Joe Courtney
Democrat Representative of Connecticut's 2nd district
Representative
Connecticut, district 2
January 4, 2007 - January 3, 2009
Representative
Connecticut, district 2
January 6, 2009 - January 3, 2011
Representative
Connecticut, district 2
January 5, 2011 - January 3, 2013
Representative
Connecticut, district 2
January 3, 2013 - January 3, 2015
Representative
Connecticut, district 2
January 6, 2015 - January 3, 2017
Representative
Connecticut, district 2
January 3, 2017 - January 3, 2019
Representative
Connecticut, district 2
January 3, 2019 - January 3, 2021
Representative
Connecticut, district 2
January 3, 2021 - January 3, 2023
Representative
Connecticut, district 2
January 3, 2023 - January 3, 2025
9
Congresses Served
9
House Terms
April 6, 1953 (71 years old)
Birthday
- Has been serving as a U.S. representative since 2007
- Previously served as a Connecticut state representative from 1987 to 1995
- Served as Vernon town attorney from 2003 to 2006
- Grew up in suburban Hartford and graduated from Tufts University in 1975
- Earned a J.D. degree from the University of Connecticut School of Law in 1978
- Worked as a public defender for three years before becoming a partner in a law firm
- Made an unsuccessful bid for lieutenant governor in 1998 and for Congress in 2002
- Won a very close congressional race in 2006 by a margin of 91 votes after a recount
- Has been reelected multiple times, with significant victories in subsequent elections
- Criticized for holding a teleconference instead of an in-person town hall in 2009
- Branded himself as bipartisan and has supported compromise in government
- Criticized the film Lincoln for inaccuracies regarding Connecticut’s vote on the 13th Amendment
- Warned constituents about IRS scam calls in 2015
- Invited a Muslim leader as his guest to the State of the Union address in 2016 to counteract perceived Republican hostility towards Muslims
- Voted with President Joe Biden’s stated position 100% of the time as of 2022
- Opposed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, calling it a gift for corporations and the wealthy
- Participated in a sit-in for stricter gun-control legislation in 2016
- Was a leading voice against the “Cadillac tax” on high-dollar health plans
- Called U.S. policy in Iraq “two-headed” in 2008 and supported Obama’s Iran deal in 2015
- Voted to provide Israel with support following a 2023 attack
- Known for securing funding for submarine bases in his district, earning the nickname “Two-Sub Joe”
- Protested Trump’s travel ban in 2017 and voted against removing U.S. troops from Syria in 2023
- Holds committee assignments on the Armed Services and Education and the Workforce committees
- Member of several caucuses, including the Congressional Arts Caucus and the Blue Collar Caucus