Mo Brooks

Morris Jackson Brooks Jr (born April 29, 1954 in Charleston, South Carolina) is an attorney, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Alabama's 5th Congressional District, and a candidate in the 2022 Republican primary for the U.S. Senate seat left open by the retirement of Richard Shelby.

Brooks is the son of Morris and Betty Noland Brooks. He was born in South Carolina, but the family moved to Huntsville when he was 9 years old. His father was an electrical engineer at Redstone Arsenal's Meteorology Center and mother taught economics and government at Lee High School. Morris Jr graduated from Grissom High School in 1972 and studies political science and economics at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. He married Martha Jenkins, whom he met at Duke, in 1976. He completed a juris doctorate at the University of Alabama School of Law in 1978.

After a short time working for the Tuscaloosa County District Attorney's Office he moved back to Huntsville to clerk for circuit court Judge John David Snodgrass. He ran successfully for the District 18 seat, representing northwest Alabama, in the Alabama House of Representatives in 1982. He held that seat through three more elections until he was appointed to succeed Robert Cramer as Madison County District Attorney in 1991. He lost the office to Democrat Tim Morgan in the 1992 election. In 1993 he was hired as counsel to Leo & Associates, a firm specializing in commercial litigation, and was made a partner in the firm of Leo & Brooks.

In 1995 Brooks was hired as a special assistant in Attorney General of Alabama Jeff Sessions' office. He continued in that role under Attorney General Bill Pryor until 2002. Meanwhile he was elected to the Madison County Commission in 1996 and re-elected in 2000, 2004 and 2008.

In the 2006 Republican Primary Brooks ran for Lieutenant Governor of Alabama, finishing behind Luther Strange and George Wallace Jr. In the 2010 Republican Primary he successfully challenged incumbent Parker Griffith (who had switched from the Democratic Party) and activist Les Phillip for the Republican nomination for the 5th District in the U.S. House of Representatives. During the primary election campaign Brooks was lauded as a "Young Gun" by the Republican National Committee. He edged Democrat Steve Raby by a 58%-42% margin.

Brooks easily survived Griffith's primary challenge in 2012 and sailed to a 65%-35% victory over Democratic candidate Charlie Holley in the general election. In the 2014 election, with no Democratic candidate on the ballot, Brooks was easily re-elected over Republican challenger Jerry Hill and independent candidate Mark Bray. In 2016 he was challenged by Democrat Will Boyd Jr, but won a fourth term by a 67%-33% margin.

Brooks qualified for the 2017 U.S. Senate special election following Jeff Sessions' appointment as Attorney General of the United States. He finished third behind Roy Moore and Luther Strange in the Republican primary. Democrat Doug Jones eventually won the special election following published accusations regarding Moore's behavior as a prosecutor in Etowah County. Brooks endorsed Moore in the general election, attacking the Washington Post for their reporting.

As a candidate for re-election to the House in 2018 Brooks held off Democratic challenger Peter Joffrion by a 61%-39% margin. He faced no challengers in the 2020 general election.

As a member of the House, Brooks has served on the House Committee on Armed Services and its Subcommittee on Cyber, Innovative Technologies and Information Systems and on Strategic Forces, and on the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology and its subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics. He has been lauded by right-wing and conservative organizations for his opposition to spending bills and his votes in support of Republican policy priorities and nominations. He is a member of the "Freedom Caucus" and the "Congressional Constitution Caucus".

Books spoke out in support of President Trump's nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court and defended fellow Representative Jim Jordan, accused of covering up sexual assault when he was a wrestling coach at Ohio State University. In October 2019 he declined to sign onto a resolution criticizing Trump's removal of U.S. forces from Syria. Later that month he was part of a group of House Republicans that disrupted an impeachment hearing taking testimony about President Trump's refusal to send Congressionally-approved military support to Ukraine.

External links

• Congressman Mo Brooks official U.S. House website

[[Category:U.S. Representatives]