Michael Guest (politician)

Michael Patrick Guest (born February 4, 1970) is an American attorney and Republican politician. He has represented MS's 3rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives since 2019. He became the ranking member of the United States House Committee on Ethics upon the August 2022 death of Jackie Walorski, and became its chair in the 118th Congress after Republicans won a House majority that November.

Early life and education
Michael Patrick Guest was born on February 4, 1970. He graduated from Mississippi State University with a bachelor's degree in accounting and the University of Mississippi School of Law with a Juris Doctor. He served as the Assistant District Attorney for Madison and Rankin counties from 1994 to 2008, and became District Attorney in 2008. Guest and his family are members of Brandon Baptist Church, where he serves as a deacon and Sunday school teacher.

2018
Guest ran for the United States House of Representatives in MS's 3rd congressional district to succeed Gregg Harper, who chose not to seek reelection. In the six-way June Republican primary election, Guest received the most votes (45%), with Whit Hughes coming in second with 22%. Because no candidate received 50% of the vote, Guest and Hughes faced each other in a primary runoff election, which Guest won. Guest defeated State Representative Michael Evans, the Democratic nominee, in the general election.

Guest campaigned as a strong supporter of President Donald Trump.

2020
Guest was reelected in 2020 with 64.7% of the vote, defeating Democrat Dort Benford.

Tenure
In December 2020, Guest was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives to sign an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which Joe Biden defeated Trump. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of an election held by another state.

On May 19, 2021, Guest was one of 35 Republicans who joined all Democrats in voting to approve legislation to establish the January 6, 2021 commission meant to investigate the storming of the U.S. Capitol.

In November 2021, Business Insider reported that Guest had violated the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act of 2012, a federal transparency and conflict-of-interest law, by failing to properly disclose trades in BP and ExxonMobil stock by his wife's family trust; as a result, Guest paid a $200 fine.

In June 2022, after a leaked decision by the Supreme Court of the United States to revoke the right to abortion in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, Guest wrote to the Department of Homeland Security to demand action in the wake of attacks by Jane's Revenge, which Guest called an "anarchist extremist group" that targets crisis pregnancy centers and other anti-abortion organizations.

In August 2022, Guest was named ranking member of the House Ethics Committee upon the death of former ranking member Jackie Walorski.

Guest was among the 71 Republicans who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the House.

Guest voted to support Israel following the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.

He also proposed the resolution that expelled George Santos from Congress.

In 2024, Guest voted against the $60 billion military aid package for Ukraine, although much of the money would go to his constituency.

Committee assignments
For the 118th Congress:


 * Committee on Appropriations
 * Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies
 * Subcommittee on Homeland Security
 * Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies
 * Committee on Ethics (Chair)
 * Committee on Homeland Security
 * Subcommittee on Border Security and Enforcement

=== Caucus memberships ===


 * Army Caucus
 * Border Security Caucus
 * Chicken Caucus
 * Fire Services Caucus
 * Freshman Working Group on Addiction
 * Law Enforcement Caucus
 * National Guard and Reserve Caucus
 * Prayer Caucus
 * Pro-Life Caucus
 * Republican Study Committee
 * Rice Caucus
 * Sportsman Caucus
 * Steel Caucus
 * Suburban Caucus
 * Unmanned Systems Caucus