Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) is only a freshman junior senator but has been involved in Louisiana state politics for over three decades. Kennedy was born in Mississippi and later moved to Zachary, Louisiana as a child. He received his undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University, his law degree from the University of Virginia, and his Bachelor of Civil Law from Magdalen College. Initially, he served for Democrat Governor Buddy Roemer as special counsel in 1988 and cabinet secretary in 1991. He ran as a democrat for Louisiana Attorney General in 1991 but ultimately lost in the primary election. After his loss, he was an attorney for Chaffe McCall until 1996, when he was appointed as Secretary of the Department of Revenue by Governor Mike Foster. In 1999, Kennedy left the Foster administration to run for state treasurer as a democrat. He defeated the democrat incumbent and served as state treasurer of Louisiana from 2000-2017. As state treasurer, he joined the Republican Party in 2007. In 2004 and 2008, he ran for senate but was unable to unseat Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) both times. However, Kennedy defeated Democrat Foster Campbell in the 2016 senate race. Despite rumors about a gubernatorial run in 2019, Kennedy announced that he would not run for governor to work in the senate.
In terms of legislation, Sen. John Kennedy is concerned with increasing jobs, lowering taxes, providing aid after natural disasters, reforming public education, and prohibiting abortion. Furthermore, he supports the repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act. He mostly sponsors bills regarding the financial sector, crime and law enforcement, and health in the senate. However, he does not always side with his party. He has opposed several of President Trump’s judicial nominees, including Gregory G. Katsas to the D.C. Circuit. Most recently, Kennedy opposed the First Step Act, a bipartisan criminal justice reform bill that passed in a landslide in the senate. Furthermore, he voted along with Democrats against the FCC’s repeal of net-neutrality in 2017 and opposed Trump’s plan to end sanctions with three Russian companies in 2019.
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