Celeste Maloy (born May 22, 1981) is an American attorney and Republican politician who is 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 . She previously served as chief legal counsel to U.S. Representative Chris Stewart and as the deputy county attorney for

Washington County, Utah Washington County is a county in the southwestern corner of Utah, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 180,279, making it the fifth-most populous county in Utah. Its county seat and largest city is St. Geo ...

. Prior to her legal career, Maloy worked as a conservationist for the

Natural Resources Conservation Service Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), formerly known as the Soil Conservation Service (SCS), is an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) that provides technical assistance to farmers and other private landowners and ...

Early life and education

Maloy was born in

Cedar City, Utah Cedar City is the largest city in Iron County, Utah, United States. It is located south of Salt Lake City, and north of Las Vegas on Interstate 15. It is the home of Southern Utah University, the Utah Shakespeare Festival, the Utah Summe ...

, and raised in

Hiko, Nevada Hiko is a small, agrarian community in the Tonopah Basin on State Route 318 in Lincoln County, Nevada, United States. It is a census-designated place, with a population of 119 at the 2010 census. Demographics Description The first perman ...

in a

single-wide trailer A mobile home (also known as a house trailer, park home, trailer, or trailer home) is a prefabricated structure, built in a factory on a permanently attached chassis before being transported to site (either by being towed or on a trailer). U ...

with five siblings; her mother, Cathy (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth ...

Turner) sold

Avon Avon may refer to: * River Avon (disambiguation), several rivers Organisations *Avon Buses, a bus operating company in Wirral, England *Avon Coachworks, a car body builder established in 1919 at Warwick, England, relaunched in 1922, following ...

products, while her father, Edward Maloy, was a volunteer firefighter. She is the niece by marriage of

Cliven Bundy Cliven D. Bundy (born April 29, 1946) is an American cattle rancher who was charged and underwent pre-trial detention for his role in the 2014 Bundy standoff. Bundy vocally advocated a philosophy opposed to what he views as federal government o ...

and cousin of

Ammon Bundy Ammon Edward Bundy (born September 1, 1975) is an American anti-government militant and activist. A car fleet manager by profession, Bundy gained widespread attention by leading the 2016 occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. He is ...

, known for their involvement in the 2014

Bundy standoff The 2014 Bundy standoff was an armed confrontation between supporters of cattle rancher Cliven Bundy and law enforcement following a 21-year legal dispute in which the United States Bureau of Land Management (BLM) obtained court orders directin ...

. Maloy later graduated from Pahranagat Valley High School in

Alamo, Nevada Alamo is an unincorporated town in Lincoln County, Nevada, United States, about north of Las Vegas along U.S. Route 93. Its elevation is . As of the 2010 census it had a population of 1,080. History A post office has been in operation at Ala ...

. After graduating high school, Maloy attended

Southern Utah University Southern Utah University (SUU) is a public university in Cedar City, Utah. Founded in 1897 as a normal school, Southern Utah University now graduates over 1,800 students each year with baccalaureate and graduate degrees from its six colleges. ...

, where she earned her degree in agriculture. She earned a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

from

J. Reuben Clark Law School The J. Reuben Clark Law School (BYU Law or JRCLS) is the graduate law school of Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo, Utah. Founded in 1973, the school is named after J. Reuben Clark, a former U.S. Ambassador, Undersecretary of State, and ...

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

in 2015.

Early career

Maloy worked for 11 years as a

soil conservation Soil conservation is the prevention of loss of the topmost layer of the soil from erosion or prevention of reduced fertility caused by over usage, acidification, salinization or other chemical soil contamination. Slash-and-burn and other un ...

ist for the

in Utah. After law school, Maloy worked in

, as a deputy county attorney, specializing in issues of public land law involving land and water policy. She advocated on behalf of Utah landowners to the

United States House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations The United States House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations is a new subcommittee within the House Natural Resources Committee. It was first established in 2015 by Chairman Rob Bishop of Utah. Jurisdiction The Subcommit ...

. She has continued working with issues of land rights and ownership with the Utah Association of Counties and the Washington County Water Conservancy District. Her work as deputy county attorney in Washington County put her in frequent contact with

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 ...

Chris Stewart, and in 2019, she was hired by Stewart as chief legal counsel for both his district and

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, ...

offices.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2023 special

In June 2023, she announced her candidacy for the special election for

Utah's 2nd congressional district Utah's 2nd congressional district currently serves Salt Lake City and the largely rural western and southern portions of Utah, including Saint George and Tooele. The current U.S. House Representative is Republican Chris Stewart. A map of cu ...

after Representative Stewart announced his resignation to care for his wife's health issues. Stewart publicly endorsed Maloy after reports that thirteen Republicans had filed for the contested primary election. On June 24, 2023, Maloy won the Utah Republican nominating convention for the 2nd district in an upset. However, she still had to face a primary election, as two other candidates had gathered enough signatures to make the primary ballot. Maloy won the most votes in a September 6 primary, to win the Republican nomination over former

state Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...

Becky Edwards. Maloy faced

state Senator A state senator is a member of a state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. Description A state senator is a member of an upper house in the bicameral legislatures of 49 ...

Kathleen Riebe Kathleen Riebe ( ) is an American politician from Salt Lake City, Utah. She was a member of the Utah State Board of Education through 2018, and now represents Utah's 15th senate district in the Utah State Senate. Prior to redistricting she represe ...

in the general election on November 21 and won by a comfortable margin. She was sworn in on November 28, 2023.

2024

Maloy faced multiple challengers in her first re-election bid, with the leading competitor being Colby Jenkins, a telecommunications businessman. Jenkins was able to defeat Maloy at convention with 56% but Utah requires any candidate with more than 40% of the cote to progress to a Primary. While the primary was held June 25, 2024, the race still has not been called as of July 5th, with the small margin likely to lead to a recount. The winner of the Primary will progress to a general election to face Democratic candidate Nathaniel Woodward, and Constitiutional party candidate Cassie Easley.

Committee assignments

* Committee on Small Business ** Subcommittee on Contracting and Infrastructure ** Subcommittee on Rural Development, Energy, and Supply Chains *

Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure The U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. History The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure was formerly known as the Committee on Public Works a ...

Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

Subcommittee on Highways and Transit A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

** Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment

Caucus memberships

* Congressional Colorado River Caucus * Congressional FFA Caucus * Congressional Wildfire Caucus *

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 ...

Personal life

Maloy and her family are members of

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ...

References

External links

Congresswoman Celeste Maloy
official U.S. House website
Celeste Maloy for Congress
campaign website * * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Maloy, Celeste 1981 births 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American legislators 21st-century American women lawyers 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century Utah politicians Brigham Young University alumni Female members of the United States House of Representatives J. Reuben Clark Law School alumni Latter Day Saints from Nevada Latter Day Saints from Utah Living people People from Cedar City, Utah People from Lincoln County, Nevada Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Utah Southern Utah University alumni United States congressional aides Utah lawyers Women in Utah politics