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John Allan Yarmuth ( ; born November 4, 1947) is a retired American politician and newspaper editor who served as the U.S. representative for from 2007 to 2023. His district encompassed the vast majority of the Louisville Metro Area. From 2013 onward, he had been the sole Democratic member of Kentucky's congressional delegation. Yarmuth chaired the House Budget Committee from 2019 to 2023. On October 12, 2021, he announced that he would not seek reelection in
2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
.


Early life and education

Yarmuth was born in
Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...
, the son of Edna E. (née Klein) and Stanley R. Yarmuth. He is descended from Jewish immigrants from Russia and Austria. He graduated from Atherton High School.Official House Biography
Retrieved July 5, 2012.
He later graduated from
Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...
, majoring in American studies.


Early career

Yarmuth worked as a legislative aide for Republican U.S. Senator Marlow Cook from 1971 to 1974, then returned to Louisville and launched his publishing career by founding ''Louisville Today'' magazine, which operated from 1976 to 1982. He later worked as a vice president of University Relations at the
University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...
from 1983 to 1986, where he was inducted into
Omicron Delta Kappa Omicron Delta Kappa (), also known as The Circle and ODK, is an American collegiate honor society that recognizes leadership and scholarship. It was founded in 1914, at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia and has chartered more t ...
as an ''honoris causa'' initiate in 2014. Yarmuth described himself as a Rockefeller Republican in his earlier years. He left the party during
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...
's presidency, saying, "I saw this unmistakable move away from moderation when he started hosting
Jerry Falwell Jerry Laymon Falwell Sr. (August 11, 1933 – May 15, 2007) was an American Baptist pastor, televangelist, and conservatism in the United States, conservative activist. He was the founding pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church, a megachurch ...
and Pat Robertson and catering to the religious right". In 1990, Yarmuth founded the '' Louisville Eccentric Observer'' (LEO), a weekly newspaper for which he wrote a generally liberal political column that usually ran on page one. In 2003, he sold LEO to a company owned by Times Publishing Company of
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 ...
, owner of the '' Erie Times-News.'' Yarmuth remained on board as a columnist and consultant until January 2006, when he put his column on hiatus to run for Congress.


U.S. House of Representatives


Elections


2006

On January 31, 2006, Yarmuth filed candidacy papers to represent . He won the Democratic primary on May 16, defeating Andrew Horne, Burrell Charles Farnsley and James W. Moore, and defeated incumbent Anne Northup in the November general election. On August 7, 2006, ''
The Courier-Journal The ''Courier Journal'', also known as the ''Louisville Courier Journal'' (and informally ''The C-J'' or ''The Courier''), and called ''The Courier-Journal'' between November 8, 1868, and October 29, 2017, is a daily newspaper published in ...
'' reported that '' The Hill'' revealed a week before that the
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) is the Democratic Hill committee for the United States House of Representatives, working to elect Democrats to that body. The DCCC recruits candidates, raises funds and organizes races in ...
had earmarked $51.5 million for television advertising in 32 congressional districts across the nation, but none for Yarmuth's challenge in the third congressional district. On October 20, a ''Courier-Journal'' article stated that a WHAS11/
SurveyUSA SurveyUSA is a polling firm in the United States. It conducts market research for corporations and interest groups, but is best known for conducting opinion polls for various political offices and questions. SurveyUSA conducts these opinion poll ...
poll revealed the race had tightened dramatically, with Yarmuth leading Northup 48% to 47%. Another poll a month earlier had Northup leading by 6 points. A WHAS11/SurveyUSA poll released on November 2 showed Yarmuth leading Northup 52% to 44%. On October 26, Yarmuth told ''Courier-Journal'' reporter Kay Stewart that he would donate his congressional salary—which would be $168,500 in 2007—to local charity. Because polls close early in Kentucky, many analysts saw this race as a key indicator and it immediately became one of the most watched House races in the nation. Yarmuth received 122,139 votes (51%) to Northup's 116,157 (48%). Independent candidates garnered 2,896 (1%).


2008

Yarmuth ran unopposed in the primary, and faced Northup again in the general election. He won with 59% of the vote.


2010

Yarmuth was challenged by Republican Todd Lally and Independent Michael D. Hansen. He was reelected with 55% of the vote.


2012

Yarmuth was challenged by Republican Brooks Wicker and Independent candidate Robert L. Devore Jr. Yarmuth received 206,385 votes (63.96%) to Wicker's 111,452 (23.32%) and Devore's 4,819 (1.49%).


2014

In the 2014 general election, Yarmuth was challenged by Republican Michael McFarlane and Independent Gregory Puccetti. On October 6, 2014, Kentucky Educational Television hosted a debate that was broadcast live on Louisville's KET, and was moderated by KET host Bill Goodman. Yarmuth was reelected with 63.5% of the vote.


2016

Yarmuth was challenged by Republican Harold Bratcher and Independent Everett Corley. He won with 212,388 votes (63%) of the vote to Bratcher's 122,085 (37%). Corley received no votes.


2018

On April 17, 2017, Yarmuth announced that his candidacy for reelection in the 2018 election. During the campaign, he lobbied for the chairship of the House Budget Committee and promised to hold hearings on Medicare for all. Yarmuth was reelected with over 62% of the vote against Vickie Yates Glisson, Kentucky's former Secretary of Health and Family Services. After the Democrats took the House, Yarmuth became Budget Committee chair. In that position, he requested documents pertaining to the withholding of appropriated defense funds to Ukraine.


2020

Yarmuth was reelected to an eighth and final term with 62% of vote against Republican Rhonda Palazzo.


Tenure

Yarmuth took office on January 3, 2007. After his first year in Congress, Yarmuth donated his post-tax congressional salary of just over $120,000 to various Louisville charities. On February 8, 2008, Yarmuth endorsed
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States. On September 29, 2008, Yarmuth voted against the TARP bailout plan, as negotiated by House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi Nancy Patricia Pelosi ( ; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who was the List of Speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 52nd speaker of the United States House of Representatives, serving from 2007 to 2011 an ...
, Senate Majority Leader
Harry Reid Harry Mason Reid Jr. (; December 2, 1939 – December 28, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Nevada from 1987 to 2017. He led the Senate Democratic Caucus from 2005 to 2 ...
, President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
, House Minority Leader
John Boehner John Andrew Boehner ( ; born , 1949) is an American politician who served as the 53rd speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2011 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served 13 terms as the U.S. representative ...
, and Senate Minority Leader
Mitch McConnell Addison Mitchell McConnell III (; born February 20, 1942) is an American politician and attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Kentucky, a seat he has held since 1985. McConnell is in his seventh Senate term and is the long ...
. He voted for the second version of the bailout bill. Yarmuth said he was so "nauseated" by a moment of silence for
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
on the House floor that he left the chamber. "I thought it was outrageous," he said. "In my two and a half years, we've not done this for anybody else. We've done it for former members and that's about it." After winning a 2008 rematch with Anne Northup, his 2006 general election opponent, Yarmuth was rewarded by the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee with a spot on the influential
Ways and Means Committee A ways and means committee is a government body that is charged with reviewing and making recommendations for government budgets. Because the raising of revenue is vital to carrying out governmental operations, such a committee is tasked with fi ...
. On the committee, he worked on issues on which he campaigned before the 2008 election:
Social Security Welfare spending is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifically to social insurance ...
, pension, Medicare, and
Medicaid Medicaid is a government program in the United States that provides health insurance for adults and children with limited income and resources. The program is partially funded and primarily managed by U.S. state, state governments, which also h ...
issues. At a September 2009 town hall meeting, constituents were unhappy with Yarmuth's decision to support the
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act A patient is any recipient of health care services that are performed by healthcare professionals. The patient is most often ill or injured and in need of treatment by a physician, nurse, optometrist, dentist, veterinarian, or other health ...
. "Yarmuth stayed calm in the face of boos and catcalls from some in the audience" according to an Associated Press report. "He warned that the current health care system is an unsustainable drain on businesses and the nation's economy." In 2011, Yarmuth and Walter Jones introduced a bill to overturn key parts of the controversial court case '' Citizens United v. FEC''. The legislation would also give Congress the power to enact mandatory public financing for Congressional candidates and create a national holiday for voting purposes. In 2011, Yarmuth voted against the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 due to a controversial provision that allows the government and the military to indefinitely detain American citizens and others without trial. In 2013, Yarmuth introduced the Fair Elections Now Act, which would establish a public financing system for Congressional campaigns. In 2015, Yarmuth once again made an attempt at removing "dark money" from the political sphere by proposing HR 2125, the Keeping our Campaigns Honest Act of 2015. Yarmuth signed onto a "Medicare for All" bill along with 120 other House Democrats in 2018, supporting
single-payer healthcare Single-payer healthcare is a type of universal healthcare, in which the costs of essential healthcare for all residents are covered by a single public system (hence "single-payer"). Single-payer systems may contract for healthcare services from pr ...
. Yarmuth became the first Kentuckian to join the Congressional Progressive Caucus. On December 18, 2019, Yarmuth voted for both articles of impeachment against President
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 only House member from Kentucky to do so. For his tenure as the chairman of the House Budget Committee in the 116th Congress, Yarmuth earned an "A" grade from the nonpartisan Lugar Center's Congressional Oversight Hearing Index. In 2021, Yarmuth introduced to the House the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, 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 ...
's first major piece of legislation. On October 12, 2021, Yarmuth announced that he will retire from Congress at the end of his term in 2023.


Committee assignments

* Committee on the Budget (chair) *
Committee on Education and Labor The Committee on Education and Workforce is a Standing committee (United States Congress), standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. There are 45 members of this committee. Since 2025, the chair of the Education and Work ...


Party leadership

* Regional Whip


Caucus memberships

Yarmuth's caucus memberships include:


Electoral history


Television

In 2003, Yarmuth and former WHAS-AM radio talk show host John Ziegler debated political issues on the weekly
WAVE In physics, mathematics, engineering, and related fields, a wave is a propagating dynamic disturbance (change from List of types of equilibrium, equilibrium) of one or more quantities. ''Periodic waves'' oscillate repeatedly about an equilibrium ...
program ''Yarmuth & Ziegler'', with Yarmuth taking the liberal side and Ziegler the conservative side. On a successor program, ''Hot Button'', which ran from September 2004 to December 2005, he faced off with conservative Jim Milliman. Yarmuth appeared on the March 8, 2007, episode of ''
The Colbert Report ''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late night television, late-night Late-night talk show, talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December ...
'' in the show's " Better Know a District" series. In a parody of Yarmuth's former ''Yarmuth & Ziegler'' debate series, host
Stephen Colbert Stephen Tyrone Colbert ( ; born May 13, 1964) is an American comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is best known for hosting the satirical Comedy Central program ''The Colbert Report'' from 2005 to ...
prodded Yarmuth into a point/counterpoint style debate. After agreeing to the "debate", Colbert forced Yarmuth to defend the shredding of
kitten A kitten is a Juvenile (organism), juvenile cat. After being born, kittens display primary altriciality and are fully dependent on their mothers for #Establishing immunity, survival. They normally do not open their eyes for seven to ten days. A ...
s in wood chippers, which Yarmuth gamely proceeded to do. Colbert called Yarmuth a real-life Bruce Wayne, and presented him with a framed print of his congressional photo with a
Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...
mask photoshopped over his face.


Personal life

Yarmuth has served on many boards, including the Bingham Child Guidance Center and Kentucky Country Day School. He is Kentucky's first Jewish congressman. Yarmuth and his wife, Cathy Yarmuth, have one son, Aaron, who is a graduate of Kentucky Country Day. Aaron was the owner of the ''Louisville Eccentric Observer'', and along with a group of local investors purchased the publication in 2012. In May 2021 it was sold to the Euclid Media Group.


See also

*
List of Jewish members of the United States Congress This is a list of Jewish members of the United States Congress. , there are 10 American Jews, Jewish senators and 25 Jewish members of the House of Representatives serving in the United States Congress. Senate Elected to the Senate, but not ...


References


External links

* , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Yarmuth, John 1947 births 20th-century American newspaper publishers (people) 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American newspaper publishers (people) 21st-century American Jews American columnists American magazine founders American magazine publishers (people) American newspaper founders American people of Austrian-Jewish descent American people of Russian-Jewish descent Atherton High School alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky Editors of Kentucky newspapers Jewish American people in Kentucky politics Jewish members of the United States House of Representatives Living people Politicians from Louisville, Kentucky School board members in Kentucky Yale College alumni 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives