Summary
Current Position: US Representative of US House District 8 since 2015
Other Positions: Joint Economic Committee; Ranking Chair of the Subcommittee on Space; Member of the Subcommittees on Trade, Select Revenue Measures (Ways & means), and Research and Technology
Affiliation: Democrat
Former Position: Lt. Governor from 1990 – 1998; Business owner
District: Including all of Alexandria, Arlington, and Falls Church, as well as parts of Fairfax County.
Pinned Tweet: I am grateful to voters in Northern Virginia for again making me their Democratic nominee to represent Virginia’s 8th District. Their trust in me is humbling, and I will continue to do all I can to earn it.”
Don Beyer Interview – one minute overview
OnAir Post: Don Beyer VA-08
News
Other, , September 7, 2022 (02:08)
Students onAir Presents Don Beyer’s Highlight Reel from his aircast with us on Aug. 31 2022. If you enjoyed this video check out the full aircast for more of Representative Beyer.
Moderator: Connor Oatman, US onAir – connor.oatman@onair.cc
Aircaster: Ben Murphy, US onAir – ben.murphy@onair.cc
Featured Guest: Congressman Don Beyer, US House VA-08
Student Guests: Valentina Autorina, Frida Cervantes, Devin Pieczynski, Gabriel Yu from George Mason University. Students will be asking Congressman Don Beyer about his positions on a number of issues including abortion, guns, and funding college education.
Don Beyer post: https://va.onair.cc/politician/don-be…
Much of the country watched the opening of the 118th Congress descend into chaos earlier this month as Rep. Kevin McCarthy struggled to consolidate support for his bid to become speaker of the House. The once-in-a-century contestation of the speaker vote was even more dramatic from the vantage of those of us inside the room. We watched our colleagues nearly come to blows over whether a group of holdouts from the right-wing House Freedom Caucus would support McCarthy or force the elevation of another candidate.
But the tension inside the House chamber and the back-room deals outside it that helped advance the drama did not signal the opening act in this power play. That came much earlier, which might explain why it escaped the notice of most who tuned in for the week of roll calls in the House. Speaker McCarthy’s vote woes actually began last summer, when the Freedom Caucus quietly advanced a mechanism by which their most radical members now hope to defund both the federal investigations into Donald Trump and the law enforcement agencies conducting them.
In the caucus’s opening bid to McCarthy last July, it outlined some of the concessions its members would require in exchange for their support for his speakership bid in a new House majority. One of these concessions was the reinstatement of a little-known House procedure called the Holman Rule. McCarthy accepted this and other demands shortly before the House cast the first of our fifteen speaker ballots.
So what is the Holman Rule, and why is it so important to hard-right MAGA conservatives?
The Holman Rule is named after Indiana Representative William Steele Holman, who proposed it in 1876. The rule was altered, removed, or reinstated repeatedly over the following century before it was repealed by then-Speaker Tip O’Neill in 1983. The basic structure remained consistent throughout the hundred-plus years it was in place: It allowed for specific provisions to reduce or eliminate the salaries of individual federal employees or offices. This creates a mechanism for legislators to, in effect, fire individual federal employees with appropriations riders on must-pass government funding bills.
This may sound innocuous enough, but it is important to understand why the Freedom Caucus wanted the rule reinstated so badly. To this end there are two important points to consider: The first has to do with the history of the civil service, the second with Donald Trump.
Until 1883, employees of the United States government were largely determined via the spoils system: A victorious presidential candidate would populate federal positions across the country with cronies and political allies, regardless of experience, ability, or competence. This was an ongoing source of chaos, inefficiency, and corruption, and Congress finally took a big step to end it with the Pendleton Act of 1883. The act provided the foundation of today’s permanent, merit-based civil service, which is designed to select applicants based on experience and competence rather than personal connections or political allegiance.
Nobody thinks the federal government is perfect—most of us know stories of inefficiency created by bureaucracy. But the vast majority of federal workers are conscientious people who forgo the generally larger salaries available in the private sector in order to serve their country. The alternative—a constantly rotating, inexperienced, completely politicized workforce, such as Americans had to deal with before the Pendleton Act—is far worse. That was the reality Donald Trump would have reinstated with his “Schedule F” proposal: a federal workforce that owes its power, position, and livelihood to the person of the president, not the American people.
Today we have the Merit Systems Protection Board, an independent agency empowered by Congress to conduct disciplinary matters in the federal workforce free of partisan interference. This creates a sturdy obstacle for those who would seek political vengeance on perceived enemies in the career federal workforce. But that obstacle can be bypassed via the Holman Rule.
And that is where Donald Trump comes in.
Following Trump’s election to the presidency in 2016, and with his campaign slogan about “draining the swamp” in mind, the Republican House majority revived the long-defunct Holman Rule in January of 2017, making it part of the rules package for the 115th Congress.
Freedom Caucus Members then proposed Holman Rule actions to punish federal employees.
Rep. Mark Meadows tried to use it to eliminate the positions of 89 staff at the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, presumably in retaliation for CBO having given unflattering scores to Republican legislation to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Reps. Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) and Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) likewise used it in attempts to get back at civil servants. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) later proposed using an appropriation to eliminate Anthony Fauci’s salary.
Importantly, not one of these efforts was successful because each lacked the support of Republican leadership. (For her part, Greene proposed her bill, the “Fire Fauci Act,” during a period when the Holman Rule was not even in force.) But this dynamic was turned on its head earlier this month when it became clear that the Freedom Caucus is calling the shots in the new Republican majority.
Their more recent history with the Holman Rule is very concerning.
On August 5, 2022, Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) publicly called for use of the Holman Rule to “start defunding some of these bad agencies—the FBI, the DOJ.” Biggs’s desire to defund the FBI and the Justice Department was echoed by Marjorie Taylor Greene, Paul Gosar, Lauren Boebert, and others. Notably, the Freedom Caucus letter to McCarthy that demanded reinstatement of the Holman Rule was led by Freedom Caucus Chair Rep. Scott Perry (R-Penn.), a major figure in the plot to overturn the 2020 election results. (You might recall that his cell phone was seized last summer by the FBI.)
It is not a coincidence that the people seeking to defund the FBI and the Justice Department are people who were heavily involved in the plot to overturn the 2020 election, which has since become the subject of the largest criminal investigation in American history. Most of those named above requested presidential pardons from Donald Trump, and they have consistently been some of his most zealous allies in seeking to use their power to silence, intimidate, and punish his enemies.
It is this fringe element, which tried to help Donald Trump overturn the 2020 election, that now hopes to extend the same chaos and nihilism to the rest of the federal government. The irony should not be lost on anyone that those plotting to defund law enforcement were previously some of the loudest critics of calls to “defund the police.” Today, instead of “backing the blue,” they hope to defund the federal police to shield Donald Trump from investigation.
The Holman Rule passed as part of the House rules package less than 48 hours after McCarthy finally became speaker, with only one Republican voting against it. In 2017, a handful of moderates and experienced Republican leaders tried to prevent the return of the Holman Rule. Sadly, no one in today’s House GOP conference was willing to take that stand.
So where does that leave us now that the Holman Rule is in place?
The federal prosecutions of January 6th insurrectionists, the Justice Department, the FBI, and even Special Counsel Jack Smith have been identified as potential targets. The Freedom Caucus could try to eliminate the salary of Merrick Garland, Christopher Wray, or others in the FBI and DOJ, effectively firing them. Republicans could try to zero out funding for the FBI’s D.C. field office or the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia to end the DOJ’s January 6th investigation.
The principle is simple: All who pose a threat to Donald Trump or to the larger MAGA cohort must be deterred, blocked, punished, or fired.
The extreme right flank of the House GOP can’t do this on their own. The legislative process requires bills to pass the House and the Senate before either receiving a signature from the president, or overcoming his veto.
But that’s the trick of the Holman Rule: By making must-pass funding bills available as a vehicle for riders that eliminate salaries or defund government programs, the rule enables the House majority to bypass traditional legislative barriers to firing federal employees or shutting down federal operations outright. The Freedom Caucus said repeatedly during the speaker showdown that they intend to do exactly this, playing hardball with those must-pass bills—going so far as to threaten government shutdowns or a catastrophic debt default to extract concessions.
The Freedom Caucus may use these threats to attack the Justice Department and the FBI, both to ensure that Trump is protected from accountability and to protect themselves from any potential criminal exposure. This is a nightmare scenario: It could see the U.S. government paralyzed, our economy harmed, and the country undergoing some of the worst attacks on the rule of law we have ever seen.
That threat is very real.
Preventing this outcome will require more backbone than the moderate wing of the GOP has shown so far. The Freedom Caucus outmaneuvered them over and over again to seize the reins of the new majority. There are reasonable people in the House Republican Conference, but as long as they continue to acquiesce to a leadership that is dominated by the extreme fringe of their party, they can’t do anyone any good.
The Congress—and far more importantly, the country—may soon depend on those reasonable Republicans to stand up to the radical right. There may be enormous consequences for American families and the future of our democracy if they don’t.
, September 23, 2022 – 3:00 pm (ET) (26:35)
About
Source: Government website
Congressman Don Beyer is serving his fourth term as the U.S. Representative from Virginia’s 8th District, representing Arlington, Alexandria, Falls Church, and parts of Fairfax County.
Don chairs Congress’s Joint Economic Committee, and serves on the essential House Committee on Ways and Means. He also sits on the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology, where he chairs the Space Subcommittee. He is a member of the New Democrat Coalition’s Climate Change Task Force and the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and founded the Congressional Fusion Caucus.
Don’s public service began in 1986 when Governor Gerald Baliles appointed him to the Commonwealth Transportation Board, responsible for overseeing the Virginia Department of Transportation and allocating highway funding to specific projects. From 1990 to 1998, Don served as Lieutenant Governor of Virginia where his signature work included advocacy for Virginians with disabilities and ensuring protections for Virginia’s most vulnerable populations as Virginia reformed its welfare system. He was also Virginia’s Democratic nominee for Governor in 1997.
After leaving office, Don served in a variety of leadership roles. He spent 15 years as chair of Jobs for Virginia Graduates, a highly successful high school dropout prevention program. Don continues to serve on the National Board for Jobs for America’s Graduates.
He was also active for a decade on the board of the DC Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. As chair of the Virginia Economic Recovery Commission, he helped pass permanent pro-business reforms and was co-founder of the Northern Virginia Technology Council. Don was founding chair of Alexandria Community Trust (ACT), where he served in leadership for five years. He was also president and a member of the American International Automobile Dealers Association (AIADA), where he represented 10,000 international nameplate automobile dealers.
An active leader in Democratic politics, Don served as the Virginia chair of the Clinton-Gore and Kerry-Edwards presidential campaigns and was the treasurer and Virginia chair for Howard Dean’s presidential campaign. He chaired the DNC’s Democratic Business Council in 2005 and was finance chair of Sen. Mark Warner’s “Forward Together” presidential exploratory committee in 2006. For Pres. Obama, Don served as mid-Atlantic finance chair for the campaign and later acted as Transition Team Leader for the Department of Commerce.
In 2009, Pres. Obama nominated Don to serve as ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein. He used his position to advocate for stricter sanctions to compel Iran to begin nuclear disarmament discussions. As ambassador, Don was integral to US Department of Justice efforts to halt the abuses of Swiss bank secrecy by wealthy Americans.
For four decades, Don helped build his family’s business in Northern Virginia following a summer job at the dealership in 1974. He sold the business in 2019.
Don, born in the Free Territory of Trieste, is the son of U.S. Army officer Donald Sternoff Beyer Sr., and his wife, Nancy McDonald. His grandmother, Clara Mortenson Beyer, was a pioneer in labor economics and workers’ rights and instrumental in implementing minimum wage legislation via the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. Don’s grandfather, Otto S. Beyer Jr. was Chairman of the National Mediation Board.
Don is a graduate of Williams College and of Gonzaga College High School in Washington, DC. He was named a Presidential Scholar by President Lyndon Johnson. Don has four children and two grandchildren. He and his wife Megan live in Alexandria, Virginia.
Personal
Full Name: Don S. Beyer, Jr.
Gender: Male
Family: Wife: Megan; 4 Children: Clara, Grace, Donny, Stephanie
Birth Date: 06/20/1950
Birth Place: Trieste, Italy
Home City: Alexandria, VA
Religion: Christian
Source: BA, Economics, Williams College, 1968-1972 Attended, Wellesley College, 1971 Washington, DC Office District Office Email: Government August 24, 2022 (01:00) Students onAir introduces Don Beyer … Democratic Candidate for Virginia US House District 08 … by way of this 1-minute bio … drawn from his campaign website. Go to https://va.onair.cc/ and select the Don Beyer post to learn more about his policy positions and much more. August 16, 2023 (01:00) Students onAir presents the key policy positions of Don Beyer … Democratic Candidate for Virginia US House District 08 … drawn from his campaign website. Go to https://va.onair.cc/ and select the Don Beyer post to learn more about his policy positions and much more September 22, 2022 (26:30) Source: none 2018 2016 2014 Source: Virginia Legislative Information System BEYER JR, DONALD S has run in 4 races for public office, winning 4 of them. The candidate has raised a total of $8,376,641. Source: Open Secrets Ways and Means We need to continue our economic recovery with a middle class economic action plan that works for all American families. We must raise the minimum wage, ensure equal pay for equal work, end government shutdowns, and promote tax policies that empower the working class and middle class. Families are forced to stretch their dollars too far. Our minimum wage has been stagnant for over two decades. Women are the breadwinners in 40 percent of American households but aren’t guaranteed equal pay for equal work. Affordable housing is on the wane, especially in many urban and suburban communities, forcing people to live far from their jobs. We need strong work retraining programs to ensure that all Americans benefit from our 21st century economy. Federal Employees More than 76,000 federal employees call Virginia’s 8th Congressional District home, a greater number than most states. They play critical roles in national security, transportation, commerce, food safety, and many other sectors. I have worked to improve the treatment of our public servants by stopping government shutdowns, giving them earned pay raises to keep up with inflation, and treating them with greater respect than our nation has in its recent history, which I believe is essential if we are to attract the ablest or the most creative minds to lead our nation forward. I am proud to be an original cosponsor of legislation to grant paid parental leave to federal employees for the birth or fostering of a child, and the FAIR Act, which would give significant pay raises to federal workers. I will fight efforts to undermine the civil service and will continue to support and promote solutions and improvements for federal employees. Women’s Economic Empowerment The best way to ensure true financial security for middle class families is to support women in the workforce. Working women make up almost half of the American labor force and serve as primary breadwinners in over 40 percent of American households. In addition, a growing percentage of women are single mothers; more than half of women under 30 who give birth do so outside of marriage and consequently serve a significant economic role for that child. Yet women still have no guarantee of equal pay for equal work. We must declare this era in American life as the past, not the present. Women must be able to make their own economic decisions, including whether and when to have children, and then have the capacity to balance work and family. This delicate equilibrium is possible only with affordable child care, workplace flexibility, and paid family and medical leave, as well as reliable health care. Today, the United States is one of only two nations that does not guarantee paid parental leave. It is past time to giving working women and families this critical tool. In Congress, I am committed to protecting and strengthening our public schools and supporting our educators. I believe that a quality education is measured in more than just test scores. We must ensure that teachers have the supports they need and the flexibility to be creative and are not stuck teaching to the test. I also believe that supporting our children’s education includes tracking student growth and maintaining a holistic education that includes physical fitness and arts education as well as access to after school programs. We also must maintain high standards in school nutrition and ensure that students still have access to meals in the summer. I will continue to fight to uphold fundamental federal civil rights protections by advocating for robust federal funding for Title I and IDEA as well as ensuring that the Office of Civil Rights is working proactively with colleges and universities to address sexual assault. I oppose any initiative (like vouchers or “school choice”) that would undermine our public schools or re-segregate our society. Schools are not a marketplace; we need all of our schools to be successful so that regardless of what school our children attend they have access to a quality education. I believe we must do more to address student loan debt, college affordability, and create successful post-secondary pathways that recognize career and technical education. I am a strong supporter of student loan refinancing, all-year access to Pell grants, allowing subsidized Stafford loans to graduate students, codifying the Obama Administration’s efforts on FAFSA application simplification, and many other initiatives that keep higher education accessible and affordable. Climate Change Stopping the harmful consequences of global climate change is the existential crisis of our generation. We cannot continue pumping pollutants into our air at no economic cost. Fourteen of the fifteen hottest years on record have been in this century. Global temperature changes are causing prolonged droughts, extreme weather events, and rising sea levels. On the House Committees on Ways and Means and Science, Space, and Technology, I continue to advocate to fulfill our responsibility to leave this world better than we inherited it. In the 117th Congress I am also serving as Co-Chair of the Safe Climate Caucus. America must continue to be an innovative leader in the fight against global climate change. We need intelligent conservation policies that preserve our natural resources and an energy policy that is not solely focused on drilling, but makes smart investments in clean and renewable energy to lower costs to the American taxpayer while protecting the air, land, and water. Transportation Northern Virginia suffers from some of the worst traffic congestion in the nation. The only way to mitigate the effects of traffic gridlock, and minimize the harmful impact to our environment, is through forward-thinking, multimodal solutions. We must continue to improve Metro to keep it a safe, world-class transportation system. Forty percent of Metro’s peak ridership is federal employees; a federal role is not only appropriate but necessary. Preserving the $150 million annual federal investment for capital and safety improvements is a top priority. If you’re interested in learning more about my efforts to combat airplane noise in Northern Virginia, visit our storyboard. All American families should have access to quality healthcare. No family in the United States should face economic ruin because of a health crisis, or have to choose between a trip to the emergency room and heating their home for the month. President Obama’s Affordable Care Act (ACA) was an incredible step toward that reality for all American families. Gender is no longer a pre-existing condition, children have the option to stay on their parents’ plans longer, and students are free to pursue their educational dreams without worrying about health demands. However, there is still much to do. Many still lack health insurance coverage, America remains one of only two countries in the world without paid family leave, and women are still at risk of losing their right to choose. I will fight for further improvements in the U.S. healthcare system, especially for the neediest populations. I will work to provide paid sick, maternity, and family leave for all American workers. And I believe that a woman’s health care choices are her own and should never be dictated by her employer, or by any government. Defense The headquarters of the United States military at the Pentagon, Arlington Cemetery, the Iwo Jima Memorial, Joint Base Meyer-Henderson Hall, Fort Belvoir, as well as thousands of defense-related jobs and even more of our service members all call Virginia’s 8th District home. As the son of a West Point graduate and a Korea veteran, I feel a special commitment to defense and veterans’ issues. We must maintain a robust national defense that keeps American citizens and our allies safe. Simultaneously, as the former United States Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein, I believe in the power of diplomacy and in our responsibility to do all in our power to find nonmilitary solutions to crises whenever possible. Battlefield scars, whether mental, physical or both, heal slowly. Our Veterans Administration has a moral obligation to make our troops whole again. After a decade of war, our troops deserve a healthcare system that works for them and is able to process claims in a robust, efficient, and effective manner. I look forward to working with the VA and with our constituents who are veterans to seek solutions. The 8th District is also home to thousands of defense-related jobs. The professionals who hold these positions help keep our nation safe. Simultaneously, many of them make us more efficient in our defense budget, precise and safe in our military operations, and innovative in caring for our veterans. We must avoid the harmful effects of sequestration while maintaining a robust defense apparatus. Oversight Congress has a duty to provide oversight of the Administration and the Executive Branch, and I take that role seriously no matter who is in the White House. Under the previous administration, I led or joined a number of initiatives, both legislative and legal, to hold the former president and his administration accountable whenever they failed to meet the high standards this country expects of its leaders. Equality The fight for equality is one of the central struggles of the American story. It is also a major part of my work on behalf of the people of Northern Virginia. Americans deserve equal treatment under the law without discrimination on the basis of race, color, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, national origin, age, or disability. I have worked to advance this principle in a number of ways, from advocating for laws against voter suppression, to authoring legislation opposing the previous administration’s Muslim Ban, to continuous advocacy for disabled Americans. I support full equality for all lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender individuals, and have cosponsored legislation to ban workplace discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation. In May of 2021, President Biden signed legislation into law which included the Jabara-Heyer NO HATE Act, a bill I wrote to strengthen our nation’s response to hate crimes. Gun Violence Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Print this Page Share by Email It is a major priority for me to enact laws requiring a background check on every gun sale, in order to help keep guns out of the hands of those like to use them to commit crimes. I also support enacting restrictions on weapons designed for the battlefield, which are so often used in the mass shootings that have claimed so many lives in schools, churches, hospitals, theaters, malls, and so on. I have also championed “Extreme Risk Protection Order” laws, also known as “red flag” laws, which empower family members and law enforcement to petition a judge for a warrant to remove guns from those who demonstrate a serious threat to themselves or others. None of these measures by themselves would completely end gun violence in America, but studies suggest that each of them has the power to save many lives. I will continue to push for these and other gun reforms in the House of Representatives. Virginia’s 8th congressional district is home to over 50,000 veterans and active duty service men and women. I am proud to represent a district with such a strong ethic of service. As the son of a 92-year-old Korean War veteran, I am deeply committed to caring for those who sacrifice to protect our freedoms. My father used the G.I. Bill and put his education and skills to work in what became our family business. Our nation must continue to provide those who serve in the military with the necessary resources to adjust to civilian life. Battlefield scars, whether mental, physical or both, heal slowly. Our Veterans Administration (VA) has a moral obligation to make our troops whole again. After over a decade of war, our troops deserve a robust healthcare system that processes claims efficiently and effectively. If that system breaks down, we in Congress must help it do better. This comes in the form of providing legislative solutions, where veterans’ care is traditional an area of strong bipartisanship, and also in the area of constituent casework. My district office assists constituents with VA benefits. I encourage veterans who require assistance to call us at 703-658-5403. Some of the most important ways that we repay our veterans include small business loans, housing assistance, and education funding. Many of our civilian industries in Northern Virginia thrive under the management or with the assistance of veterans, and I am a cosponsor of the Reducing Barriers for Veterans Education Act because I believe that investment in education is money well spent. I support numerous other measures to ensure equal and honorable treatment of all veterans, including the Veteran Spouses Equal Treatment Act, the Restore Honor to Service Members Act, and the Women Veterans Access to Quality Care Act. The 8th District of Virginia is home to the Pentagon, the Marine Corps Memorial, the Navy Memorial, the Air Force Memorial, and Arlington National Cemetery. I take great pride in the fact that we are surrounded by symbols of our nation’s support for veterans, and I am committed to making sure that our government’s symbolic recognition is matched by our care for veterans. It is our responsibility to pass comprehensive immigration reform that secures a path to citizenship for the hard-working people who contribute to our economy and to our communities. They deserve the opportunity to become new Americans I fully support the DREAM Act: We must ensure that children who came to the United States early in life have the opportunity to succeed by attending college, receiving in-state tuition, and working for a better life for future generations. Our country has a diverse heritage woven by people from all across the globe. We cannot close our borders and turn our backs on the rest of the world. I will work with my colleagues to achieve the dream of a bipartisan immigration reform package. Source: Government page Source: Wikipedia The 8th district is heavily influenced by the federal government in neighboring Washington, with nearly a quarter of its working population employed in the public sector. Though commuting into the nation’s capital for work is common, several government agencies have their headquarters in the 8th district. The most prominent of these are the United States Department of Defense (located in the Pentagon) and the Central Intelligence Agency. Their presence has established a flourishing aerospace and defense industry in the area, with Northrop Grumman being one of the district’s top private sector employers. Other major corporations are also located within its boundaries, most notably AES. The seat has long been a liberal stronghold, having backed every Democratic presidential nominee since 1992. But those margins have grown dramatically; in 2020, Joe Biden carried the 8th district by over 55 points. Once a popular destination for white flight, the district has seen an influx of Asian, Black, and Hispanic residents in recent years and is now majority nonwhite. It also has the nation’s fifth-highest share of individuals with a bachelor’s degree or higher, in large part due to the nearby government presence. Donald Sternoff Beyer Jr. (/ˈbaɪ.ər/ BY-ər; born June 20, 1950) is an American businessman, diplomat, and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Virginia’s 8th congressional district since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, his district is in the heart of Northern Virginia and includes Alexandria, Falls Church, and Arlington. Beyer has owned automobile dealerships in Virginia and has a long record of involvement in community and philanthropic work. From 1990 to 1998, he served two terms as the 36th lieutenant governor of Virginia during the gubernatorial administrations of Doug Wilder (1990–1994) and George Allen (1994–1998). His party’s nominee for governor of Virginia in 1997, he lost to Republican Jim Gilmore, who was then the Attorney General of Virginia. From 2009 to 2013, he served as United States Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein under President Barack Obama.[1] In 2014, Beyer announced his candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives seat for Virginia’s 8th congressional district held by the retiring Jim Moran. Beyer won the 12-candidate Democratic primary in June with 45% of the vote and went on to win the general election 63% to 33%. He has since been reelected five times, most recently in 2024. Beyer was born in the Free Territory of Trieste, the son of a U.S. Army officer, Donald Sternoff Beyer Sr., and his wife, Nancy McDonald.[2][3] His grandmother Clara Mortenson Beyer was a pioneer in labor economics and workers’ rights, and worked in the United States Department of Labor under Frances Perkins during the New Deal era.[4] His grandfather Otto S. Beyer Jr. was Chairman of the National Mediation Board. The oldest of six children, he was raised in Washington, D.C., where his grandparents lived. In 1968, he graduated from Gonzaga College High School, where he was salutatorian of his class; in 1972 he graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Williams College, magna cum laude, in economics. Beyer was a Presidential Scholar in 1968 and a National Merit Scholarship winner. He graduated from a winter Outward Bound course at Dartmouth College in January 1971 and attended Wellesley College that year as part of the “12 College Exchange” program.[5][6] In 2022, during his congressional career, Beyer enrolled at George Mason University in pursuit of a master’s degree in computer science with a concentration in machine learning,[7] taking one evening course per semester. He told The Washington Post in December 2022 that he was taking required undergraduate courses before he started graduate coursework, which he expected to begin by 2024.[8] After college, Beyer began working at the Volvo dealership his father had purchased in 1973. In 1986, he and his brother Michael bought the business from their parents and as the Beyer Automotive Group, the business expanded to nine dealerships, including the Volvo, Land Rover, Kia, Volkswagen, Mazda, and Subaru brands. Beyer sold his share of the dealerships to his brother in 2019. Beyer is a past chairman of the National Volvo Retailer Advisory Board. In 2006, he chaired the American International Automobile Dealers Association.[9] Beyer served as a member of the board of Demosphere International, Inc., a leading soccer registration software provider.[10] He was also a board member of History Associates, which bills itself as “The Best Company in History.”[11] He has served on the Virginia Board of First Union National Bank, the board of Shenandoah Life Insurance Company, and the board of Lightly Expressed, a fiber optic lighting design and manufacturing firm. During nearly two decades of community activism, Beyer has taken leadership roles on the boards of many business, philanthropic and public policy organizations, the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce and the American Cancer Society. He has received numerous awards and honors, including the Grand Award for Highway Safety from the National Safety Federation; the James C. Wheat Jr. Award for Service to Virginians with Disabilities;[12] the Earl Williams Leadership in Technology Award; and the Thomas Jefferson Award for 2012 from American Citizens Abroad.[13] In 2017, he received the Leaders for Democracy Award from the Project on Middle East Democracy. In April 2017, he received the Community Integration Leadership Award for Community and Public Service from the ENDependence Center of Northern Virginia and the Community Engagement Award from Phillips Programs for Children and Families. In 2021, Beyer received the Excellence in Public Service Award from the Population Association of America. Beyer chaired the board of the Alexandria Community Trust, Alexandria’s community foundation,[14] and the board of Jobs for Virginia Graduates, the state’s largest high school dropout prevention program.[15] He is a former president of the board of Youth for Tomorrow, Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs‘s residential home for troubled adolescent boys and girls.[16] He also served on the board of the DC Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy.[17] He currently serves on the board of directors of Jobs for America’s Graduates. In 2022, readers and editors of Arlington Magazine named Beyer “Best Elected Official” as part of the magazine’s annual roundup of favorite restaurants, shops, doctors, summer camps, live bands and more in Arlington County, Virginia.[18] Beyer was the northern Virginia coordinator of the Gerald L. Baliles campaign for governor in 1985. In 1986, Governor Baliles appointed Beyer to the Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB), which is responsible for overseeing the Virginia Department of Transportation and allocating highway funding to specific projects. It consists of 17 members, including the Secretary of Transportation, Commonwealth Transportation Commissioner, Director of the Department of Rail and Public Transportation, and 14 citizen members who are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Virginia General Assembly.[citation needed] Beyer was elected lieutenant governor of Virginia in 1989, defeating Republican state senator Edwina P. Dalton. He was reelected in 1993, defeating Republican Michael Farris 54%-46%, as Republicans George Allen and Jim Gilmore were elected on the same ballot as governor and attorney general, respectively. Farris’s close connection to conservative leaders such as Jerry Falwell of the Moral Majority, Pat Robertson of the Christian Coalition and Phyllis Schlafly of the Eagle Forum, as well as his adherence to the Quiverfull movement,[19][20] stirred deep-seated feelings and led some prominent Virginia Republicans such as U.S. Senator John Warner to support Beyer rather than Farris.[citation needed] During his tenure as lieutenant governor, Beyer served as president of the Virginia Senate. He chaired the Virginia Economic Recovery Commission, the Virginia Commission on Sexual Assault, the Virginia Commission on Disabilities, the Poverty Commission and was co-founder of the Northern Virginia Technology Council, an outgrowth of the Chamber of Commerce.[21] He was active in promoting high-tech industries and led the fight to eliminate disincentives in the Virginia Tax Code to high-tech research and development.[22] He is also credited with writing the original welfare reform legislation in Virginia.[23] Beyer was the Democratic nominee for governor in 1997, losing to Republican Jim Gilmore. He served as Finance Chairman for Mark Warner‘s Political Action Committee, “Forward Together”,[24] and as the National Treasurer for the 2004 presidential campaign of former Vermont Governor Howard Dean.[25] After Dean withdrew from the race, he served as chairman of the John Kerry campaign in Virginia.[26] In 2007–08, Beyer endorsed and campaigned extensively for presidential candidate Barack Obama.[27] He chaired the Mid Atlantic Finance Council of Obama for America campaign[28] and served on the campaign’s National Finance Council. The Democratic National Committee appointed Beyer to serve at the 2008 DNC Convention on the Credentials Committee.[29] Following the 2008 election, President-elect Obama asked Beyer to head up the transition team at the Department of Commerce.[30] Obama nominated Beyer for United States Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein on June 12, 2009.[31] In December 2010, Beyer attracted public attention when it was reported that he had warned the Swiss government against offering asylum to WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange.[32] In March 2013, Beyer received the Thomas Jefferson Award from American Citizens Abroad. The award is presented annually by ACA to recognize State Department members who have rendered outstanding service to Americans overseas. Beyer was recognized for organizing a series of town hall meetings where American citizens overseas could voice concerns and opinions to officials of the State Department. He resigned as ambassador in May 2013. During the run-up to the 2020 primaries, Beyer endorsed Pete Buttigieg for president. He then endorsed Joe Biden on Super Tuesday.[33] In June 2022, after a spate of mass shootings in the U.S., Beyer said he would propose a bill to increase taxes on assault-style guns by 1,000%.[34] He told Business Insider, “What it’s intended to do is provide another creative pathway to actually make some sensible gun control happen. We think that a 1,000% fee on assault weapons is just the kind of restrictive measure that creates enough fiscal impact to qualify for reconciliation.” On January 24, 2014, Beyer announced his candidacy for Virginia’s 8th congressional district to succeed retiring Democratic incumbent Jim Moran.[35] It was his first partisan race since losing the 1997 gubernatorial election. He won the June 10 Democratic primary with 45.7% of the vote.[36] On November 4, Beyer defeated Republican nominee Micah Edmond and three others in the general election receiving 63.1% of the vote. But he had effectively clinched a seat in Congress in the primary. At the time, the 8th was Virginia’s second-most Democratic district, with a Cook Partisan Voting Index of D+16 (only the 3rd district was more Democratic). Beyer is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.[37] Beyer defeated Republican nominee Charles Hernick, 68.6% to 27.4%.[38] Beyer defeated Republican nominee Thomas Oh, 76.3% to 23.7%.[39] Beyer defeated Republican nominee Jeff Jordan, 75.8% to 24.0%.[40] Beyer defeated Republican nominee Karina Lipsman, 73.5% to 24.8%. Beyer was a frequent critic of the Trump administration. On April 13, 2017, he was the first lawmaker to call for senior White House adviser and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner to lose his security clearance after it was revealed that Kushner had omitted numerous contacts with foreign nationals from his security clearance application.[41] In June 2017, Beyer renewed his call, sending a letter signed by more than 50 other House Democrats demanding that the White House immediately revoke Kushner’s clearance, citing national security concerns.[42] Beyer wrote the Cost of Police Misconduct Act, which proposed to create a publicly accessible federal database over police misconduct allegations and settlements.[43] As of 2022, Beyer has voted with President Joe Biden’s stated position 100% of the time, according to FiveThirtyEight.[44] Beyer voted to provide Israel with support following 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.[45][46] He declined to vote in favor of a resolution declaring anti-Zionism a form of antisemitism, instead voting present.[47] Beyer and his wife, Megan, have two children, Clara and Grace. He also has two children, Don and Stephanie, from a previous marriage,[56] and two grandchildren.[57] He is an Episcopalian.[58] As of May 2019, according to OpenSecrets.org, Beyer’s net worth was more than $124 million.[59] Education
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Election Results
Don Beyer (D) 247,137 76.10% Thomas S. Oh (R) 76,899 23.68% Write In (Write-in) 712 0.22% TOTAL 324,748 Don Beyer (D) 246,653 68.4% Charles Alan Hernick (R) 98,387 27.3% Julio Gracia () 14,664 4.1% Write In (Write-in) 983 0.3% TOTAL 360,687 Don Beyer (D) 128,102 63.1% Micah Kenyatta Edmond (R) 63,810 31.4% Gwendolyn Joyce Beck () 5,420 2.7% Jeffrey Scott Carson (L) 4,409 2.2% Gerard C. Blais, III () 963 0.5% Write In (Write-in) 376 0.2% TOTAL 203,080 Finances
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I support President Biden’s leadership and celebration of American unity, diversity, optimism, and accomplishment. At the same time, I will continue to fulfill my Congressional responsibility of congressional oversight to help ensure that this vision becomes a reality.Human Rights
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Gun violence claims over 30,000 lives per year, including nearly 20,000 firearm-related suicides. Despite this epidemic, Congress has sadly failed for years to take basic steps to curb gun violence despite overwhelming support for such measures by Americans from all political backgrounds.Veterans
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I want to serve my constituents in any way I can. Whether you need help with a federal agency, are trying to find out if federal grants are available for your project, or are considering applying to a service academy. I hope all the information in this section will be helpful.
District
Virginia’s 8th congressional district is located just across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C.. It comprises several populous suburbs in Northern Virginia, including all of Alexandria, Arlington, and Falls Church, as well as parts of Fairfax County. Democrat Don Beyer has held the seat since 2015. With a Cook Partisan Voting Index rating of D+26, it is the most Democratic district in Virginia.Wikipedia
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