James Comer (politician)

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James Comer
Official portrait, 2020
Chair of the House Oversight Committee
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2023
Preceded by	Carolyn Maloney
Ranking Member of the House Oversight Committee
In office June 29, 2020 – January 3, 2023
Preceded by	Jim Jordan
Succeeded by	Jamie Raskin
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Kentucky's 1st district
Incumbent
Assumed office November 8, 2016
Preceded by	Ed Whitfield
Agriculture Commissioner of Kentucky
In office January 2, 2012 – January 4, 2016
Governor	Steve Beshear Matt Bevin
Preceded by	Richie Farmer
Succeeded by	Ryan Quarles
Member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from the 53rd district
In office January 1, 2001 – January 2, 2012
Preceded by	Billy Polston
Succeeded by	Bart Rowland
Personal details
Born	James Richardson Comer Jr. (1972-08-19) August 19, 1972 (age 52) Carthage, Tennessee, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Tamara Jo Comer ​ (m. 2003)​
Children	3
Education	Western Kentucky University (BS)
Website	House website
James Comer's voice James Comer on the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 Recorded May 9, 2018

James Richardson Comer Jr.^[1] (/ˈkoʊmər/ KOH-mər; born August 19, 1972) is an American politician from the Commonwealth of Kentucky who represents the state's 1st congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. A member of the Republican Party, he has served in the Congress of the United States of America since 2016, during the 114th United States Congress. He previously served in the Kentucky House of Representatives and also served as the Agriculture Commissioner of Kentucky.

As the chair of the Oversight Committee from 2023, Comer has declined or stopped investigations into former President Donald Trump, while starting an investigation on President Joe Biden and his family. As of August 2024, Comer's investigation has yet to unearth evidence that Joe Biden was directly involved or profited from his family's business activities.^[2] After Joe Biden ended his 2024 presidential re-election campaign, Comer began an investigation into the new Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, and also began an investigation into the new Democratic vice-presidential nominee, Governor Tim Walz.

Comer served as Kentucky's agriculture commissioner from 2012 to 2016 and in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 2000 to 2012. He unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for governor of Kentucky in the 2015 election. A year later, he won the Republican nomination for Kentucky's 1st congressional district to succeed Ed Whitfield. On November 8, 2016, Comer won both a full term to the seat for the next Congress and a special election that allowed him to serve the remainder of Whitfield's term.