Howard Morgan Griffith (born March 15, 1958) is an American politician and lawyer who has been the

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the 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 Article One of th ...

for

Virginia's 9th congressional district Virginia's ninth congressional district is a List of United States congressional districts, United States congressional district in the Commonwealth of Virginia, covering much of the rural Southwest Virginia, southwestern part of the state. Th ...

since 2011. The district covers most of rural

Southwest Virginia Southwest Virginia, often abbreviated as SWVA, is a mountainous region of Virginia in the westernmost part of the commonwealth. Located within the broader region of western Virginia, Southwest Virginia has been defined alternatively as all V ...

, including the

New River Valley Virginia's New River Valley region, colloquially named, is a four-county area along the New River in Southwest Virginia in the United States, including such major features as Claytor Lake, part of the Jefferson National Forest, the city of Ra ...

and the Virginia side of the Tri-Cities. He is a member of the Republican Party and the

Freedom Caucus The Freedom Caucus, also known as the House Freedom Caucus, is a congressional caucus consisting of Republican Party (United States), Republican members of the United States House of Representatives. It is generally considered to be the most Cons ...

. Griffith was the majority leader of the

Virginia House of Delegates The Virginia House of Delegates is one of the two houses of the Virginia General Assembly, the other being the Senate of Virginia. It has 100 members elected for terms of two years; unlike most states, these elections take place during odd-numbe ...

and represented the 8th district from 1994 to 2011. The district was based in his hometown of Salem and included parts of surrounding

Roanoke County Roanoke County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, its population was 96,929. Its county seat is Salem, but the county administrative offices are located in the census-designated place of ...

Early life, education, and career

Griffith was born in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, and in his infancy his family relocated to

Salem, Virginia Salem is an independent city in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,346. It is the county seat of Roanoke County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combine ...

. He graduated from Andrew Lewis High School in 1976 and from

Emory and Henry College Emory & Henry University (E&H or Emory) is a private university in Emory, Virginia, United States. The campus comprises of Washington County, which is part of the Appalachian highlands of Southwest Virginia. Founded in 1836, Emory & Henry U ...

in 1980 with a Bachelor of Arts. Griffith completed his education with a J.D. from the

Washington and Lee University School of Law The Washington and Lee University School of Law (W&L Law) is the law school of Washington and Lee University, a private liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia. It is accredited by the American Bar Association. Facilities are on the histo ...

in 1983. After law school, Griffith settled in Salem, where he worked as an attorney in private practice specializing in

traffic violation A moving violation or traffic violation is any violation of the law committed by the driver of a vehicle while it is in motion. The term "moving" distinguishes it from other motor vehicle violations, such as paperwork violations (which include ...

s and

DUI Driving under the influence (DUI) is the crime of driving, operating, or being in control of a vehicle while one is impaired from doing so safely by the effect of either alcohol (see drunk driving) or some other drug, whether recreational or ...

. On June 23, 2008, Albo & Oblon LLP, a law firm run by fellow Republican delegate Dave Albo, announced that Griffith had joined the firm as head of its new Roanoke/Salem office.

Early political career

Griffith's first entry into electoral politics came in 1986, when he was chosen as chair of the Salem Republican Party. He chaired the party from 1986 to 1988 and from 1991 to 1994.

Virginia House of Delegates

In 1993, incumbent Delegate G. Steven Agee chose to run in the Republican primary for Attorney General. Griffith ran for the open seat representing the 8th district and won. He was elected to several terms, facing opposition only in 2001, 2003, and 2009. He served as vice chair of the Rules Committee and on the Courts of Justice Committee, and chaired its Criminal Law Subcommittee. He also served on the Commerce and Labor Committee, and the Committee on Militia, Police, and Public Safety. He was elected House Majority Leader in 2000, the first Republican to hold that position in Virginia's history.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2010

Rather than run for a tenth term in the House of Delegates, Griffith opted to challenge Congressman

Rick Boucher Frederick Carlyle Boucher (; born August 1, 1946) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1983 to 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He was defeated in his bid for a 15th term by Republican Morgan Gr ...

, a 13-term incumbent Democrat who had served since 1983. His home in Salem was just outside the 9th's borders at the time, but the district included almost all of his House of Delegates district. Griffith chose to run for Congress after Boucher voted for the

cap and trade Carbon emission trading (also called carbon market, emission trading scheme (ETS) or cap and trade) is a type of emissions trading scheme designed for carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases (GHGs). A form of carbon price, carbon pricing ...

bill. Boucher capitalized on the fact that Griffith did not live in the district, and in return Griffith branded Boucher as a rubber stamp for

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 ...

and

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 ...

. Griffith won the election by less than 5% of the vote.

2012

Griffith defeated Democratic nominee Anthony Flaccavento, 61.3% to 38.6%.

2016

Griffith defeated Democratic nominee Derek Kitts and Independent Janice Boyd with 68.59% of the vote.

2018

Griffith defeated two Democratic opponents, Flaccavento and Justin Santopietro, and a Whig opponent, Scott Blankenship.

2020

Griffith ran unopposed. He was reelected with 94.39% of the vote. 2024 Griffith defeated Democratic nominee Karen Baker. He was reelected with 72.5% of the vote.

Committee assignments

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 ...

** Subcommittee on Energy ** Subcommittee on Health ** Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations

Caucus memberships

* Congressional Constitution Caucus *

Congressional Caucus on Turkey and Turkish Americans The Congressional Caucus on Turkey and Turkish Americans (Turkey Caucus) was established by US Congressmen Robert Wexler (D-Florida), Ed Whitfield (R-Kentucky) and Kay Granger (R-Texas) in March 2001. The Turkey Caucus is a bi-partisan platform fo ...

* Congressional Western Caucus * Veterinary Medicine Caucus *

Liberty Caucus The House Liberty Caucus is a congressional caucus consisting of conservative, libertarian, and libertarian conservative members of the United States House of Representatives. Prior to the formal creation of the House Liberty Caucus, Rep. ...

Friends of Wales Caucus The Friends of Wales Caucus is a congressional caucus consisting of Welsh people, Welsh and Welsh heritage congresspeople in the United States Cabinet of the United States, Government, United States Senate, Senate and United States House of Repre ...

Electoral history

Political positions

Iraq

In June 2021, Griffith was one of 49 House Republicans to vote to repeal the Authorization of Military Force against Iraq. The measure ultimately succeeded in the House and has been pending in the Senate since then.

Syria

In 2023, Griffith was among 47 Republicans to vote in favor of H.Con.Res. 21, which directed 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 ...

to remove U.S. troops from

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 ...

within 180 days.

Immigration

Griffith has voted to allow Virginia to enforce federal immigration laws to criminalize knowingly employing

illegal immigrants Illegal immigration is the migration of people into a country in violation of that country's immigration laws, or the continuous residence in a country without the legal right to do so. Illegal immigration tends to be financially upward, wi ...

or undocumented workers, and also voted to criminalize possession of firearms by illegal aliens. Griffith voted against the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020 which authorizes the

Department of Homeland Security The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior, home, or public security ministries in other countries. Its missions invol ...

to nearly double the available

H-2B visa The H-2B visa nonimmigrant program permits employers to hire foreign workers to come temporarily to the United States and perform temporary nonagricultural services or labor on a one-time, seasonal, peakload or intermittent basis. The H-2B visa ...

s for the remainder of FY 2020. Griffith voted against the Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 1158), which effectively prohibits

Immigration and Customs Enforcement The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE; ) is a federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the United States from transnational crime and ille ...

from cooperating with the

Department of Health and Human Services The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is a cabinet-level executive branch department of the US federal government created to protect the health of the US people and providing essential human services. Its motto is ...

to detain or remove illegal alien sponsors of

Unaccompanied Alien Children Unaccompanied Alien Children (or UAC, also referred to as unaccompanied alien minors or UAMs) is a United States government classification for children in immigration custody and the name of a program operated by the Office of Refugee Resettlement ...

. The measure was approved by both houses of Congress and signed into law by 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 ...

on December 10, 2019.

Gay rights

While serving in the Virginia House of Delegates, Griffith supported a constitutional amendment to prohibit

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

by defining marriage as between one man and one woman. He voted in favor of a motion to effectively kill a bill to prohibit discrimination on the basis of

sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring personal pattern of romantic attraction or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. Patterns ar ...

for government employees in Virginia.

Environment

In 2017, Griffith voted to nullify the

Stream Protection Rule The Stream Protection Rule was a United States federal regulation issued by the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement that went into effect on January 19, 2017. These regulations implement Title V of the 1977 Surface Mining Contro ...

, which included improvements in the protection of water supplies, water quality, streams, fish and other wildlife that can be negatively affected by surface coal mining. The same year, he joined other members of the House of Representatives in passing an amendment to H.R. 3354, which undermined the

Environmental Protection Agency Environmental Protection Agency may refer to the following government organizations: * Environmental Protection Agency (Queensland), Australia * Environmental Protection Agency (Ghana) * Environmental Protection Agency (Ireland) * Environmenta ...

’s ability to enforce environmental standards in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, which covers six states and the District of Columbia. Griffith is a proponent of "an 'all of the above' energy strategy" that utilizes both fossil fuel and renewable energy sources. In 2011, he joined other GOP members in urging Interior Secretary

Ken Salazar Kenneth Lee Salazar (born March 2, 1955) is an American lawyer, politician, and diplomat who served as United States ambassador to Mexico from 2021 to 2025. He previously served as the 50th United States Secretary of the Interior in the administ ...

to reconsider the ban on offshore drilling off Virginia's coast.

Gun rights

Griffith voted in favor of several bills to reduce restrictions on gun ownership, including a bill to allow concealed weapons in vehicles without a permit and to allow concealed weapons permit holders to carry their firearms in restaurants and bars. He also voted to prohibit consumption of alcohol while in possession of a concealed weapon. In 2004 Griffith voted to prohibit carrying firearms or ammunition in non-secure areas of airport terminals, including baggage claim areas.

Health care

Early in 2010, Griffith voted in favor of a bill to prohibit any

individual mandate An individual mandate is a requirement by law for certain persons to purchase or otherwise obtain a good or service. United States Militia act The Militia Acts of 1792, based on the Constitution's militia clause (in addition to its affirmative ...

to purchase

health insurance Health insurance or medical insurance (also known as medical aid in South Africa) is a type of insurance that covers the whole or a part of the risk of a person incurring medical expenses. As with other types of insurance, risk is shared among ma ...

. This law passed Virginia's legislature before the federal

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 ...

was enacted, which Virginia has used to challenge the individual mandate in federal court. On July 17, 2013, Griffith was the lone GOP member of the House to vote against delaying the implementation of the individual mandate. Just before the

United States federal government shutdown of 2013 From October 1 to October 17, 2013, the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government entered a Government shutdown in the United States, shutdown and curtailed most routine operations because neither Appropriations b ...

, Griffith issued a press release in which he endorsed the final House version of

Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2014 The Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2014 () is a bill that was introduced into the United States House of Representatives on September 10, 2013. The original text of the bill was for a continuing resolution that would make continuing app ...

, which would have continued funding for federal government operations while delaying implementation of the Affordable Care Act. He voted against the

Continuing Appropriations Act, 2014 The Continuing Appropriations Act, 2014 (; ) is a law used to resolve both the United States federal government shutdown of 2013 and the United States debt-ceiling crisis of 2013. After the Republican-led House of Representatives could not ag ...

, the Senate-proposed compromise that ended the shutdown without defunding the ACA.

Death penalty

Griffith has consistently voted for expansions of the

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

to include eligibility for accomplices to a murder, as well as for those who murder a judge or a witness.

Abortion

When surveyed in 1999 on his political positions by

Project Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is an American non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected offic ...

, Griffith indicated that he supports legalized

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

in the

first trimester Pregnancy is the time during which one or more offspring gestates inside a woman's uterus. A multiple pregnancy involves more than one offspring, such as with twins. Conception usually occurs following vaginal intercourse, but can also ...

and to save the life of the mother, while favoring the restriction of abortion through parental notification laws and prohibition of

partial-birth abortion Intact dilation and extraction (D&X, IDX, or intact D&E) is a surgical procedure that terminates and removes an intact fetus from the uterus. The procedure is used both after miscarriages and for abortions in the second and third trimesters of ...

. His voting record has generally been consistent with that survey, voting in favor of restrictions such as parental-notification and parental-consent, restricting state funding of abortions, and requiring

abortion clinic An abortion clinic or abortion provider is a medical facility that provides abortions. Such clinics may be public medical centers, private medical practices or nonprofit organizations such as Planned Parenthood. Statistics Canada *There were ...

s to meet the same licensing requirements as surgical centers. In 2006 Griffith voted to restrict state funding for fetal stem cell research. In 2007 Griffith voted against a bill in the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, and the first elected legislative assembly in the New World. It was established on July 30, ...

, HB 2797, which stated "That life begins at the moment of fertilization and the right to enjoyment of life guaranteed by Article 1, § 1 of the Constitution of Virginia is vested in each born and preborn human being from the moment of fertilization". Griffith's 2010 campaign website reported that Griffith has a "100% pro-life" voting record and an "A" rating from the Virginia Society for Human Life (VSHL). But VSHL's report on 2007 legislation in Virginia omits reference to HB 2797. Project Vote Smart indicated that Griffith declined to retake their survey in 2010.

Taxes and spending

Griffith supports raising the retirement age and reducing the number of American troops serving overseas as means of reducing the federal budget deficit. Most recently, he voted for the

Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 The Act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to titles II and V of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2018, , is a congressional revenue act of the United States originally introduced in Congress as the Tax Cuts and Jobs ...

Medical marijuana

In 2014, Griffith introduced legislation to move

marijuana Cannabis (), commonly known as marijuana (), weed, pot, and ganja, List of slang names for cannabis, among other names, is a non-chemically uniform psychoactive drug from the ''Cannabis'' plant. Native to Central or South Asia, cannabis has ...

from a Schedule I to a Schedule II narcotic, which would effectively make the drug legal for medical purposes under federal law.

''Texas v. Pennsylvania''

In December 2020, Griffith was one of 126 Republican members of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

to sign an

amicus brief An amicus curiae (; ) is an individual or organization that is not a party to a legal case, but that is permitted to assist a court by offering information, expertise, or insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case. Whether an ''amic ...

in support of '' Texas v. Pennsylvania'', a lawsuit filed at the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which

defeated incumbent

. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked

standing Standing, also referred to as orthostasis, is a position in which the body is held in an upright (orthostatic) position and supported only by the feet. Although seemingly static, the body rocks slightly back and forth from the ankle in the ...

under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of an election held by another state. Presidential election certification On January 6, 2021, Griffith was one of the 147 Republican members of Congress who objected to certifying the 2020 presidential election.

Defense

In September 2021, Griffith was among 75 House Republicans to vote against the National Defense Authorization Act of 2022, which contains a provision that would require women to be drafted. Griffith was among 19 House Republicans to vote against the final passage of the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act.

Big Tech

In 2022, Griffith was one of 39 Republicans to vote for the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act of 2022, an antitrust package that would crack down on corporations for anti-competitive behavior.

Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023

Griffith was among the 71 Republicans who voted against final passage of the

Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 On January 19, 2023, the United States hit its United States debt ceiling, debt ceiling, leading to a debt-ceiling crisis, part of an ongoing political debate within United States Congress, Congress about United States federal budget, federal ...

in the House.

Israel

Griffith voted to support Israel following the

2023 Hamas attack on Israel On October 7, 2023, Hamas and several other Palestinian militant groups launched coordinated armed incursions from the Gaza Strip into the Gaza envelope of southern Israel, the first invasion of Israeli territory since the 1948 Arab–Israeli ...

Personal life

Griffith and his wife, the former Hilary Davis, have three children. He is an

Episcopalian Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protes ...

. In 2014 Griffith founded the Congressional Friends of Wales Caucus in honor of his Welsh heritage.