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Timothy John Ryan (born July 16, 1973) is an American politician and law school graduate who served as a U.S. representative for Ohio from 2003 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented from 2013 to 2023, having previously represented from 2003 to 2013. Ryan's district included a large swath of northeastern Ohio, from
Youngstown Youngstown is a city in Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, 11th-most populous city in Ohio with a population of 60,068 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Mahoning ...
to Akron. He was the Democratic nominee in the 2022 United States Senate election in Ohio, which he lost to author and future
Vice President A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...
JD Vance James David Vance (born James Donald Bowman, August2, 1984) is an American politician, author, attorney, and Marine Corps veteran who is the 50th vice president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republic ...
. Born in
Niles, Ohio Niles is a city in Trumbull County, Ohio, United States. The population was 18,443 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located at the confluence of the Mahoning River and Mosquito Creek Lake, Mosquito Creek, Niles is a suburb in the Ma ...
, Ryan worked as an aide to U.S. Representative Jim Traficant after studying political science at
Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a Public university, public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized progr ...
, and earned a
Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...
from the University of New Hampshire School of Law. He served in the
Ohio Senate The Ohio Senate is the upper house of the Ohio General Assembly. The State Senate, which meets in the Ohio Statehouse in Columbus, first convened in 1803. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered every two years such that half of t ...
from 2001 to 2002 before winning the election to succeed Traficant. In November 2016, Ryan launched an unsuccessful challenge to unseat
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 ...
as
party leader In a governmental system, a party leader acts as the official representative of their political party, either to a legislature or to the electorate. Depending on the country, the individual colloquially referred to as the "leader" of a politica ...
of the House Democrats. He was also a candidate for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination before ending his campaign in 2019 to run for reelection to the House. Ryan was reelected to his tenth term in 2020. In 2021, Ryan announced his candidacy for Ohio's Senate seat and won the Democratic nomination with 70% of the vote. He lost to the Republican nominee, JD Vance, in the November 8, 2022, general election.


Early life and career

Ryan was born in
Niles, Ohio Niles is a city in Trumbull County, Ohio, United States. The population was 18,443 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located at the confluence of the Mahoning River and Mosquito Creek Lake, Mosquito Creek, Niles is a suburb in the Ma ...
, the son of Rochelle Maria (Rizzi) and Allen Leroy Ryan; he is of Irish and Italian ancestry. Ryan's parents divorced when he was seven years old, and Ryan was raised by his mother. Ryan graduated from John F. Kennedy High School in Warren, where he played football as a
quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...
and coached junior high basketball. He was recruited to play football at
Youngstown State University Youngstown State University (YSU or Youngstown State) is a public university in Youngstown, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1908 and is the easternmost member of the University System of Ohio. The university is composed of six undergrad ...
, but a knee injury ended his playing career and he transferred to
Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a Public university, public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized progr ...
. Ryan received a
Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
degree in
political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...
from Bowling Green in 1995 and was a member of Delta Tau Delta fraternity. After college, he joined the staff of Ohio Congressman Jim Traficant. In 2000, Ryan earned a
Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...
degree from Franklin Pierce Law Center in
Concord, New Hampshire Concord () is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Hampshire and the county seat, seat of Merrimack County, New Hampshire, Merrimack County. As of the 2020 United States census the population was 43,976, making it the List of municipalities ...
. From 2000 to 2002 he served half a term in the Ohio State Senate.


U.S. House of Representatives


Elections

After Jim Traficant was convicted on criminal charges in 2002, Ryan declared his candidacy for the 17th district. As the result of
redistricting Redistricting in the United States is the process of drawing electoral district boundaries. For the United States House of Representatives, and state legislatures, redistricting occurs after each ten-year census. The U.S. Constitution in Art ...
following the 2000
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
, the 17th, which had long been based in Youngstown, had been pushed west and included much of Portage County and part of Akron. Before the redistricting, all of Akron had been part of the 14th district, represented by eight-term Democrat Tom Sawyer. The 14th had been eliminated in 2000; most of it was drawn into the 13th district of fellow Democrat
Sherrod Brown Sherrod Campbell Brown ( ; born November 9, 1952) is an American politician who served from 2007 to 2025 as a United States senator from Ohio. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the U.S. representative for from 1993 to 2007 and the 47t ...
, but Sawyer's home was drawn into the 17th. Ryan was initially seen as an underdog in a six-way Democratic primary that included Sawyer. In the 2002 Democratic primary, Ryan defeated Sawyer, who was seen as insufficiently labor-friendly in the newly drawn district. In the November 2002 general election, he faced Republican Insurance Commissioner Ann Womer Benjamin as well as Traficant, who ran as an independent from his prison cell. Ryan won with 51% of the vote to Benjamin's 37%. When he took office in January 2003, he was the youngest Democrat in the House, at 29 years of age. He was reelected to represent the 17th district five times, only once facing a contest nearly as close as his first. In 2010, he was held to 53% of the vote; Traficant, running as an independent, took 16%. From
redistricting Redistricting in the United States is the process of drawing electoral district boundaries. For the United States House of Representatives, and state legislatures, redistricting occurs after each ten-year census. The U.S. Constitution in Art ...
in 2012, until giving up to seat to run for the
United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...
he served five terms as the U.S. representative for the 13th district.


Tenure

In his first year in office in 2003, Ryan was one of seven members of Congress to vote against the Do-Not-Call Implementation Act, and one of eight to oppose ratification of the
Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) United States antitrust law, antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. It ...
's establishment of a National Do Not Call Registry. In 2010, Ryan voted for the Stupak Amendment restricting federal funding for abortions, but in January 2015, he announced that having "gained a deeper understanding of the complexities and emotions that accompany the difficult decisions bout whether to end a pregnancy over his time in public office, he had reversed his position on abortion and now identified as
pro-choice 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 ...
. In 2010, Ryan introduced the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act, which sought punitive trade
tariffs A tariff or import tax is a duty imposed by a national government, customs territory, or supranational union on imports of goods and is paid by the importer. Exceptionally, an export tax may be levied on exports of goods or raw materials and is ...
on countries, notably
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
, that were engaging in currency manipulation. It passed the
House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...
overwhelmingly but never made it to the floor in the Senate. In an October 2010 interview with conservative magazine '' Human Events'', Ryan said tax increases on small businesses were necessary "because we have huge deficits. We gotta shore up
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 ...
. We gotta shrink our deficits." Ryan initiated a bid to replace Pelosi as House Minority Leader on November 17, 2016, prompted by colleagues after the 2016 presidential election. After Pelosi agreed to give more leadership opportunities to junior members, she defeated Ryan by a vote of 134–63 on November 30. Ryan supported the Iran nuclear deal to prevent
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...
from acquiring
weapons of mass destruction A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a Biological agent, biological, chemical weapon, chemical, Radiological weapon, radiological, nuclear weapon, nuclear, or any other weapon that can kill or significantly harm many people or cause great dam ...
. In April 2016, he tweeted, "I was in Jerusalem a few weeks ago & saw firsthand the dangerous threat Israelis face. Israel has the right to defend itself from terror." Around 2018, Ryan helped Adi Othman, an undocumented immigrant in
Youngstown, Ohio Youngstown is a city in Mahoning County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Ohio, 11th-most populous city in Ohio with a population of 60,068 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Mahoning ...
, remain in the United States. Othman had lived in the United States for nearly 40 years, ran several businesses in Youngstown, was married to a US citizen and had four US-born children. Ryan repeatedly presented a bill to Congress whereby Othman would be granted a more thorough review of his case to stay in the United States (Othman disputed a verdict by immigration officials on a matter that affected his legal status); the fact that the bill was in motion meant that Othman could temporarily stay. Othman was deported from the United States in February 2018 after 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 ...
directed
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement The United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE; ) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the Un ...
(ICE) to increase the number of arrests and deportations of undocumented immigrants. Ryan condemned the deportation, saying, "To watch these families get ripped apart is the most heart-breaking thing any American citizen could ever see ... Because you are for these families, it doesn't mean you are not for a secure border." Ryan chaired the Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch, which investigated the
January 6 United States Capitol attack On January 6, 2021, the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., was attacked by a mob of supporters of Donald Trump, President Donald Trump in an attempted self-coup,Multiple sources: * * * * * * * * * * * * * two months afte ...
. In May 2021, Ryan angrily chastised Senate Republicans for blocking a January 6 commission to investigate the
January 6 United States Capitol attack On January 6, 2021, the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., was attacked by a mob of supporters of Donald Trump, President Donald Trump in an attempted self-coup,Multiple sources: * * * * * * * * * * * * * two months afte ...
.


Committee assignments

* Committee on Appropriations ** Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch (chair) ** Subcommittee on Defense ** Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies


Caucus memberships

* Co-chair of the Congressional Addiction, Treatment and Recovery Caucus * Co-chair of the Congressional Manufacturing Caucus * United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus * Sportsmen's Caucus * Congressional Arts Caucus * Ohio River Basin Congressional Caucus * Afterschool Caucuses * Medicare for All Caucus * Blue Collar Caucus * House Pro-Choice Caucus


2020 presidential campaign

After the 2018 midterms, Ryan was seen as a possible candidate for the 2020 presidential election. In February and March 2019, he traveled to early primary states such as
Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
and
New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
. Ryan's 2020 presidential campaign officially began on April 4, 2019, when he announced his candidacy in the Democratic primaries. He also announced that he would seek the nomination on '' The View''. After qualifying for only two debates and continuously polling below 1% nationwide, Ryan formally withdrew from the race on October 24, 2019. He was reelected to the House of Representatives in 2020.


2022 U.S. Senate election and afterwards

On January 25, 2021, Republican U.S. Senator from Ohio
Rob Portman Robert Jones Portman (born December 19, 1955) is an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator from Ohio from 2011 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Portman was the 35th director of the Office of Management ...
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 ...
. Ryan filed paperwork to run to replace him. On April 26, 2021, Ryan announced his candidacy for U.S. Senate in a video posted via
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
. Ryan defeated Morgan Harper and Traci Johnson in the Democratic primary and faced Republican nominee
JD Vance James David Vance (born James Donald Bowman, August2, 1984) is an American politician, author, attorney, and Marine Corps veteran who is the 50th vice president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republic ...
in the general election. In the pursuit of
center-right Centre-right politics is the set of right-wing politics, right-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. It is commonly associated with conservatism, Christian democracy, liberal conservatism, and conservative liberalis ...
voters, Ryan's campaign sought to portray him as a moderate or "independent", highlighting that he voted for some of former 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 ...
's policies. Ryan also criticized and distanced himself from fellow Democrats, including 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 ...
, suggesting that Biden should not seek reelection in
2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...
, and progressive Representative Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, whose endorsement he seemingly rejected. A Ryan campaign ad, repeatedly blaming China for the loss of American jobs, attracted criticism from politicians and Asian American groups, who said it encouraged Sinophobia and anti-Asian hate. Representative Grace Meng called on Ryan to stop airing it. The funding in the race was described as "lopsided" in favor of J.D. Vance who struggled to raise money on his own but was massively helped by national groups who poured in more than $30 million worth of advertising. Ryan, in contrast, was the more prolific fundraiser but national Democratic groups provided comparatively little help on the airwaves and advertisements to keep up with the Republican campaign. Ryan called it " David against Goliath." On November 8, 2022, Ryan lost to J.D. Vance in the general election by 6 points. On July 2, 2024, after the first 2024 Presidential debate between 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 ...
and
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 ...
, Tim Ryan said that he had lost confidence in Biden's ability to defeat Trump and called on him to be replaced by the Vice President
Kamala Harris Kamala Devi Harris ( ; born October 20, 1964) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 49th vice president of the United States from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She is the first female, first African American, and ...
as the Democratic Presidential Nominee.


Political views

Ryan is a moderate Democrat. He has advocated a return to Bill Clintonian business-friendly policies minus NAFTA after the 2024 United States elections. He has defended and lobbied for the
natural gas Natural gas (also fossil gas, methane gas, and gas) is a naturally occurring compound of gaseous hydrocarbons, primarily methane (95%), small amounts of higher alkanes, and traces of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, hydrogen sulfide and helium ...
and
Cryptocurrency A cryptocurrency (colloquially crypto) is a digital currency designed to work through a computer network that is not reliant on any central authority, such as a government or bank, to uphold or maintain it. Individual coin ownership record ...
industry which are opposed by some Democrats, saying that natural gas has displaced coal in Ohio and employs
unionized A trade union (British English) or labor union (American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers whose purpose is to maintain or improve the conditions of their employment, such as attaining better wages ...
workers, and crypto has been helpful for small businesses, especially those in minority communities. He is strongly opposed to the $600 million in bonds for the Cleveland Browns stadium in Brook Park that Republicans added to the Ohio House budget, calling it "outrageous." Ryan is an advocate of economic protectionism,
unionization Unionization is the creation and growth of modern trade unions. Trade unions were often seen as a Left-wing politics, left-wing, Socialism, socialist concept, whose popularity has increased during the 19th century when a rise in industrial capit ...
, and steps to reduce
income inequality In economics, income distribution covers how a country's total GDP is distributed amongst its population. Economic theory and economic policy have long seen income and its distribution as a central concern. Unequal distribution of income causes ...
. A critic of the
North American Free Trade Agreement The North American Free Trade Agreement (, TLCAN; , ALÉNA), referred to colloquially in the Anglosphere as NAFTA, ( ) was an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States that created a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The ...
(NAFTA), he has criticized
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 ...
's and
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 ...
's trade policies. Ryan is a strong critic of
student loan A student loan is a type of loan designed to help students pay for post-secondary education and the associated fees, such as tuition, books and supplies, and living expenses. It may differ from other types of loans in the fact that the interest ...
forgiveness and has said that it sends a "wrong message". Ryan has supported tougher measures against
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
and its ruling party. He has accused the nation of currency manipulation and outsourcing American manufacturing jobs. Ryan described himself as a pro-life Catholic when first running for Congress in 2002. By 2015, he had shifted his stance and became
pro-choice 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 ...
, saying that his thinking had changed and argued, "no federal or state law banning abortion can honestly and fairly take into account the various circumstances that make each decision unique".


Publications

In March 2012,
Hay House Hay House is a publisher founded in 1984 by author  Louise Hay, who is known for her books on New Thought. ''The New York Times'' dubbed Hay "The Queen of the New Age," noting that she became "one of the bestselling authors in ...
published Ryan's ''A Mindful Nation'', a book about the practice of
mindfulness Mindfulness is the cognitive skill, usually developed through exercises, of sustaining metacognitive awareness towards the contents of one's own mind and bodily sensations in the present moment. The term ''mindfulness'' derives from the Pali ...
in both private and public life. He writes in his introduction: In October 2014, the same publisher published Ryan's ''The Real Food Revolution''.


Personal life

In 2013, Ryan married Andrea Zetts, his second wife; they live in
Dublin, Ohio Dublin is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. A suburb of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus, it falls within the jurisdictions of Franklin County, Ohio, Franklin, Delaware County, Ohio, Delaware, Union County, Ohio, Union, and Madison County, Ohio, Madison ...
, but lived in eastern Ohio during his tenure in Congress and his senate campaign. Ryan is the stepfather of Zetts's two children from a previous relationship, and the two welcomed a son in 2014. Ryan is
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
and spent 12 years in Catholic schools such as the John F. Kennedy Catholic School in
Warren, Ohio Warren is a city in Trumbull County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. The population was 39,201 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located along the Mahoning River, Warren lies approximately northwest of Youngstown, Ohio, Y ...
, and named
Catholic social teaching Catholic social teaching (CST) is an area of Catholic doctrine which is concerned with human dignity and the common good in society. It addresses oppression, the role of the state, subsidiarity, social organization, social justice, and w ...
as a major influence on his life and political thought. He also emphasized the religiosity of his family, crediting his "devout grandfather, other churchgoing relatives, social-justice-minded religious sisters" as his inspiration. Ryan also expressed his deep respect for
Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...
, writing: "I'm on the Pope Francis Twitter feed and I make sure I'm always staying connected to what he's saying on public issues". Ryan styled himself as a "Roosevelt-style Catholic Democrat" while campaigning, emphasising both his working-class background and Irish-Italian Catholic roots, and is seen by political pundits as a "more traditional Catholic willing to swim in traditional political waters".


Electoral history


See also

* List of United States representatives from Ohio * 30 Something Working Group


References


External links

* , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Tim 1973 births Living people 20th-century Roman Catholics 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century Roman Catholics American male non-fiction writers American people of Irish descent American people of Italian descent American Roman Catholic writers Bowling Green State University alumni Candidates in the 2020 United States presidential election Candidates in the 2022 United States Senate elections Catholic politicians from Ohio Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio Democratic Party Ohio state senators 21st-century members of the Ohio General Assembly Ohio lawyers People from Niles, Ohio Politicians from Warren, Ohio United States congressional aides University of New Hampshire School of Law alumni 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives