Ernest Scott Garrett (born July 9, 1959) is an American politician who was the U.S. representative for New Jersey's 5th congressional district, serving from 2003 to 2017.

Garrett chaired the United States House Financial Services Subcommittee on Capital Markets and Government-Sponsored Enterprises.

[1] He lost his reelection bid in 2016 to Democrat Josh Gottheimer, becoming the only incumbent Congressman in New Jersey to be defeated that year.

[3][4] Garrett was subsequently hired into an excepted service position at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Office of General Counsel.

[5] Garrett earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Montclair State College in 1981 and a Juris Doctor from Rutgers School of Law–Camden in 1984.

[6] Born in Bergen County in the town of Englewood, Garrett spent much of his life living in North Jersey.

[7] Of the three major candidates, Garrett was the only one from the more rural western portion of the district, while Russo and Cardinale were both from Bergen County.

In the November 2006 general election, Garrett defeated Paul Aronsohn, a former employee of the U.S. State Department during the Clinton Administration, to win a third term.

[13] Garrett ran for re-election in 2016 as the Republican candidate, besting Michael Cino and Peter Vallorosi in the primary.

[14] In an article published by OpenSecrets, Garrett was revealed to be heavily reliant on the financial sector to fund his campaign.

[20] The bill would also require the federal budget to reflect the net impact of programs administered by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

[27] In 2007, Garrett led nineteen U.S. lawmakers to introduce a bill in the House of Representatives backing United Nations membership for Taiwan.

[30] He voted against making "price gouging" by oil companies a crime,[31] and against the Further Emergency Supplemental Appropriations for Hurricane Katrina Act of 2005.

[36] In July 2007, Garrett proposed an amendment to strike earmarked money in a spending bill for native Alaskan and Hawaiian educational programs.

[37] While Garrett did not ask for an official reprimand, other conservative Republicans took exception to Young's remarks that the funds in question represented his money.

Members of the Republican Study Committee gave Garrett a standing ovation later in the day during the group's weekly meeting.

"[39] Garrett later clarified his remarks, saying that he is opposed to same-sex marriage due to his faith, but that he does not "have malice" toward any group of people.