John Ratcliffe (American politician)

Early life, education, and early career

Ratcliffe was born in Mount Prospect, northwest of Chicago in Cook County, Illinois, the youngest of six children. Both of his parents were teachers. In 1987, Ratcliffe graduated from the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, with a Bachelor of Arts in Government and International Studies. He earned his Juris Doctor in 1989 from the Dedman School of Law at Southern Methodist University in University Park, Texas.

He is board certified in Civil Trial Law by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. He has served as Adjunct Professor of Law at various law schools, including SMU and Texas Wesleyan University. Between 2004 to 2012, he was elected to four consecutive terms as mayor of Heath, Texas, a nonpartisan position.

Bush administration

In 2004, Republican U.S. President George W. Bush appointed Ratcliffe to be Chief of Anti-Terrorism and National Security for the Eastern District of Texas in the U.S. Department of Justice. In 2007, he was appointed United States Attorney of the Eastern District of Texas. It covered 33,000 square miles, including almost all of the 4th Congressional District. He managed 100 federal prosecutors, 6 district offices, and a $912 million budget allocated by the DOJ. On April 16, 2008, “Operation Plymouth Rock” led to the successful prosecution of hundreds of illegal aliens who unlawfully gained employment, which resulted in a $4.5 million criminal penalty. Following his public service, he went back into private law practice, becoming a partner with the John Ashcroft Law Firm, LLC. He served as an aide to Mitt Romney as part of a transition team established before the 2012 elections for vetting potential government appointees.

2014 election

Ratcliffe decided to run in the Republican primary against 17-term incumbent Congressman Ralph Hall of Texas's 4th congressional district. At ninety-one, Hall was the oldest member of Congress and the oldest person ever to serve in the House of Representatives. The Dallas Morning News wrote that Ratcliffe was Hall's "most serious political challenge in years." In a primary where Hall had begun to look increasingly vulnerable, Ratcliffe received the endorsement of the Dallas Morning News, which applauded Hall's long record of public service but cited Ratcliffe's "impressive credentials" and the need for "new ideas and fresh energy." No Democrat even filed, though the 4th is so heavily Republican that any Democratic candidate would have faced nearly impossible odds in any event. With a Cook Partisan Voting Index of R+25, it is the fifth most Republican district in Texas and tied for the 13th most Republican district in the nation.

In the March 4 primary, Ratcliffe finished second with 29 percent of the vote, behind Hall's 45 percent. However, because Hall came up short of a majority, a runoff was forced on May 27. Ratcliffe was subsequently endorsed by the Tea Party Express, the Senate Conservatives Fund, and Club For Growth. Hall was endorsed by the National Rifle Association, former Congressman Ron Paul, former Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee.

In the May 27 runoff, Ratcliffe defeated Hall with 53 percent of the vote. Ratcliffe won eleven of the eighteen counties in the district, including the four largest (Grayson, Rockwall, Hunt, and Lamar).

Although it is very rare in any event for a primary challenger to defeat a sitting congressman, Ratcliffe's victory was historic as it marked the first time that a sitting Republican congressman in Texas had been ousted in a primary. Incumbents had previously been successful in all 257 attempts. Hall's defeat was also the first by an incumbent member of Congress in the 2014 election cycle. Ratcliffe was sworn in as a member of the 114th United States Congress on January 6, 2015. He is just the fourth person to represent the district since it was created in 1903.

2016 election

On March 1, 2016 Ratcliffe easily defeated two primary challengers by earning 68 percent percent of the vote total. He finished 47 percentage points ahead of the second-place finisher. In the 2016 General Election, Ratcliffe held a Libertarian opponent to 12 percent of the ballots cast.

Tenure

Ratcliffe serves on the Judiciary Committee and Homeland Security Committee. He is also the Chairman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Cybersecurity. He was named to the Task Force on Combating Terrorist and Foreign Fighter Travel.

The Dallas Morning News said in April 2016 that "Ratcliffe’s first term in Washington proves that freshman lawmakers can be players of consequence in Congress."

In July 2016, Ratcliffe obtained passage of the Separation of Powers Restoration Act of 2016 out of the House of Representatives by 240 to 171 vote. Ratcliffe applauded its passage as a "huge win against the regulatory state" and says it "knocks the pillars out from under the Regulatory State after 30 years of growth fueled by Chevron Deference.”

National security

Ratcliffe supported President Donald Trump's 2017 executive order to temporarily curtail immigration from predominantly Muslim countries until better screening methods are devised. He stated, “I applaud President Trump’s actions to vamp up the vetting of refugees attempting to enter our country.

Cybersecurity

In March 2014, Ratcliffe oversaw a congressional hearing, "The Current State of DHS Private Sector Engagement for Cybersecurity", that studied ways to get the private sector and the Department of Homeland Security to better cooperate to prevent terrorist activity. He secured testimony from various organizations: the HITRUST Alliance, Intel Security Group, Symantec, Palo Alto Networks, and New America’s Open Technology Institute.

Personal life

Ratcliffe and his wife, Michele, reside with their two daughters in Heath, Texas, which is included in both Rockwall and Kaufman counties.