U.S. House of Representatives
of the
2008 Democratic National Convention in
Denver, Colorado. presenting a photo to
Queen Elizabeth II and
Prince Philip in
Greenbelt, Maryland Elections Fifth district Congresswoman
Gladys Spellman fell into a coma shortly before the 1980 election. She was reelected, but it soon became apparent that she would never regain consciousness, and Congress declared her seat vacant by resolution in February 1981. Hoyer narrowly won a crowded seven-way Democratic
primary, beating Spellman's husband, Reuben, by only 1,600 votes. He defeated a better-funded
Republican,
Bowie Mayor Audrey Scott, in the May 19
special election. 56%–44%, earning himself the nickname "boy wonder". In the 1982 general election, Hoyer was reelected to a full term with 80% of the vote. He has faced only one relatively close contest since then, when he defeated future
Governor of Maryland Larry Hogan with 53% of the vote in 1992. His second-lowest margin of victory was his 1996 race against Republican State Delegate
John Morgan, when he received 57% of the vote. Hoyer has been reelected 14 times with no substantive opposition and is the longest-serving House member ever from Maryland. Hoyer is
pro-choice on
abortion rights. He voted against the
Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act in 2003. (However, at the height of national polarization after the
Supreme Court's intention to overturn
Roe v. Wade leaked, Hoyer controversially endorsed a pro-life incumbent House member over his pro-choice
primary challenger.) Hoyer supports
affirmative action and
LGBT rights. He is rated "F" by the
NRA Political Victory Fund, indicating that he tends to vote in favor of
gun control. In 2008, Hoyer said he opposed providing immunity to telecom companies, but then negotiated a bill, which Senators
Patrick Leahy and
Russ Feingold called a "capitulation", that would provide immunity to any telecom company that had been told by the
George W. Bush administration that its actions were legal. "No matter how they spin it, this is still immunity", said
Kevin Bankston, a senior lawyer for the
Electronic Frontier Foundation, a
privacy rights group that sued over Bush's wiretapping program. "It's not compromise, it's pure theater." In June 2010, Hoyer brought up the idea that Congress could temporarily extend middle-class tax cuts set to expire at the end of the year, suggesting that making them permanent would cost too much. President Obama wanted to extend them permanently for people making less than $200,000 a year and families making less than $250,000. Hoyer voted against the impeachment of President
Bill Clinton in 1999. In 2019 and 2021, Hoyer voted to impeach President
Donald Trump. In February 2021, Hoyer made a speech in Congress that has been viewed online more than two million times, criticizing a Facebook post by U.S. Representative
Marjorie Taylor Greene. The post featured a gun-toting Greene next to three members of the "Squad"—Representatives
Ilhan Omar,
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and
Rashida Tlaib—with the caption "Democrats' Worst Nightmare". In his speech, Hoyer compared Greene's words with those of Representative
Steve King, who was removed from the Judiciary and Agriculture Committees in 2019 after comments he made to
The New York Times questioning why
white supremacy was considered offensive. Hoyer said that, in both posts, Greene had promoted baseless conspiracy theories far more offensive and incendiary than the comment that led Republicans to strip King of his committee roles. He asked his colleagues on both sides of the aisle to "do the decent thing" and strip Greene of her committee roles. The vote succeeded, with 11 Republicans joining Democrats to pass the motion to remove.
Foreign issues Hoyer supports civilian nuclear cooperation with India. Hoyer initially supported the
Iraq War and was recognized by the DLC for his vocal leadership on this issue. After the war became publicly unpopular, he said he favored a "responsible redeployment". But he repeatedly supported legislation to continue funding the war without deadlines for troop withdrawal, most recently in return for increased funding of domestic projects. Hoyer is a supporter of Israel, and has often been allied with
American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). In September 2007, he criticized Representative
Jim Moran for suggesting that AIPAC "has pushed [the Iraq] war from the beginning", calling the comment "factually inaccurate". In January 2017, he voted for a House resolution condemning
UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which called
Israeli settlement building in the occupied
Palestinian territories a flagrant violation of international law and a major obstacle to peace. Hoyer supported President Trump's decision to
recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital. In 2023, he voted with an overwhelming bipartisan majority to provide Israel with whatever support is necessary in the "barbaric war" in Gaza started by Hamas and other terrorists following the
October 7 attacks. Hoyer has said that a nuclear Iran is "unacceptable" and that the use of force remains an option. In January 2019, Hoyer opposed Trump's planned withdrawal of
U.S. troops from Syria and
Afghanistan as "impulsive, irresponsible, and dangerous". He supports former President
Obama's call for authorizing limited but decisive military action in response to the Assad regime's alleged use of chemical weapons. Hoyer is a former chair of the
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe. During a AIPAC-led August 2025 summer trip to Israel amid the
Gaza humanitarian crisis, Hoyer said in a video recorded for AIPAC, "What we found is that contrary to world opinion, Israel has been doing everything it possibly can to ensure that there’s minimal damage to civilians who are not part of Hamas's army, Unfortunately, the world is not seeing that. The world has got a view that I don't think is accurate." Hoyer was referred to as an long-term unofficial leader to AIPAC-led trips.
Maritime law Hoyer voted for the
Abandoned Shipwrecks Act of 1987. The Act asserts United States title to certain abandoned shipwrecks located on or embedded in submerged lands under state jurisdiction, and transfers title to the respective state, thereby empowering states to manage these cultural and historical resources more efficiently, with the goal of preventing
treasure hunters and salvagers from damaging them. President
Ronald Reagan signed it into law on April 28, 1988.
Legislation On February 28, 2014, Hoyer introduced the bill
to amend the National Law Enforcement Museum Act to extend the termination date (H.R. 4120; 113th Congress). The bill would extend until November 9, 2016, the authority of the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, a nonprofit organization, to construct a museum on federal lands in the
District of Columbia honoring law enforcement officers.
Fundraising Hoyer is a donor for House Democrats. He has donated large sums to fellow party members in the House. In the 2008 election cycle, he contributed more than $1 million to the party and individual candidates.
Committee assignments For the
119th Congress: •
Committee on Appropriations •
Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government (Ranking Member) •
Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies •
Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch Caucus memberships •
Black Maternal Health Caucus On November 14, 2002, Hoyer's colleagues in the Democratic Caucus unanimously elected him minority whip, the second-highest-ranking position among House Democrats. Hoyer was the first Marylander to become Majority Leader and became the highest-ranking federal lawmaker in Maryland history. He ran for minority whip, but was challenged by outgoing Majority Whip
Jim Clyburn (the top House Democrats wanted to remain in the leadership, but the minority party in the House has one less position). Hoyer is moderate while Pelosi and Clyburn are more liberal, and a significant number of Hoyer's would-be supporters in the House who were moderate and conservative Democrats had been defeated for reelection. The
Congressional Black Caucus backed Clyburn, while 30 House Democrats have supported Hoyer. Hoyer received further support from outgoing Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman
Howard L. Berman, Financial Services Committee Chairman
Barney Frank, and outgoing Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman
Henry A. Waxman. Pelosi intervened in the contest by supporting Hoyer as Minority Whip, while creating an "Assistant Leader" position for Clyburn, which would keep him as the third-ranking Democrat in the House behind Pelosi and Hoyer (the existing "Assistant to the Leader" post formerly held by
Chris Van Hollen is not officially part of the House leadership and was directly appointed by the Minority Leader). Hoyer and the
Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) have been criticized for picking their preferred candidates through an undemocratic process. In 2018, it was reported that Hoyer sought to influence the primary race in
Colorado's 6th congressional district. He was recorded urging progressive candidate
Levi Tillemann to drop out of the race. Hoyer acknowledged that the DCCC had already identified its preferred candidate and discouraged a candid discussion about his weaknesses. On November 28, 2018, Hoyer was selected to return as House Majority Leader. ==Electoral history==