Congressman Dan Crenshaw represents the 2^nd Congressional District of Texas. In Congress, Dan serves as Chairman of the Cartel Task Force on the House Intelligence Committee, tasked by Speaker Johnson to find legislative solutions that will help the Trump Administration to once and for all destroy the Mexican drug cartels. He also serves on the most powerful committee in Congress – the Energy and Commerce Committee. On this committee, Dan serves on the Subcommittee on Health, as well as the Subcommittee on Environment, Manufacturing, & Critical Materials, and the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.

Dan is a proud 6^th generation Texan whose parents met when they attended Texas A&M. His father’s career in the oil and gas industry moved his family all over the world, including Colombia, where Dan attended high school. At the age of 12, his mother passed away after a years-long battle with breast cancer. Soon after, his father gave him a book by the legendary Navy SEAL Dick Marcinko. After reading the book, Dan realized he wanted to become a SEAL. He spent the rest of his childhood preparing himself to join the most elite fighting force in history.

In 2006, Dan graduated from Tufts University, where he earned his Naval officer commission through Navy ROTC. Following graduation, he immediately reported to SEAL training in Coronado, CA, where he met his future wife, Tara. After graduating SEAL training, Dan deployed to Fallujah, Iraq to join SEAL Team Three, his first of five deployments overseas.

On Dan’s third deployment in 2012, his life changed forever. After six months of combat operations, he was hit by an IED blast during a mission in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was evacuated and awoke from his medically induced coma learning that his right eye had been destroyed in the blast and his left eye was badly damaged. Dan was completely blind and the doctors did not believe he would ever see again. Tara stood by him every day and night, keeping faith and praying he would see again. After several difficult surgeries and months of fighting a tough diagnosis, Dan eventually regained sight in his left eye, a miracle according to the head surgeon. Dan refused to quit and went on to deploy twice more, first back to the Middle East in 2014 and then South Korea in 2016.

Dan was medically retired in September of 2016 as a Lieutenant Commander after serving ten years in the SEAL Teams. He left service with two Bronze Stars (one with Valor), the Purple Heart, and the Navy Commendation Medal with Valor, among others. Soon after, Dan completed his Master’s in Public Administration at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

Dan returned to Houston, where his community was hit by Hurricane Harvey. The storm brought devastation the region had never seen. He spent his time volunteering, helping his neighbors recover from the damage. He saw first-hand the unthinkable losses that Texas suffered, but he also saw Texan grit and resilience. This inspired him to do more for his community.  Dan and Tara decided that the best way to serve the people of Texas would be in elected office.

Congressman Ted Poe had just announced retirement, leaving an open seat in the 2^nd Congressional District, where Dan’s family lived. He ran a longshot campaign, in a field of nine candidates for the Republican Primary, some of whom had millions of dollars in their war chests. Despite having almost no funds and barely three months to campaign, word in the district quickly spread about him through appearances at candidate forums and the grassroots volunteers who worked day and night to share his message of common-sense conservatism.

Dan won second place in the primary election, and an overwhelming victory in the runoff election a few months later. The weekend before the general election, a comedian on Saturday Night Live insulted his war injury. His appearance on the program the following weekend made him into a household name. Dan would go on to use this fame to fundraise for Republican candidates across the country, host youth summits that brought thousands of teenagers to learn from conservative thought leaders, and promote the conservative movement to millions of his followers on social media.

Dan believes in service before self and understands that there is no higher calling than service to the American people. Although he can no longer fight on the battlefield, the integrity, leadership, vision, and tenacity he learned in the SEAL teams are present every day in his fight for common-sense solutions in Congress.