Nicholas Joseph Rahall II (/reɪˈhɑːl/ RAY-hall; born May 20, 1949) is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 2015.

[21] In 1990, Rahall defeated Republican insurance agent Marianne Brewster with just 52% of the vote, the second-lowest winning percentage of his career.

In 2010, he defeated Republican former State Supreme Court Justice Spike Maynard with 56% of the vote, his lowest percentage since 1990.

[27] In 2014, Rahall faced a primary challenge from fellow Democrat and retired Army officer Richard Ojeda.

[39] Rahall opposed legislation designed to end mountaintop removal mining, a process often used in West Virginia.

[40] Rahall's policies involving mountaintop removal mining have been criticized as reflected by author and journalist Jeff Biggers in "The Blog" in The Huffington Post, with the link between mountaintop removal mining and flooding, as well as the billions of pounds of explosives used since 2004, being given as examples.

[41] Rahall accepts anthropogenic climate change as real and has stated that to reject the scientific consensus regarding it is "to just put your head in the sand.

"[42] Rahall called the Environmental Protection Agency "callous", attacked Barack Obama's greenhouse gas rule as "disastrous", and filed legislation to block the president's climate agenda, but in the summer of 2013 he attended a ceremony to rename the EPA headquarters and has praised EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy.

[15] Rahall, alongside three other Democrats, supported a GOP bill that would limit EPA authority on CO2 emissions, the Energy Tax Prevention Act.

[citation needed] In 2013, Rahall voted for the Progressive Caucus's budget, which included provisions for a carbon tax.

[5] Queen Noor of Jordan presented Rahall with the first Najeeb Halaby Award for public service.

As for Saudi Arabia, Rahall said that the U.S. "wouldn't dare" attack that country: "The Kingdom has been a key ally for decades.

"[46] Rahall, along with other Lebanese-American lawmakers, expressed concern with a bipartisan resolution supporting Israel in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict without adding language urging restraint against civilian targets.

He helped draft a resolution that urged "all parties to protect innocent life and civilian infrastructure.

"[52] In an interview with Keith Olbermann, Rahall said that Obama had the courage and conviction to win the presidency, and that the then-senator was a true agent for change.

Rahall said "our paths cross professionally, but not across any lines appropriately established by law or House rules.

[58] Rahall was one of seven Democrats and twelve Republicans listed by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington in its annual "Most Corrupt Members of Congress Report" in 2011.

[59][60] Melanie Sloan, CREW's executive director, said: "Rep. Rahall abused his position to help his son and sister in clear violation of the House ethics rules."

[5][65][66] In 2008, Rahall appeared on an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives which featured Hillbilly Hot Dogs of Lesage, West Virginia.

The event was intended to show the importance of the coal industry to both West Virginia and the United States as a whole.