Steve Knight (politician)

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Stephen Thomas Knight (born December 17, 1966) is an American politician. A Republican, he is the U.S. Representative for California's 25th congressional district. Previously, he represented California's 21st State Senate district from 2012 to 2014 and California's 36th State Assembly district from 2008 through 2012. From 2010 to 2012, he served as Assistant Minority Leader in the California State Assembly. Knight served in the U.S. Army from 1985 to 1993 and served for 18 years with the Los Angeles Police Department. He was previously a member of the Palmdale, California City Council.

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Early life, military service and career

Knight was born at Edwards Air Force Base in Antelope Valley, California, in 1966. After graduating from Palmdale High School, he served in the U.S. Army (1985-87) as a track systems mechanic in Friedberg, Germany. When his tour ended, he served in the Army Reserve, and his total military service spanned from 1985 to 1993. In 2006, Knight received an Associate of Arts degree from Antelope Valley College.

Knight served for 18 years with the Los Angeles Police Department, where he was selected to serve on the Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums (CRASH) team. He served on the Palmdale City Council and represented the north Los Angeles County area in both the California State Assembly and the California State Senate.

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California State Legislature

Knight was elected to the California State Assembly in November 2008, succeeding Sharon Runner. From 2010 to 2012, he was the Assistant Minority Leader of the California State Assembly. In 2012, Knight was elected to the California State Senate, where he represented the 21st District until 2014. His father, the late William J. "Pete" Knight served as Republican state senator in the Antelope Valley.

In the State Assembly, Knight was Vice Chairman of the Natural Resources and Public Safety Committee and served on the Aerospace; Local Government; Utilities and Commerce; and Rules Committees.

While in the California State Legislature, Knight focused his efforts on reducing the tax burden on California families and businesses, and restoring the state's economic vitality during the Great Recession. In September 2014, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill introduced by Knight that aimed to protect California's disabled veterans by fixing an issue with property tax exemptions.

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U.S. House of Representatives

2015-2017

Knight focused his 2014 campaign on jobs and education. The Los Angeles Daily News endorsed Knight in the 2014 primary election. Due to California's blanket primary system, Knight faced fellow Republican Tony Strickland in the November 4, 2014, general election. Knight defeated Strickland with 53% of the vote.

Knight was sworn into office on January 6, 2015, aged 48. In April 2015, Knight had a verbal altercation with a protester. After the protester touched him, Knight threatened him but later apologized.

2017-present

In May 2015, the National Republican Congressional Committee named Knight to its Patriot Program. The program gives added attention by the party to reelection campaigns in districts most likely to switch to Democratic representation in upcoming elections.

In June 2016, analyst David Wasserman moved Knight's district into the "toss-up" category, due to the negative influence of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on down-ticket races and the growth in Democratic voter registration in the 25th Congressional District. In addition to Knight, two Democrats and one other Republican filed to run in the district's top-two primary, which took place on June 7, 2016. Knight and Democrat Bryan Caforio advanced to the general election.

Knight was endorsed by the Los Angeles Daily News. He was also endorsed by Lou Vince, an L.A. police lieutenant and Democrat who finished third (behind Knight and Bryan Caforio) in the 25th district's June 2016 primary.

Knight was re-elected in the general election on November 8, 2016. He defeated Democrat Bryan Caforio with 54% of the vote.

Tenure

Knight has authored a bill that would create a national memorial to mark the site of the St. Francis Dam disaster in the Santa Clarita Valley.

The Aliso Canyon Gas Leak from an underground natural gas storage facility owned by the Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas), a subsidiary of Sempra Energy occurred in Knight's district and became public in October 2015. Knight was criticized by some constituents for his reaction to the leak. He did not visit the Porter Ranch gas leak site until January 8, 2016, saying that he did not want to politicize the problem. Knight declined to co-sign a request for an investigation by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with Representative Brad Sherman of the neighboring Congressional district. He wrote in an op-ed that EPA involvement would "hinder the ongoing process". Knight said in December 2015 that he was confident that SoCalGas was "working on this as diligently as they can."

In February 2016, Knight introduced a bill that would block mining at Soledad Canyon. Knight also introduced legislation intended to increase federal regulation of gas storage facilities and prevent natural gas leaks. Knight's legislation was merged into a bipartisan bill named the Protecting our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety Act of 2016. In April 2016, the bill was passed unanimously by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. In June 2016, Knight's bill was signed into law by President Obama.

Also in February 2016, Knight introduced legislation that would allow the Federal Aviation Administration to continue and expand upon its research, engineering and development programs through 2019.

Knight co-sponsored the Emergency Disaster Aid Package, with Mimi Walters, to fund over $2.6 billion in relief aid to areas impacted by the California wildfires and recent hurricanes.

Knight introduced the Aeronautics Innovation Act of 2017.

In December 2017, Knight voted in favor of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Knight stated that the new bill would "deliver tax relief to all Americans" and denied claims that the upper class would benefit more in the long-term than the middle- and lower-class. He said that the latter will get "a break on their personal taxes" and called the bill a step towards tax reform and a simplified tax code.

Committee assignments

Committee on Armed Services
- Subcommittee on Tactical Air and Land Forces
- Subcommittee on Seapower and Projection Forces
Committee on Science, Space and Technology
- Subcommittee on Energy (Vice Chair)
- Subcommittee on Space
- Subcommittee on Research and Technology
Committee on Small Business
- Subcommittee on Contracting and Workforce
- Subcommittee on Investigations, Oversight and Regulations

Steve Murphy Attorney Simi Valley - Best Attorney 2017

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Caucus memberships

House Aerospace Caucus
Alzheimer's Disease Task Force
Republican Law Enforcement Task Force
21st Century Agency Reform Task Force
Congressional Lupus Caucus
Congressional Military Family Caucus
Congressional Unmanned Systems Caucus
Congressional NASA Caucus
Climate Solutions Caucus

Knight is a member of the Republican Main Street Partnership.

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Political positions

Vote Smart Political Courage Test

Vote Smart, a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States, "researched presidential and congressional candidates' public records to determine candidates' likely responses on certain key issues." According to Vote Smart's 2016 analysis, Knight generally supports pro-life legislation, opposes an income tax increase, supports federal spending as a means of promoting economic growth, supports lowering taxes as a means of promoting economic growth, opposes requiring states to adopt federal education standards, supports the building of the Keystone Pipeline, supports government funding for the development of renewable energy, opposes the federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions, opposes gun-control legislation, supports repealing the Affordable Care Act, supports requiring immigrants who are unlawfully present to return to their country of origin before they are eligible for citizenship, and supports increased American intervention in Iraq and Syria beyond air support.

Drug policy

Knight has a "C" rating from NORML regarding his voting record on cannabis-related matters. Knight has never smoked marijuana. He believes that cannabis should be removed as a Schedule I drug and be reclassified as a Schedule 3 drug, due to its medicinal use. Knight believes legalization should be up to individual states, yet it should remain illegal federally. He voted in favor, in 2016, for allowing veterans access to medical marijuana, if legal in their state, per their Veterans Health Administration doctor's recommendation.

Confederate flag

In 2014, Knight was one of three California legislators who voted against a measure barring the display or sale of Confederate flag images from California state museums and gift shops.

Donald Trump

Knight did not make an endorsement in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, saying that he could not support Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton or Republican nominee Donald Trump. Knight said he was "deeply disturbed" by reports that in 2005 Trump bragged about grabbing and groping women without their consent. In December 2016, Knight revealed that he voted for Trump after all.

In February 2017, he voted against a resolution that would have directed the House to request 10 years of Trump's tax returns, which would then have been reviewed by the House Ways and Means Committee in a closed session.

Economy

In November 2017, Knight voted in favor of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, the house version of the Republican Party's tax reform bill. The House bill removes state and local tax breaks that many Californians use, such as the mortgage interest deduction. Several House Republicans representing Californian districts voted against the legislation because it raised taxes on Californians. Knight said after the vote that he hoped that a reconciliation version of the bill with the Senate would make the bill better: "I don't know if they're going to make it better, but we'll see. There are some things in the Senate bill I like, there are some things in there that I don't like." According to the Los Angeles Times, immediately after the vote, the Senate version of the bill "contains even deeper cuts to state and local tax breaks that are popular with Californians but maintains the mortgage interest deduction at its current level instead of cutting it in half as the House plan does. It also repeals Obamacare's individual mandate, a move that could further complicate the situation for California members who represent districts with a lot of Obamacare enrollees."

Environment

In September 2014, asked on a candidate questionnaire if he believed the scientific consensus on climate change, Knight wrote that California's efforts to curtail global warming were "rash," that California's law the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (AB 32) was "killing California's economy", and that the federal government should not regulate greenhouse gas emissions.

The League of Conservation Voters has given Knight a lifetime score of 0%.

Healthcare

Knight is in favor of repealing the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). He wrote "The Affordable Care Act is a prime example of bad policy" on a September 2014 candidate questionnaire. On May 4, 2017, Knight voted to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and pass the American Health Care Act.

Knight highlighted how he contributed to an amendment to the bill that would provide $8 billion in funding over five years to help insure those with preexisting conditions in so-called "high-risk pools".

Immigration

In May 2016, Knight participated in a public debate with his Democratic challengers. In it he said that immigration reform should focus on those who want to move to the U.S. legally.

Social Security

In a debate with other candidates in May 2016, Knight called Social Security "a bad idea" and warned that the U.S. Social Security system retirement system will run out of money by 2030 if major changes are not implemented.

LGBT rights

He voted against an amendment, which ultimately failed narrowly, that stated that religious corporations, associations and institutions that receive federal contracts can't be discriminated against on the basis of religion. Democrats warn that such a provision could potentially allow discrimination against the LGBT community in the name of religious freedom.

Payday loans

In April 2015, Knight voted to impose a one-year delay on new Department of Defense rules designed to shield military families from abusive terms on payday loans and other forms of expensive short-term credit.