Byron Donalds

Byron Lowell Donalds (born October 28, 1978) is an American politician and financial professional serving as the U.S. representative for Florida's 19th congressional district since 2021. His district, which was once represented by former senator Connie Mack III and former CIA Director Porter Goss, serves most of the heart of Southwest Florida, including Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Bonita Springs, Estero, and Naples.

Born and raised in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, Donalds attended Florida A&M University and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in finance and marketing from Florida State University in 2002. Before entering politics, Donalds worked in the finance, insurance, and banking industries. Donalds represented the 80th district in the Florida House of Representatives from 2016 to 2020.

Donalds was elected to Congress in 2020, defeating Democratic nominee Cindy Banyai. In the January 2023 Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives election, Donalds received enough Republican votes to deny Kevin McCarthy the speakership in the fourth through 11th rounds of voting. Donalds was a candidate in the third nomination for the October 2023 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election.

Ideologically positioned on the hard right flank of the Republican Party, he was a member of the Tea Party movement and unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012. In January 2021, Donalds voted to object to the certification of electors from Arizona and Pennsylvania in the 2020 presidential election. Donalds has repeatedly claimed that Joe Biden is not the legitimate president of the United States.