Jodey Arrington
Jodey Cook Arrington is the U.S. Representative for. The district includes a large slice of West Texas, centered around Lubbock and Abilene. He is a member of the Republican Party.
He was a member of both the gubernatorial and presidential administrations of George W. Bush. Arrington was named appointments manager for Governor Bush in 1996. In 2000, he was appointed Special Assistant to the President and Associate Director of Presidential Personnel. In December 2001, Donald E. Powell, the 18th Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation hired Arrington as the agency's chief of staff.
He later served as deputy federal coordinator for the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding. In 2006, Arrington left the coastal rebuilding office to return to his alma mater, Texas Tech University as its system chief of staff and later as vice chancellor for research and commercialization. Until his election to Congress, Arrington was the president of Scott Laboratories in Lubbock.
Early life and education
Arrington was reared in Plainview in Hale County on the South Texas Plains to Gene and Betty Arrington. His father played basketball at Texas Tech, having lettered in 1958, 1959, and 1960 under coach Polk Robison. In high school, Arrington was a multi-sport athlete and a state-ranked tennis player.After graduating from Plainview High School, Arrington attended Texas Tech, where he was a member of the Phi Delta Theta men's fraternity. He also walked on to the football team under Spike Dykes. He graduated in 1994 with a Bachelor of Arts in political science but remained at Texas Tech to pursue a Master of Public Administration degree, which he completed in 1997. In 2004, he earned a Certificate of International Business Management from the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.
White House
After Governor Bush's election as President in 2000, Arrington was asked to join the White House staff as Special Assistant to the President and Associate Director of Presidential Personnel, where he served under Clay Johnson III. For the next year, Arrington briefed and made recommendations to the President, Vice President Dick Cheney, and Chief of Staff Andy Card. During his time in the Office of Presidential Personnel, Arrington managed an executive search team that helped the Office fill more than five thousand executive level, board, and commission positions. He specialized in appointments relating to energy, the environment, and natural resources.Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
In late December 2001, at the age of twenty-eight, Arrington became one of the youngest chiefs of staff in the history of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, where he served under the 18th chairman, Donald E. Powell. As Powell's chief of staff, Arrington managed and oversaw the offices of the Chairman, Policy Development, and Public Affairs, all of which he reorganized to increase efficiency. In 2002, Arrington began chairing the FDIC Board Appeals Committee and served in Powell's place on the Audit Committee.Gulf Coast rebuilding
In 2005, in the wake of FEMA's response to Hurricane Katrina, President Bush established by executive order the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding. Bush appointed Don Powell as Federal Coordinator, who appointed Arrington as Deputy Federal Coordinator and Chief Operating Officer. In this role, Arrington worked with the Governors of the affected states, as well as military officials, local authorities and charitable organizations. Powell and Arrington were responsible for developing and executing the Federal Government's recovery efforts, as well as coordinating with local, state and federal officials. By the end of Arrington's first year in the Gulf Coast, he had aided Powell in the procurement and implementation of much of the $120 billion spent on infrastructure and assistance relief.Texas Tech
After a year with the Gulf Coast position, Arrington returned to Texas Tech to serve as its system chief of staff. The Tech System includes Texas Tech University, Texas Tech Health Sciences Center and Angelo State University. He also served as the primary liaison to the vice chancellors throughout the system.In 2011, Arrington was named Vice Chancellor for Research and Commercialization at Texas Tech University System. During his seven-year tenure with the Texas Tech University System, Arrington was chairman on the Task Force for Enrollment Growth and was the chief architect of "Leading the Way," the strategic plan for the universities within the TTU System.
Arrington worked to secure the naming rights to the Laura W. Bush Institute for Women's Health for the university health sciences center. Since securing the naming rights in 2007, the institute has been responsible for raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for health care issues affecting women.
Scott Laboratories
In 2014, Arrington became president of Scott Laboratories in Lubbock. As President of a healthcare innovation holding company, which includes a comprehensive health system, Arrington's primary role was launching and growing new ventures as well as supporting new revenue opportunities at the health system.Until his full-time job in Congress, he was focused on developing a tele-health startup, launching an innovative insurance product, and establishing a digital marketing platform for the health system.
Political career
Arrington ran unsuccessfully in 2014 in a special election for the Texas State Senate District 28. He was defeated by fellow Republican Charles Perry, 53 to 30 percent, who still holds the seat.With Republican Representative Randy Neugebauer of retiring in 2016, Arrington decided to run for his seat. Former Lubbock mayor Glen Robertson led a nine-candidate field in the primary election held on March 1 with 27,791 of the ballots cast, followed by Arrington's 26,980. In third place was Michael Bob Starr, the former commander of Dyess Air Force Base who led handily in Abilene and finished with 22,256 votes. Laredo surgeon Donald R. May finished fourth with 9,592 votes. No Democrat even filed, meaning that whoever won the primary would face no major-party opposition in November. However, the 19th is so heavily Republican that any Democratic challenger would have faced nearly impossible odds in any event. With a Cook Partisan Voting Index of R+26, the 19th is the third-most Republican district in Texas and the 12th-most Republican district in the nation.
In the runoff election held on May 24, 2016, Arrington defeated Robertson, 25,214 to 21,769 to become the Republican nominee. In the congressional general election on November 8, 2016, Arrington polled 176,314 votes ; the Libertarian Troy Bonar trailed with 17,376 votes, and the Green candidate, Mark Lawson, polled 9,785 votes. However, he had effectively clinched a seat in Congress with his victory in the primary runoff.
When Arrington took office on January 3, 2017, he became only the fifth person to represent this district since its creation in 1935.
Political positions
National security
Arrington supported President Donald Trump's 2017 executive order curtailing Middle Eastern immigration. He stated that "It is important that our commander in chief puts the safety of Americans first. Given concerns about the inadequate vetting of refugees and problems with our immigration system, this temporary pause is intended to ensure the safety of our citizens."Unemployment benefits
In defending a proposal to cut access to the SNAP program, Arrington cited the biblical passage Thessalonians 3-10. "He says even when we were with you we give you this rule, 'If a man will not work he shall not eat.' And he goes on to say 'We heard that some of you are idle.' I think that every American, Republican or Democrat wants to help the needy among us. And I think it's a reasonable expectation that we have work requirements. I think that gives more credibility, frankly, to SNAP."In July 2019, Arrington voted against continued support for the 9/11 fund for first responders. Arrington, who stated that he this fund, defended the vote by citing the legislation’s updated language which authorized unfettered spending for the next seventy years – or until 2090. Since its inception, the Victim Compensation Fund has been repeatedly reauthorized for no more than five-year increments, allowing for regular Congressional oversight to ensure the program is working well and appropriately funded.