U.S. House of Representatives
Elections 2020 Following
Justin Amash's
departure from the Republican Party in July 2019, Meijer announced his candidacy for
Michigan's 3rd congressional district, competing in the Republican primary. He voiced his support for President
Donald Trump, saying he would work with Trump to "make sure that we advance policies and an agenda that is in the best interest of West Michigan." The
DeVos and
Van Andel families, who co-founded
Amway, contributed to Meijer's campaign, though
United States Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos and her husband
Dick DeVos abstained from fundraising efforts.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, House Minority Whip
Steve Scalise, and
Senator Tom Cotton endorsed Meijer. Meijer defeated
Lynn Afendoulis in the August 4 primary election. Meijer faced Democratic nominee
Hillary Scholten in the general election. He raised $2.7 million during the campaign, to Scholten's $3 million. The 3rd has historically tilted Republican; the district and its predecessors had been in GOP hands for all but 35 months since 1913 (it was numbered as the 5th before 1993). Nevertheless, the race was very close;
Cook Political Report rated it a toss-up. Ultimately, Meijer defeated Scholten, 53%–47%. It was the closest race in the district since
Harold S. Sawyer was held to 53% in what was then the 5th district in 1982, and only the second time since 1982 that a Democrat had managed 40% of the vote (Amash's Democratic opponent, Cathy Albro, had taken 43% two years earlier). He ran slightly ahead of Trump, who narrowly carried the district with 51% of the vote.
2022 Meijer ran for reelection in the district for the
2022 elections. His primary opponent was
John Gibbs, a former Trump administration official. In the final days of the primary, the
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, in a strategy that generated controversy, bought TV ads designed to raise Gibbs' profile, believing that Meijer would be the more difficult opponent in the general election. Meijer said he would not support Gibbs in the November election. In November 2022, Gibbs lost the general election to Meijer's 2020 opponent, Democrat
Hillary Scholten.
Tenure Meijer accepted the
2020 presidential election results, announcing publicly that he accepted the outcome and recognized
Joe Biden as president-elect. After experiencing the
2021 United States Capitol attack, he called on Republicans to take responsibility for their
lies about election fraud. On January 13, 2021, he and nine other Republicans voted to
impeach Donald Trump. The next day, Meijer stated in an interview with
MSNBC that he had purchased
body armor and made changes to his daily schedule due to threats against his life in reaction to his vote for impeachment. On January 20, 2021, the day of
Biden's inauguration, Meijer was one of 17 newly elected House Republicans to sign a letter congratulating him and expressing hope of working across the partisan divide. On May 23, 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Meijer condemned Representative
Marjorie Taylor Greene's comparison between the
Holocaust and the requirement that face masks be worn within the House chamber. He was the first Republican to condemn Greene's remarks. Meijer said that "such comparisons demean the Holocaust and contaminate American political speech." On August 24, 2021, Meijer and Representative
Seth Moulton flew unannounced into
Hamid Karzai International Airport during the
2021 Taliban offensive amid the evacuation of Americans and allies. The Defense Department and then-House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi were not given advance notice of their intent. The next day, Pelosi sent a letter to all House members saying that "the Departments of Defense and State have requested that Members not travel to Afghanistan and the region during this time of danger" because such travel "would unnecessarily divert needed resources" from the evacuation efforts. On May 19, 2021, Meijer became one of 35 Republicans who joined all Democrats in voting to establish the
January 6 commission meant to investigate the
2021 United States Capitol attack. On October 21, 2021, Meijer was one of nine House Republicans to vote to hold
Steve Bannon in
contempt of Congress for defying the subpoena he received issued by the House Select Committee investigating the January 6, 2021, insurrection.
Foreign and defense policy In June 2021, Meijer was one of 49 House Republicans to vote to repeal the
Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002. In July 2021, Meijer voted for the bipartisan
ALLIES Act, which would increase by 8,000 the number of
special immigrant visas for Afghan allies of the U.S. military during
its invasion of Afghanistan, while also reducing some application requirements that caused long application backlogs; the bill passed the House, 407–16. In September 2021, Meijer was among 135 House Republicans to vote for the
National Defense Authorization Act of 2022, which contains a provision that would require women to register for the
draft. Meijer voted for H.R. 7691, the Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2022, which would provide the Ukrainian government with $40 billion in emergency aid.
Energy and environment Meijer has acknowledged the existence of
anthropogenic climate change. He believes Republicans should take on the problem with conservative solutions. "Not only embracing conservatism and the Republican party's long history of conservation and environmental protection but extending that forward is frankly where the country is. I think that it is a political imperative and a moral imperative as well", he said. On March 21, 2021, Meijer signed a letter pressing Biden to stop
Enbridge Line 5, an oil pipeline, from being shut down in May. Congressional members' concerns about the pipeline's closure intensified after Biden revoked the
Keystone XL Pipeline permit. The bill would designate 600,000 acres of public lands in the State of Colorado as components of the
National Wilderness Preservation System. in May 2022, Meijer was one of 16 House Republicans to vote for the Recovering America's Wildlife Act. The bill would provide states, territories, and tribes with $1.39 billion annually to catalyze efforts to restore habitats and implement conservation strategies, as described in each state's Wildlife Action Plan. The bill would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex,
sexual orientation, and
gender identity, and protect the
free exercise of religion. In 2021, Meijer was one of 29 Republicans to vote to reauthorize the
Violence Against Women Act. This bill expanded legal protections for
transgender people, and contained provisions allowing
transgender women to use women's shelters and serve time in prisons matching their gender identity. Meijer was one of 31 Republicans to vote for the LGBTQ Business Equal Credit Enforcement and Investment Act. In 2022, Meijer was one of six Republicans to vote for the Global Respect Act, which imposes sanctions on foreign persons responsible for violations of the internationally recognized human rights of
lesbian,
gay,
bisexual,
transgender,
queer, and
intersex (LGBTQI) people, and for other purposes. On July 19, 2022, Meijer and 46 other Republican representatives voted for the
Respect for Marriage Act, which would codify the right to
same-sex marriage in federal law.
Immigration Meijer was a co-sponsor of the America's CHILDREN Act. The bill would prevent the children of long-term visa holders who came to the U.S. legally with their parents from having their visas expire the day they turn 21. If they had maintained legal status in the U.S. for ten years and graduated from an institution of higher education, they were eligible to apply for permanent residency.
Gun policy In 2022, Meijer was one of 14 House Republicans to support a bipartisan agreement on
gun control, which included a
red flag provision, support for state crisis intervention orders, funding for school safety resources, stronger background checks for buyers under 21, and penalties for
straw purchases. On July 29, 2022, Meijer joined a majority of his Republican colleagues and five Democrats in voting against H.R. 1808, a bill to ban assault weapons.
Antitrust legislation In 2022, Meijer 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.
Abortion Meijer opposes abortion. He has consistently voted against bills to expand abortion access and has an A+ rating from the Susan B. Anthony list.
Committee assignments •
Committee on Homeland Security •
Subcommittee on Intelligence and Counterterrorism •
Problem Solvers Caucus •
Republican Main Street Partnership ==U.S. Senate campaign==