Kenny Ewell Marchant (born February 23, 1951) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for , from 2005 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he represented several areas around Dallas and Fort Worth. On August 5, 2019, Marchant announced that he would not seek re-election to Congress in 2020. He was succeeded by fellow Republican Beth Van Duyne. Early life, education and career Marchant was born in Bonham, Texas, but grew up in Carrollton, a Dallas suburb. He graduated from R.L. Turner High School in Carrollton and attended college at Southern Nazarene University (SNU) in Bethany, Oklahoma, at which he graduated with a Business Administration degree. He worked as a real estate developer and he owned a homebuilding company prior to entering politics. Marchant served on the Carrollton City Council from 1980 to 1984, and was mayor of Carrollton from 1984 to 1986, both nonpartisan positions. Texas House of Representatives He was a member of the Texas House of Representatives from 1987 to 2004. During three of his nine terms in the Texas House, Marchant served as chairman of the Committee on Financial Institutions. He pushed for legislation that reorganized the Texas Banking Code. In 2002, he was chosen as Chairman of the Texas House Republican Caucus. In 2004, he was named a Top Ten Legislator by Texas Monthly and Legislator of the Year by the Texas Municipal League. U.S. House of Representatives Committee assignments Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight Subcommittee on Select Revenue Measures Committee on Ethics (Ranking Member) Marchant was also a member of the Republican Study Committee, the Tea Party Caucus and the U.S.-Japan Caucus. In the 110th Congress, Marchant served on the United States House Committee on Financial Services, Committee on Education and Labor, and Oversight and Government Reform Committee. Political positions Marchant worked closely with Bush when he was governor of Texas, and bills himself as a staunch conservative. However, he has occasionally broken ranks with the GOP, as he did to increase the minimum wage. He has said that his top priority on Capitol Hill will be cutting the federal deficit with fiscal conservative policies. In 2017, he voted for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Marchant expressed opposition to the proposed "Green New Deal" resolution in 2019, alleging that it would cost up to $93 trillion without having any effect on the global climate. Marchant