Bradley Roberts Byrne (born February 16, 1955[5]) is an American attorney and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Alabama's 1st congressional district from 2014 to 2021.

[13][14] During his term on the Board of Education, Byrne supported a science curriculum that was opposed by many religious leaders in Alabama.

He later voted with the Board to support a compromise that said, "Explanations of the origin of life and major groups of plants and animals, including humans, shall be treated as theory and not as fact.

Bishop State Community College in Mobile was the target of investigators who found both financial and academic issues at the school in 2006 and 2007.

[20][21] Byrne also worked with Alabama Attorney General Troy King to recover money stolen from the community college system.

Byrne responded, "as a Christian and as a public servant, I have never wavered in my belief that this world and everything in it is a masterpiece created by the hands of God ... As a member of the Alabama Board of Education, the record clearly shows that I fought to ensure the teaching of creationism in our school text books.

[25] On February 23, 2011, Byrne announced he was partnering with other prominent Alabamians to create a nonprofit organization that would push for reforms in state government.

[27] In 2011, Byrne considered running for chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court in the 2012 election,[28] but ultimately did not enter the race.

[29] Byrne finished first in the Republican primary and faced Tea Party candidate Dean Young in the runoff election.

Byrne was originally expected to be running for reelection unopposed, but Burton LeFlore, his Democratic opponent in the 2013 special election, qualified.

[38] In 2019, however, Byrne voted against a measure disapproving of the Trump administration's plan to lift sanctions imposed against three Russian firms.

[50] In 2019, he hosted a town hall meeting at a gun store, three days after the Dayton mass shooting, which killed 9 people.

[38] The National Association of Police Organizations (NAPO) gave Byrne a 38% rating, describing him as having a "police-the-police stance" for his police-related legislation support.

Senator Jeff Sessions, who had vacated his seat upon being nominated and subsequently confirmed to the position of U.S. Attorney General in the Trump administration, Byrne endorsed the Republican nominee, Roy Moore.

[69] In 2017 he voted for the Republican tax legislation,[38][70] saying that the bill's passage would "lead to greater economic growth, higher wages, and more jobs.

[40] On October 23, 2019, Gary Palmer, Jim Jordan, Byrne and Brooks joined about two dozen other House Republicans in aggressively intruding upon a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) where Republican and Democratic congressional members[a] had been taking confidential testimony from Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense Laura Cooper as part of the impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump.

Brooks had given an incendiary speech before joining the non-committee Republicans forcing their way into the hearing room, carrying electronic devices that are prohibited in SCIFs.

South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham admonished his House colleagues for making a "run on the SCIF," calling the stunt "nuts.

[83] In December 2020, Byrne was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives who signed an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which Joe Biden defeated incumbent president Donald Trump.

[84] The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of the election held by another state.

[85][86][87] House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement that called signing the amicus brief an act of "election subversion."

"[88][89] In a 2020 campaign advertisement, Byrne described athletes who knelt as part of the U.S. national anthem protests as "dishonoring our flag", with a photograph of Colin Kaepernick kneeling.

[11] In 2020, Byrne began advocating that Huntsville, Alabama, serve as the headquarters for the newly created United States Space Force.

[90] Byrne supported a bill that would direct the U.S. Department of Justice to report to the United States Congress whenever any federal agency refrains from enforcing laws or regulations for any reason.

[96][97] On February 20, 2019, Byrne announced his candidacy for the 2020 United States Senate election in Alabama, challenging incumbent Democratic U.S.

[10] On May 26, 2022, the Mobile (Ala.) Chamber of Commerce announced Byrne would serve as the chief executive officer and president of the organization, effective June 1, 2022.

Byrne is an attorney and currently serves as of counsel for Adams and Reese, LLP, a position he will retain while devoting his full-time efforts to the Mobile Chamber.

Dale Byrne died from a heart attack after suffering from a respiratory illness contracted while serving with the Alabama National Guard in Iraq.