John Fleming is a former United States House of Representatives member from Louisiana. Fleming was elected from Louisiana's 4th District, which includes Shreveport. He is associated with the far-right wing of the Republican party.
After his time in the U.S. House of Representatives, Fleming joined the Trump administration, holding several roles. After Trump's term ended after his re-election loss, Fleming became a private citizen again. But he's looking to make a comeback to the public sector.
Has launched a campaign for lieutenant governor of Louisiana
John Fleming is running to become the next lieutenant governor of Louisiana, report the Longview News-Journal and KTBS. The next Louisiana lieutenant gubernatorial election is slated for 2023.
Republican Billy Nungesser is the current holder of the office. Nungesser has opted to run for governor rather than for another term as lieutenant governor in 2023. Incumbent Democratic Governor John Bel Edwards is term-limited from running for another consecutive time.
Fleming's electoral career began in 1995. That year, he was elected as the coroner of Webster Parish, Louisiana. He ultimately held the position until 2000. In 2008, longtime Republican incumbent Jim McCrery didn't run for re-election to the House from the 4th District.
McCrery was the ranking member of the House Ways and Means Committee at the time. Fleming won the race to succeed him and another three times afterward.
During his time in Congress, Fleming was a member of the House Committees on Armed Services and Natural Resources. As part of the latter, he chaired its Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans, and Insular Affairs Subcommittee.
Was a candidate for the United States Senate
In 2016, Fleming did not run for another House term. Instead, he opted to run for one of Louisiana's seats in the United States Senate. Incumbent Republican and Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee Chairman David Vitter was vacating the seat. In favor of an eventually unsuccessful gubernatorial bid against John Bel Edwards.
As it would turn out, John Fleming finished in fifth place in the Senate election. Ultimately, State Treasurer John Kennedy, also a Republican, emerged victorious.
Fleming joined the United States Department of Health and Human Services the following year. His title was deputy assistant secretary of health technology reform. He was appointed and confirmed to the U.S. Department of Commerce a year after that. In this case, as assistant secretary of commerce for economic development. In 2020, he took on the newly-created post of assistant to the president for planning and implementation.
Is a native of Mississippi
John Fleming was born in Meridian in eastern Mississippi. He would graduate from high school there.
But shortly before that, his father passed away from a heart attack. Fleming eventually graduated from the University of Mississippi and its medical school.
Afterward, he served as an officer in the United States Navy, reaching the rank of lieutenant commander. In 1978, he married his wife, Cindy, with whom he would have four children. After retiring from the Navy, Fleming and his family settled in Minden, Louisiana, where he opened a family medicine practice.
Fleming is a distant cousin of Henry Clay of Kentucky, one of American history's most controversial political figures. While the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, Clay was one of four legitimate contenders in the 1824 Presidential election.
The closely-contested election resulted in something of a logjam, left to be sorted by the House. It would become clear that Clay would not win the Presidency. Historians say he struck a "corrupt bargain" with his fellow candidate and U.S. Secretary of State John Quincy Adams. With Clay's influence, the House made Adams the new president, and Adams appointed Clay as the new secretary of state. Clay also, on several occasions, held a seat in the U.S. Senate.
John Fleming is also noted as a practitioner of karate. He is a third-degree black belt.
