Theodore Scott Yoho (/ˈjoʊhoʊ/ YOH-hoh; born April 13, 1955) is an American politician, veterinarian, and businessman, who served as the U.S. representative from Florida's 3rd congressional district from 2013 until 2021.
Before being elected to Congress, Yoho had been a veterinarian and small business owner in North Central Florida for 30 years.
[5] At age 11, he moved with his family to Florida, where he attended school with his future wife, Carolyn, in the 4th grade.
In the Republican primary, he defeated longtime incumbent Cliff Stearns, first elected in 1988; State Senator Steve Oelrich; and James Jett, the Clay County clerk of court—34%–33%–19%–14%.
[14] According to the CBO, there would still be a deficit even if all discretionary spending (all Federal programs except pensions, Medicare and Social Security) were stopped.
[15] Yoho advocates reducing spending and taxes, though has not yet introduced a plan that will lead to a balanced budget.
Rush painted Yoho as a "liberal" and appealed to voters' conservatism to try to win the Republican nomination.
[18] In 2015, Yoho mounted a campaign to challenge John Boehner for the Speakership of the US House of Representatives in an attempt to get the conference to the second ballot.
[19] He and his Democratic colleague John Conyers offered bipartisan amendments to block the U.S. military training of Ukraine's Azov Battalion of the Ukrainian National Guard.
[24] In July 2020, Yoho accosted Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez over her public comments that an increase of crime in New York City was due to the high rise in poverty.
[30][31] On July 25, 2020, Bread for the World, a Christian non-profit organization, announced Yoho would no longer serve on its board, noting that Yoho's "recent actions and words as reported in the media are not reflective of the ethical standards expected of members of our Board of Directors".
[33] One of the bills introduced during his first term, the Preventing Executive Overreach on Immigration Act of 2014, was passed by the House, but never voted on by the Senate.
On June 9, 2016, Yoho voted Nay on the Puerto Rico Oversight, Management, and Economic Stability Act (PROMESA, H.R.
[44] In 2015 and 2016, Yoho accepted US$1,000 in direct campaign contributions from the National Rifle Association's Political Victory Fund;[46] from 2012 to 2018, his total is US$4,000 from NRA sources.
[50] Yoho urged the Trump administration to impose sanctions against Chinese officials who are responsible for human rights abuses against the Uyghur Muslim minority in China's northwestern Xinjiang region.
In March 2019, Yoho and other lawmakers wrote a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo that read in part, "This issue is bigger than just China.
He believes the bill will "simplify the tax code" and "lighten the burden on all Americans (including middle-class families)".
[57][58] In December 2020, Yoho was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives who signed an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, an unsuccessful lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which Joe Biden prevailed[59] over incumbent Donald Trump.