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{{Short description|American dentist
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2014}}
{{Infobox officeholder
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|children = 5, including [[Lucas Babin|Lucas]]
|education = [[Lamar University]] ([[Bachelor of Science|BS]])<br>[[University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston|University of Texas Health Science Center]] ([[Doctor of Dental Surgery|DDS]])
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|module = {{Listen|pos=center|embed=yes|filename=Rep. Brian Babin Speaks in Support of a Balanced Budget Constitutional Amendment.ogg|title=Brian Babin's voice|type=speech|description=Babin on his support for a [[Balanced budget amendment#U.S. federal government|balanced budget amendment]] to the Constitution<br />Recorded April 12, 2018}}
}}
'''Brian Philip Babin''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|b|æ|b|ᵻ|n}} {{Respell|
A graduate of [[Lamar University]] and the [[University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston|University of Texas Dental Branch]], Babin served in the [[United States Air Force]] from 1975 to 1979. He then opened a dental practice in [[Woodville, Texas|Woodville]], south of [[Lufkin, Texas|Lufkin]], and became involved in Republican politics. He worked for various state and federal campaigns and held numerous local and regional government positions, including president of the Texas State Board of Dental Examiners (1981–1987), on the [[Deep East Texas Council of Governments]] (1982–1984), mayor of Woodville (1982–1984), on the Woodville City Council (1984–1989), on the [[Texas Historical Commission]] (1989–1995), chairman of the [[Tyler County, Texas|Tyler County]] Republican Party (1990–1995), on the Woodville Independent School District Board (1992–1995) and on the [[Lower Neches Valley Authority]] (1999–2015).
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==Early and personal life==
Babin graduated from [[Lamar University]] in 1973 and served as an officer in the [[United States Air Force]] from 1975 to 1979, leaving with the rank of captain. While serving, he earned a B.S. in biology from [[Lamar University]] in 1975<ref>{{Cite web|last=Babin|first=Brian|title=Brian Babin|url=https://www.linkedin.com/in/drbrianbabinforcongress}}</ref> and then enrolled in the [[University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston|University of Texas Dental Branch]] and graduated with his [[Dental degree#DDS vs DMD degree|D.D.S.]] in 1976.<ref name=bio>{{cite web |url=http://www.babinforcongress.com/bio/ |title=Bio |publisher=Babin for Congress |access-date=August 30, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140824085247/http://www.babinforcongress.com/bio/ |archive-date=August 24, 2014 |df=mdy-all }}</ref> To pay for his tuition, he worked as a janitor, merchant seaman and postman and sang folk and country music in local restaurants with his wife Roxanne, whom he met in college.<ref name=bio/><ref name=paristexas>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/03/10/magazine/paris-texas.html|archive-url=
Babin and his wife have been married since 1972 and have five children: Marit, an attorney and former press staffer at the [[National Republican Congressional Committee]]; Leif, a former [[United States Navy SEALs|Navy SEAL]]; twins Kirsten, an educator, and [[Lucas Babin|Lucas]], a district attorney and former model and actor; and Laura
==Career==
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When 12-term Representative [[Charlie Wilson (Texas politician)|Charlie Wilson]] of [[Texas's 2nd congressional district]] decided to retire in [[United States House of Representatives elections, 1996#Texas|1996]], Babin ran to succeed him. In the Republican primary, he was second of five candidates, with 7,094 votes (31.01%), behind Donna Peterson, the nominee for the seat in 1990, 1992 and 1994, who took 8,047 votes (35.18%). As no candidate secured a majority, Babin faced Peterson in a runoff, and defeated her, 7,405 votes (66.83%) to 3,675 (33.16%). In the general election, he lost to Democrat [[Jim Turner (politician)|Jim Turner]], a State Senator and former State Representative, 102,908 votes (52.24%) to 89,838 (45.6%).
After the 1996 election, Babin became involved in a campaign finance scandal concerning $37,000 in illegal donations from businessman Peter Cloeren that were moved through "vehicles" to circumvent the individual contribution limit of $1,000. Cloeren asserted in an [[affidavit]] that Babin and then-[[Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives|House Majority Whip]] [[Tom DeLay]] laundered his donations through other candidates and organisations.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.salon.com/2004/10/04/delay_11/ |title=DeLay Inc. |work=Salon |first1=Lou |last1=Dubose |first2=Jan |last2=Reid |date=October 4, 2004 |access-date=August 30, 2014 |archive-date=September 3, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903212253/http://www.salon.com/2004/10/04/delay_11/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-10-17-delay-politics_x.htm |title=DeLay politics may carry heavy price |newspaper=USA Today |first=Jim |last=Drinkard |date=October 17, 2005 |access-date=August 30, 2014 |archive-date=September 3, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140903200307/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-10-17-delay-politics_x.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Babin and DeLay denied his allegations.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CRPT-105hrpt829/html/CRPT-105hrpt829-vol4.htm |title=Investigation of Political Fundraising Improprieties and Possible Violations of Law Interim Report |publisher=United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform |date=November 5, 1998 |access-date=August 30, 2014 |archive-date=July 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220715001544/https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/CRPT-105hrpt829/html/CRPT-105hrpt829-vol4.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Cloeren pleaded guilty to campaign finance violations, paid a $400,000 fine and received a two-year suspended prison sentence. Babin paid a $20,000 civil penalty and paid back $5,000 in excessive contributions for "accepting an excessive contribution and a contribution in the name of another and failing to disclose financial activity properly."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.fec.gov/press/press2008/20080620murs.shtml |title=FEC Collects $198,900 in Civil Penalties |publisher=Federal Election Commission |date=June 20, 2008 |access-date=August 30, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161016220820/http://www.fec.gov/press/press2008/20080620murs.shtml
====1998====
Babin sought a rematch with Turner in [[United States House of Representatives elections, 1998#Texas|1998]]. Unopposed in the Republican primary, he again lost the general election, 81,556 votes (58.42%) to 56,891 (40.75%).
During the campaign, Babin's [[campaign manager]] was 21-year-old [[Jon-Marc McDonald]]. McDonald gained national attention when he simultaneously [[coming out|came out of the closet]] as a [[gay]] man and resigned as campaign manager.<ref name=docbabin/><ref>{{cite news |url=http://thehill.com/new-members-guide-2014/223773-rep-elect-brian-babin-r-texas-36 |title=New Members Guide 2014: Brian Babin |newspaper=The Hill |date=November 2014 |access-date=November 19, 2014 |quote=Babin ran for Congress in 1996 and 1998, losing both times after controversies over campaign contributions and the resignation of his gay campaign manager. |archive-date=November 28, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141128045352/http://thehill.com/new-members-guide-2014/223773-rep-elect-brian-babin-r-texas-36 |url-status=
McDonald generated further press coverage when he said in an interview after his resignation that Babin had made disparaging remarks about homosexuals in private, which Babin adamantly denied.<ref name=HoustonChronicle>{{citation |first=Alan |last=Bernstein |url=http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1998_3078530 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121010025057/http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1998_3078530 |archive-date=October 10, 2012 |date=August 25, 1998 |access-date=October 22, 2008 |periodical=[[Houston Chronicle]] |title=CAMPAIGN 98 / Campaign Notebook}}</ref> In some press reports, Babin claimed that McDonald was not the campaign manager, but instead a "volunteer coordinator", also a paid position.<ref name=HoustonChronicle/> An article by [[Hastings Wyman]] of the ''Southern Political Report'' suggested that McDonald was forced to resign by the local media threatening to "out" him.<ref>{{Citation |last=Wyman |first=Hastings |date=September 14, 1998 | publication-date =September 14, 1998 |title=Texas Governor's Race: Rehearsing for the Millennium |periodical=[[Metro Weekly]] |series=Capital Letters | location =Washington DC}}</ref> The resignation received widespread national media attention because of the [[sensationalism|sensationalistic]] way it transpired.<ref name=WashingtonPost>{{citation |first=Ryan |last=Thornburg |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/early/archive/aug98/early0825.htm |date=August 25, 1998 |access-date=October 27, 2008 |
====2014====
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On January 25, in an interview with ''[[The Daily Caller]]'', Babin said that President [[Barack Obama]] "deserves impeachment", but he doubted that Congress would act on that. He also criticised Obama's foreign policy, calling him an "appeaser deluxe".{{citation needed|date=March 2020}}
In June 2015, after the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] ruled in ''[[King v. Burwell]]'' that the tax subsidies in the [[Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act]] (commonly known as Obamacare) were constitutional, Babin introduced the "SCOTUScare Act". His bill would force the Supreme Court Justices to enroll in Obamacare and purchase health insurance under the [[Health insurance marketplace|health exchanges]], so that they could, as he said, "understand the full impact of their decisions on the American people [and] see firsthand what the American people are forced to live with!" The name of Babin's bill references Justice [[Antonin Scalia]]'s [[King v. Burwell#Dissent|dissent]], where he said that, after the Court had upheld the law twice, "we should start calling this law SCOTUScare."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.politico.com/story/2015/06/republican-brian-babin-introduces-scotus-care-act-obamacare-ruling-119437.html |title=Republican lawmaker introduces 'SCOTUScare Act' |work=Politico |first=Erin |last=Mershon |date=June 25, 2015 |access-date=June 27, 2015 |archive-date=June 27, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150627150719/http://www.politico.com/story/2015/06/republican-brian-babin-introduces-scotus-care-act-obamacare-ruling-119437.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=
In July 2015, Babin endorsed Senator [[Ted Cruz]] for president. He praised Cruz's "conservative leadership and fortitude" and said that he "will speak honestly to the American people".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2015/07/brian-babin-becomes-fifth-texas-congressman-to-endorse-ted-cruz.html/ |title=Brian Babin becomes fifth Texas congressman to endorse Ted Cruz |publisher=The Dallas Morning News |first=Sylvan |last=Lane |date=July 2, 2015 |access-date=October 18, 2015 |archive-date=August 23, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150823171413/http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/2015/07/brian-babin-becomes-fifth-texas-congressman-to-endorse-ted-cruz.html/ |url-status=live }}</ref>
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In June 2017, Babin asked Trump in a letter to order a review of the case of [[Derrick Miller]], a former [[US Army]] [[United States National Guard|National Guard]]sman [[Sergeant]] who was sentenced in to [[life in prison]] with the chance of [[parole]] for the [[premeditated murder]] of an Afghan civilian during a battlefield interrogation, and the cases of other veterans who fought in Afghanistan and Iraq who were imprisoned for battlefield crimes.<ref name="auto6A">{{Cite web|url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/texas-congressman-asks-trump-for-full-review-of-leavenworth-10-cases|title=Texas congressman asks Trump for full review of 'Leavenworth 10' cases|first=Perry|last=Chiaramonte|date=June 2, 2017|website=Fox News|access-date=October 17, 2019|archive-date=October 17, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191017221920/https://www.foxnews.com/us/texas-congressman-asks-trump-for-full-review-of-leavenworth-10-cases|url-status=live}}</ref>
After the [[2020 United States presidential election|2020 presidential election]], Babin joined many of his Republican colleagues in the House and Senate in an effort to overturn [[Joe Biden]]'s victory. The [[United States House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack|House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack]] obtained 21 text messages from Babin to former White House Chief of Staff [[Mark Meadows]] about the outcome of the election. The first urged Meadows to "[f]ight like hell and find a way. We're with you down here in Texas and refuse to live under a corrupt Marxist dictatorship. Liberty!".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Walker |first=Hunter |date=December 12, 2022 |title=Mark Meadows Exchanged Texts With 34 Members Of Congress About Plans To Overturn The 2020 Election |url=https://talkingpointsmemo.com/feature/mark-meadows-exchanged-texts-with-34-members-of-congress-about-plans-to-overturn-the-2020-election
Babin supports [[efforts to impeach President Biden]], having cosponsored a resolution to [[Federal impeachment in the United States|impeach]] Biden in September 2021.<ref>{{cite web |title=H.Res.671 - Impeaching Joseph R. Biden, President of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors. |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-resolution/671/cosponsors |website=www.congress.gov |access-date=12 January 2023}}</ref> Also during the [[117th Congress]], Babin cosponsored a resolution to impeach Biden's Secretary of Homeland Security [[Alejandro Mayorkas]]<ref>{{cite web |title=H.Res.582 - Impeaching Alejandro Nicholas Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security, for high crimes and misdemeanors. |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-resolution/582/cosponsors |website=www.congress.gov |access-date=12 January 2023}}</ref> and another resolution to impeach Biden's Secretary of State [[Antony Blinken]].<ref>{{cite web |title=H.Res.608 - Impeaching Antony John Blinken, Secretary of State, for high crimes and misdemeanors. |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-resolution/608/cosponsors |website=www.congress.gov |access-date=12 January 2023}}</ref> Very early into the [[118th Congress]], Babin cosponsored another resolution to impeach Secretary Mayorkas.<ref>{{cite web |title=H.Res.8 - Impeaching Alejandro Nicholas Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security, for high crimes and misdemeanors. |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-resolution/8/cosponsors |website=www.congress.gov |access-date=14 January 2023}}</ref>
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Babin supported Trump's 2017 [[Executive Order 13769|executive order]] to temporarily curtail travel to the U.S. from six Middle Eastern nations until better screening methods are devised. After the EO was signed, he posted on social media: "Great news—now let’s get it into law!"<ref name="Blake1">{{cite web|last1=Blake|first1=Aaron|title=Coffman, Gardner join Republicans against President Trump's travel ban; here's where the rest stand|url=http://www.denverpost.com/2017/01/29/republicans-on-trump-travel-ban/|date=29 January 2017|website=Denver Post|access-date=30 January 2017|archive-date=January 29, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170129222238/http://www.denverpost.com/2017/01/29/republicans-on-trump-travel-ban/|url-status=live}}</ref> Babin also wholeheartedly supported building a wall at the southern border.<ref>{{Cite web|date=December 20, 2018|title=Build the Wall Floor Speech|url=https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1151524355023738|url-status=live|website=Facebook ([[C-SPAN]] clip)|access-date=March 22, 2021|archive-date=July 15, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220715001548/https://www.facebook.com/RepBrianBabin/videos/1151524355023738/}}</ref>
Babin sponsored H.R. 6202, the American Tech Workforce Act of 2021, introduced by Representative [[Jim Banks]]. The legislation would establish a wage floor for the high-skill H-1B visa program, thereby significantly reducing employer dependence on the program. The bill would also eliminate the Optional Practical Training program that allows foreign graduates to stay and work in the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/6206/cosponsors?r=11&s=7 |title=Cosponsors - H.R.6206 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): American Tech Workforce Act of 2021 | Congress.gov | Library of Congress |publisher=U.S. Congress |date= December 9, 2021|access-date=July 3, 2022}}</ref>
=== Transgender bathroom use ===▼
===Israel===
Babin voted to provide Israel with support following [[2023 Hamas attack on Israel]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Demirjian |first=Karoun |date=2023-10-25 |title=House Declares Solidarity With Israel in First Legislation Under New Speaker |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/25/us/politics/house-israel-vote.html |access-date=2023-10-30 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Washington |first1=U. S. Capitol Room H154 |last2=p:225-7000 |first2=DC 20515-6601 |date=2023-10-25 |title=Roll Call 528 Roll Call 528, Bill Number: H. Res. 771, 118th Congress, 1st Session |url=https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2023528 |access-date=2023-10-30 |website=Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives |language=en}}</ref>
On May 19, 2016, Babin introduced HR 5294, the "Student Privacy Protection and Safety Act of 2016", which would invalidate the "[[Gender identity under Title IX#2016 Dear Colleague letter|Dear Colleague Letter on Transgender Students]]" until superseded by an [[Act of Congress]].<ref>{{USBill|114|H.R.|5294|pipe=Text of the Student Privacy Protection and Safety Act of 2016 |site=yes}}</ref> The [[Dear colleague letter (United States)|"Dear Colleague" letter]] was an official correspondence jointly issued by the United States [[United States Department of Justice|Departments of Justice]] and [[United States Department of Education|Education]] on May 13 providing significant guidance that [[Title IX]] of the [[Education Amendments of 1972]], which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex, also prohibits discrimination based on a student's gender identity.<ref>{{cite letter |author1=U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division |author2=U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights |recipient=Colleague |subject=Dear Colleague Letter on Transgender Students |date=13 May 2016 |url=https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/letters/colleague-201605-title-ix-transgender.pdf |access-date=6 September 2017}}</ref> Babin characterized HR 5294 as a "[[bathroom bill]]" in a subsequent press release, where he stated, in part, that "The federal government should not be in the business of throwing common sense and decency out the window and forcing local schools to permit a teenage boy who ‘identifies’ as a girl to use changing rooms, locker rooms and bathrooms with five-year-old girls."<ref>{{cite press release |url=https://babin.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=798 |title=Babin Introduces Bill to Protect Student Privacy from Obama's Mixed-Gender Bath and Changing Room Mandate |date=23 May 2016 |publisher=Office of Representative Brian Babin |access-date=6 September 2017 |archive-date=July 15, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220715001548/https://babin.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=798 |url-status=live }}</ref>
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===''Texas v. Pennsylvania''===
In December 2020, Babin was one of 126 Republican members of the [[United States House of Representatives|House of Representatives]] to sign an [[amicus brief]] in support of ''[[Texas v. Pennsylvania]]'', a lawsuit filed at the [[Supreme Court of the United States|United States Supreme Court]] contesting the results of the [[2020 United States presidential election|2020 presidential election]], in which [[Joe Biden]] defeated<ref>{{cite web|last1=Blood|first1=Michael R.|last2=Riccardi|first2=Nicholas|date=December 5, 2020|title=Biden officially secures enough electors to become president|url=https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-elections-electoral-college-3e0b852c3cfadf853b08aecbfc3569fa|url-status=live|access-date=December 12, 2020|website=[[Associated Press|AP News]]|archive-date=December 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201208201209/https://apnews.com/article/election-2020-joe-biden-donald-trump-elections-electoral-college-3e0b852c3cfadf853b08aecbfc3569fa}}</ref> Trump. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked [[Standing (law)|standing]] under [[Article Three of the United States Constitution|Article III of the Constitution]] to challenge the results of an election held by another state.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Liptak|first=Adam|author-link=Adam Liptak|date=2020-12-11|title=Supreme Court Rejects Texas Suit Seeking to Subvert Election|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/11/us/politics/supreme-court-election-texas.html|access-date=2020-12-12|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=December 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201211234955/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/11/us/politics/supreme-court-election-texas.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite web|title=Order in Pending Case|url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/121120zr_p860.pdf|date=2020-12-11|publisher=[[Supreme Court of the United States]]|access-date=December 11, 2020|archive-date=December 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201211234004/https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/121120zr_p860.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/10/politics/read-house-republicans-texas-supreme-court/index.html|title=Brief from 126 Republicans supporting Texas lawsuit in Supreme Court|first=Daniella |last=Diaz|work=[[CNN]]|access-date=December 11, 2020|archive-date=December 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201212000435/https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/10/politics/read-house-republicans-texas-supreme-court/index.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
===2024 Republican primary===
Babin was named as part of the Trump campaign's Texas leadership team in March.<ref name="banksandsantos">{{cite news|last2=Saddiq|first2=Omar|last1=Metzger|first1=Bryan|date=February 13, 2023|title=Most Republicans are on the fence about Trump's 2024 re-election bid. Here are the few elected officials backing him so far.|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/who-has-endorsed-donald-trump-president-2024-republicans-gop-2023-2|access-date=February 13, 2023|website=Business Insider}}</ref>
==References==
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{{s-par|us-hs}}
{{US House succession box
|state = Texas
|district = 36
|before = [[Steve Stockman]]
|years = 2015–present}}
|-
{{s-prec|usa}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Rick W. Allen]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Seniority in the United States House of Representatives|United States representatives by seniority]]|years=
{{s-aft|after=[[Don Beyer]]}}
{{s-end}}
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[[Category:American dentists]]
[[Category:Baptists from Texas]]
[[Category:Lamar University alumni]]
[[Category:Living people]]
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[[Category:People from Port Arthur, Texas]]
[[Category:People from Woodville, Texas]]
[[Category:Protestants from Texas]]▼
[[Category:Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas]]
[[Category:School board members in Texas]]
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[[Category:Candidates in the 1998 United States elections]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Texas]]
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