James Comer

James Richardson Comer Jr. ( KOH-mər; born August 19, 1972) is an American politician serving as the U.S. Representative for Kentucky's 1st congressional district. A member of the Republican Party, he has served in Congress since 2016, during the 114th United States Congress. He previously served in the Kentucky House of Representatives and also served as the agriculture commissioner of Kentucky. As the chair of the Oversight Committee from 2023, Comer has declined or stopped investigations into former president Donald Trump, while starting an investigation on President Joe Biden and his family. As of August 2024, Comer's investigation has yet to unearth evidence that Biden was directly involved in or profited from his family's business activities. After Biden ended his 2024 presidential re-election campaign, Comer began an investigation into the new Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, and also began an investigation into the new Democratic vice-presidential nominee, Governor Tim Walz. Comer served as Kentucky's agriculture commissioner from 2012 to 2016 and in the Kentucky House of Representatives from 2000 to 2012. He unsuccessfully sought the Republican nomination for governor of Kentucky in the 2015 election. A year later, he won the Republican nomination for Kentucky's 1st congressional district to succeed Ed Whitfield. On November 8, 2016, Comer won both a full term to the seat for the next Congress and a special election that allowed him to serve the remainder of Whitfield's term. Comer is likely to run for governor in 2027.