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Lloyd Theodore Poe (born September 10, 1948) is an American politician who represented Texas's 2nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 2005 to 2019. Poe was the first Republican to represent the 2nd district.
In November 2017, Poe announced that he would retire from Congress, and not seek re-election in 2018. He was succeeded by Dan Crenshaw.
Poe made border security a centerpiece of his re-election strategy, calling for "more National Guardsmen on the border front".
In November 2006, Poe won a second term with 65.6% of the vote, defeating Democrat Gary Binderim, who took 32.7%.Spencer Gaffney, Texas delegation in depth: Ted Poe, Houston Chronicle (July 2010).
In November 2008 and 2010, Poe did not face a Democratic challenger in the general election. In 2008, he defeated Libertarian Craig Wolfe, taking 88.9% of the vote to Wolfe's 11.1%. In 2010, he defeated Libertarian David Smith with 88.6 percent of the vote to Smith's 11.4 percent.
Poe's district was made significantly more compact in the 2010s round of redistricting. It was cut back to an exclusively Harris County-based district, wheeling from Humble through northern and western Houston to just outside downtown. This district was slightly less Republican than its predecessor, and Poe was elected three more times from this district with over 60 percent of the vote.
Poe announced on November 7, 2017, that he would not seek re-election in 2018.
In addition to Poe's committee assignments, he is the founder and co-chair of the Congressional Victim's Rights Caucus. Since 2012, he has been the head of the Congressional Caucus. He is also a member of the Republican Study Committee, the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus, the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus, the Tea Party Caucus, the House Baltic Caucus and the United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus.
On May 4, 2017, he voted to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and pass the American Health Care Act.
Poe co-sponsored, along with fellow Republican Representative Steve King, the "Deport Foreign Convicted Criminals Act of 2011" (), which would require the U.S. government to deny certain visas to citizens of nations that refuse to accept convicted foreign nationals that the U.S. is seeking to deport. If passed, the law would mandate visa denials to nationals of 153 nations worldwide. Poe's bill was opposed by the American Immigration Lawyers Association, which noted that the bill would block visas issued to citizens of American allies, including Israel, United Kingdom, and Canada. The bill was also criticized by Democratic Representative Jerrold Nadler of New York, who called it "the most stupid bill I've ever seen" and stated it would wipe out the U.S. tourism industry.Reid Pillifant, Jerry Nadler on the stupidest bill he's ever seen, Politico (November 23, 2011).
As a state judge, in November 2002, Poe ruled that he would permit the PBS documentary show Frontline to videotape jury deliberations of a capital murder case. "Inviting TV Into Jury Room in a Capital Case", Adam Liptak, November 26, 2002, The New York Times There was considerable concern that this would affect the result of the trial, possibly by skewing the composition of the jury, and the decision was appealed by Harris County prosecutors. "The 13th Juror" (editorial), November 27, 2002, The New York Times "Texas Court to Rule on Videotaping of Jury", Adam Liptak, January 16, 2003, The New York Times The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the state's highest criminal appellate court, ruled against Poe's decision and prohibited the videotaping. "Bid to Tape Deliberations By Texas Jury Is Rejected", Adam Liptak, February 13, 2003, The New York Times
On June 7, 2009, Poe signed on as a co-sponsor of H.R. 1503, the bill introduced as a reaction to conspiracy theories which claimed that U.S. president Barack Obama is not a natural born U.S. citizen. On July 23, 2009, he appeared on CNN's Lou Dobbs Tonight in which he claimed that Certifications of Live Birth issued by Hawaii State Department of Health cannot be used to obtain a U.S. passport, which is untrue. His support of H.R. 1503 and public advocacy for it earned him a negative editorial in the Houston Chronicle.
In August 2011, AlterNet reported that Poe, along with John Culberson and Michael McCaul, was attempting to remove the right of deceased soldiers' families to choose which prayers, if any, were to be read at a soldier's funeral. The three politicians were said to be attempting to impose Christian ceremonies on the military funerals of everybody who has served in the military, regardless of whether or not the deceased was Christian and with or without the consent of the family of the deceased. The three politicians stated their demands were a response to Veterans Affairs (VA) banning Christian prayers at military funerals. The VA, however, asserted that this claim was "blatantly false" and that VA respects a family's "rights to pray however they choose at our national cemeteries".
In 2017, his bill to have Congress monitor religious reform and interpretation in Saudi Arabia aroused international concerns that the United States was behind societal upheavals in that country.
Poe announced on July 13, 2016, that he had recently been diagnosed with leukemia and would be seeking treatment at University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
In 2011, Poe gave a speech on the house floor concerning excessive spending by the Justice Department on refreshments served at conferences at the Capitol Hilton. He expressed significant disapproval that muffins apparently costing $16 each were served at the conferences. The speech was made notable by his humorous opening line, "Madame Speaker, do you know the muffin man?" The speech was further popularized by his inclusion in a Songify the News video by the Gregory Brothers in which he is autotuned, appearing to sing a song about the muffin man.
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Personal life
Poe and his wife, Carol, have four children (Kim, Kara, Kurt, and Kellee).
In popular culture
Poe was interviewed about his controversial creative sentencing practices while still a Texas district judge by Jon Ronson for Ronson's 2015 book, So You've Been Publicly Shamed.
External links
Categories: 1948 Births, Abilene Christian University Alumni, Activists From Texas, American Members Of The Churches Of Christ, Living People, People From Humble, Texas, People From Temple, Texas, Tea Party Movement Activists, Texas State Court Judges, United States Air Force Non-commissioned Officers, United States Air Force Reservists, University Of Houston Faculty, University Of Houston Law Center Alumni
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