Ryan P. Aument (born December 16, 1976) is an American politician and former Republican member of the

Pennsylvania State Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four-year terms, stagger ...

. He represented the 36th district from 2015 to 2024, when he resigned to become State Director for U.S. Senator

Dave McCormick David Harold McCormick (born August 17, 1965) is an American politician, businessman, and former United States Army, Army officer serving since 2025 as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senato ...

. Prior to his election to the State Senate in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, he served as a member of the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

, for the 41st District, which includes portions of Lancaster County. Throughout his political career, Aument was involved in various legislative initiatives, including education reform, and has been a firm opponent of abortion and LGBT rights. He also served on the bipartisan

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

task force established by Governor

Tom Wolf Thomas Westerman Wolf (born November 17, 1948) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 47th governor of Pennsylvania from 2015 to 2023. He previously served as chairman and CEO of his business, The Wolf Organization, and l ...

and played a role in coordinating vaccination efforts in his home county. Aument has a military background, having served as a captain in the United States Army during Operation Iraqi Freedom, where he earned several military honors.

Political career

Ryan entered public service as the Lancaster County Clerk of Courts, the 56th individual to hold this position. In November 2010, Aument defeated Gerald E. Policoff in the general election to succeed

Katie True Katie True (born January 16, 1941) is an American Republican politician, and former member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1993 to 2000, then again from 2003 to 2010. Early life and education True was born in Baltimore, Mary ...

. Aument sponsored teacher evaluation legislation in his first term. The bill was ultimately signed into law as Act No. 82 in the 2011–2012 legislative session. In November 2012, Aument defeated Marcy Dubroff and retained his house seat. In the 2014 election, Aument ran for retiring

Mike Brubaker Michael W. Brubaker (born 1958) is an American politician and member of the Republican. He served in the Pennsylvania State Senate, representing the 36th District from 2007 until his retirement in 2015. Biography Brubaker is a member of the ...

's seat in the State Senate. He defeated Gordon Denlinger in the Republican primary, then defeated Democrat Gary J. Schrekengost in the general election. On February 9, 2021, Aument was chosen by Governor

to be a part of the bipartisan

taskforce. As a part of this task force, Aument oversaw the establishment of a mass-vaccination clinic in his home county of

Lancaster Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster *House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

at the

Park City Center Park City Center is a shopping mall located in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and is the largest enclosed shopping center in Lancaster County. It is situated at the intersection of U.S. Route 30 and Harrisburg Pike. The mall has over 170 stores and f ...

in conjunction with local hospitals and Lancaster county commissioner Joshua Parsons. Aument is an opponent of

abortion rights Abortion-rights movements, also self-styled as pro-choice movements, are movements that advocate for legal access to induced abortion services, including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their p ...

. He has voted for numerous restrictions on abortion services since the beginning of his time in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 2011 to under the end of his career in the Pennsylvania Senate. Aument is an opponent of

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, Gay men, gay, Bisexuality, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the Capital punishmen ...

. In 2022, he co-sponsored and voted twice in favor of a bill banning transgender girls from participating on female sports teams. Also in 2022, he was the sponsor of the variant of a " Don't Say Gay" bill in the Pennsylvania Senate, which would forbid any discussion of sexual/

romantic orientation Romantic orientation, also called affectional orientation, is the classification of the sex or gender which a person experiences romantic attraction towards or is likely to have a romantic relationship with. The term is used alongside the t ...

or of

gender identity Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent and consistent with the in ...

in Pennsylvania elementary schools. Aument opposes the use of ballot drop boxes in elections, saying in 2022, "it has become abundantly clear that drop boxes are the least secure way to vote in Pennsylvania." On December 31, 2024, Aument resigned his Senate seat to become State Director to U.S. Senator

. The seat was filled by

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

in March 2025, and was taken by Democrat James Andrew Malone in what was described as a major upset (since the district is reliably Republican).

Committee assignments

* Consumer Protection & Professional Licensure, Vice Chair * Appropriations * Communications & Technology * Education * Environmental Resources & Energy * Judiciary * Local Government * Rules & Executive Nominations

Military career

Ryan served as a captain in the United States Army during

Operation Iraqi Freedom The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist governm ...

, briefly commanding an infantry company of 150 soldiers after his company commander was wounded in action. He also served on battalion staff as a

Civil Affairs Civil Affairs (CA) is a term used by both the United Nations and by military institutions (such as the U.S. military), but for different purposes in each case. Civil Affairs in United Nations Peace Operations Civil Affairs officers in UN Peace ...

officer. During his military career, Aument earned several awards, including the

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious a ...

Army Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issu ...

Army Achievement Medal The Achievement Medal is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. The Achievement Medal was first proposed as a means to recognize outstanding achievement or meritorious service of military personnel who were not eligible to rece ...

and Army Parachutist Badge. He graduated from

The Citadel The Citadel Military College of South Carolina (simply known as The Citadel) is a public senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. Established in 1842, it is the third oldest of the six senior military colleges ...

, the Military College of South Carolina, in 1999.

References

External links

State Sen. Ryan Aument
official caucus website
Elect Aument
campaign website
Profile
on the

website {{DEFAULTSORT:Aument, Ryan 1976 births Living people United States Army personnel of the Iraq War The Citadel alumni Republican Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Republican Party Pennsylvania state senators Politicians from Lancaster County, Pennsylvania United States Army officers 21st-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly