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Rep. Scott DesJarlais

Representative for Tennessee’s 4th District

pronounced skot // DAY-zher-lay

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DesJarlais is the representative for Tennessee’s 4th congressional district (view map) and is a Republican. He has served since Jan 5, 2011. DesJarlais is next up for reelection in 2022 and serves until Jan 3, 2023.

DesJarlais is among the Republican legislators who, by calling for entire states to be disenfranchised in the 2020 presidential election, fomented the terrorist attack on the Capitol on January 6, 2021 that aimed to prevent the determination of the next president of the United States. Shortly after the 2020 election, DesJarlais joined a case before the Supreme Court calling for all the votes for president in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin — states that were narrowly won by Democrats — to be discounted, claiming that some voters there followed procedures set by the wrong state officials. The case amplified lies and conspiracy theories that fueled the movement that led to the attack on the Capitol. The Supreme Court rejected the case. Following the rejection of several cases before the Supreme Court, one legislator called for violence. On January 6, 2021 in the hours after the attack on the Capitol, DesJarlais voted for the exclusion of Arizona and/or Pennsylvania — states narrowly won by Democrats — from the count of Electoral College votes that determined the next President of the United States.
Photo of Rep. Scott DesJarlais [R-TN4]

Analysis

Legislative Metrics

Read our 2020 Report Card for DesJarlais.

Ideology–Leadership Chart

DesJarlais is shown as a purple triangle ▲ in our ideology-leadership chart below. Each dot is a member of the House of Representatives positioned according to our ideology score (left to right) and our leadership score (leaders are toward the top).

The chart is based on the bills DesJarlais has sponsored and cosponsored from Jan 3, 2017 to Jun 17, 2021. See full analysis methodology.

Ratings from Advocacy Organizations

The Club for Growth: 87% United States Chamber of Commerce: 75% The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws: D League of Conservation Voters: 2% Human Rights Campaign: 0% Planned Parenthood Action Fund: 0%

Committee Membership

Scott DesJarlais sits on the following committees:

Bills Sponsored

Issue Areas

DesJarlais sponsors bills primarily in these issue areas:

Armed Forces and National Security (33%) Government Operations and Politics (20%) Health (20%) Public Lands and Natural Resources (13%) Animals (13%)

Recent Bills

Some of DesJarlais’s most recently sponsored bills include...

View All » | View Cosponsors »

Voting Record

Key Votes

DesJarlais voted Nay

Passed 415/14 on Jun 16, 2021.

DesJarlais voted Nay

Passed 327/85 on Dec 21, 2020.
This bill became the vehicle for passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, a major government funding bill, which also included economic stimulus provisions due ...

DesJarlais voted Nay

Passed 338/88 on May 13, 2015.
The USA Freedom Act (H.R. 2048, Pub.L. 114–23) is a U.S. law enacted on June 2, 2015 that restored in modified form several provisions of ...

DesJarlais voted Nay

Passed 219/206 on Dec 11, 2014.
This bill became the vehicle for passage of the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015 [pdf], which was approved by the House on December ...

DesJarlais voted Nay

DesJarlais voted Not Voting

DesJarlais voted No

DesJarlais voted Aye

Passed 304/117 on Jun 23, 2011.
The Leahy–Smith America Invents Act (AIA) is a United States federal statute that was passed by Congress and was signed into law by President Barack ...

Missed Votes

From Jan 2011 to Jun 2021, DesJarlais missed 333 of 6,471 roll call votes, which is 5.1%. This is much worse than the median of 2.0% among the lifetime records of representatives currently serving. The chart below reports missed votes over time.

We don’t track why legislators miss votes, but it’s often due to medical absenses and major life events.

Show the numbers...

Primary Sources

The information on this page is originally sourced from a variety of materials, including: