Mark Meadows is a former polarizing member of the United States House of Representatives, which he followed with a stint as White House chief of staff during a particularly tumultuous period in history.
A Republican, Meadows held a seat in the House of Representatives from the 11th District of North Carolina. The district is based in the state's west and is now represented by Madison Cawthorn. Who may be even more controversial than Meadows had been during his tenure in the job. Now, he seems to have found himself in the midst of another mess.
Accused of voter fraud
Meadows has been removed from the North Carolina voter roll by state authorities, reports Axios. This comes following revelations that Meadows was apparently registered to vote in two different states. In addition to North Carolina, he was evidently registered in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
The last record of Meadows heading to the polls indicates that it was, in fact, in Virginia. More specifically, in 2021, apparently during the commonwealth's gubernatorial election cycle.
Meadows' supposed North Carolina residency in Macon County had been viewed with skepticism in the past. His voter registration in the state claimed he lived in a mobile home that he did not own. According to The Charlotte Observer, there is "little evidence" that Meadows has ever visited the mobile home in question.
Somebody with Meadows' resume becoming embroiled in a voter fraud scandal would already be notable. But in his case, there's added irony to the situation. Meadows was a major proponent of unfounded voter fraud claims.
He's one of several administration officials under former President Donald Trump to make such claims. In particular, in the 2020 United States presidential election, Trump was defeated.
The baseless yet persistent claims have continued to be a point of division among Americans. And at least in large part contributed to the 2021 riot at the United States Capitol Building. Later on, Meadows would become the first former member of Congress held in criminal contempt by the legislative body. Due to his refusal to cooperate with a subpoena issued by the House Committee tasked with investigating the riot.
Had led a controversial House caucus
Mark Meadows was born in France, where his father was serving in the United States Army. He was raised in Brandon, Florida, in the Tampa region. After attending Florida State University, he would graduate from the University of South Florida.
Meadows was first elected to the U.S. House in 2012. The incumbent for the 11th District, moderate Democrat Heath Shuler, was not running for re-election. Quickly, Meadows became the face of the far-right wing of the Republican party as well as a foil of then-House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, eventually becoming the chairman of the hard-right Freedom Caucus.
In addition, Meadows was briefly the ranking member of the U.S.
House Oversight Committee. He'd previously chaired its Subcommittee on Government Operations.
Reputed for being a close ally of Donald Trump, he became his new chief of staff in 2020. In addition to debunked voter fraud theories, other controversies during Meadows' White House tenure include ones involving COVID-19. Such as accusations of trying to cover up and lowball early confirmed cases numbers. Even his own case, when he contracted the disease in 2020.
