States Congress in 2022 and signed into law by President Joe Biden. It repeals the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), requires the U.S. federal ...

. Pfluger voted against the Speak Out Act.

Veterans

Pfluger voted against the Honoring our PACT Act of 2022.

Personal life

Pfluger and his wife have three young daughters. They live in

. His brother is the president of an oil and energy company in

Midland, Texas Midland is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Midland County with small portions extending into Martin County. The population was 132,524 as of the 2020 census. Located in the Permian Basin in West Texas, Midland is a ...

, and an investor in Truth Social.

References

External links

Representative August Pfluger
official U.S. House website
August Pfluger for Congress
* * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Pfluger, August 1977 births Living people 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives 21st-century Texas politicians Air University (United States Air Force) alumni American people of German descent American Zionists Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University alumni Georgetown University alumni Military personnel from Houston People from San Angelo, Texas Players of American football from Texas Politicians from Houston Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas United States Air Force Academy alumni United States Air Force colonels United States Air Force reservists United States National Security Council staffers