Mark Eugene Amodei ( ; born June 12, 1958) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Nevada's 2nd congressional district since 2011. Previously, Amodei served in the Nevada Assembly from 1997 to 1999 and in the Nevada Senate from 1999 to 2011. He is a member of the Republican Party, chairing the Nevada Republican Party from 2010 to 2011.
A moderate Republican and member of the centrist Republican Governance Group, Amodei was first elected to Congress in a 2011 special election.
Since 2019, Amodei has been the dean of Nevada's congressional delegation, as well as its only Republican. On February 6, 2026, Amodei announced he would not seek re-election in 2026.
Early life, education and military service Amodei was born in Carson City, Nevada, on June 12, 1958, the son of Joy LaRhe (née Longero) and Donald Mark Amodei. His father was of half Italian and half Irish descent, and one of his maternal great-grandfathers was Italian. Amodei graduated from Carson High School in 1976, where he was student class president. He graduated from the University of Nevada in 1980 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science, and received his Juris Doctor from the University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law in 1983.
When Amodei entered the U.S. Army, he had not yet passed the bar exam, so he was assigned to an artillery unit. He attended The JAG School at the University of Virginia and entered U.S. Army JAG Corps after passing the bar. He became an Army JAG Corps officer prosecuting criminal matters, an Assistant U.S. Attorney and Assistant Post Judge Advocate. He was awarded the Army Achievement Medal, the Army Commendation Medal and the Meritorious Service Medal. He served with the United States Army Judge Advocate General Corps from 1983 to 1987. He returned home to become an attorney with the law firms Allison MacKenzie in Carson City and Kummer Kaempfer Bonner Renshaw and Ferrario (now Kaempfer Crowell) in Reno. He served as a lawyer with Allison, MacKenzie from 1987 to 2004 and with Kummer from 2004 to 2007.
As a lawyer, Amodei has been a sole practitioner since 2009. He served as president of the Nevada Mining Association from 2007 to 2008.
Nevada legislature
Elections In 1996, Amodei was elected to the Nevada Assembly, representing Carson City. In 1998, he ran for the Nevada Senate in the Capital District. He defeated incumbent Democratic State Senator Ernie Adler, 52%–48%. In 2002, he was reelected to a second term with 84% of the vote. In 2006, he was reelected to a third term with 78% of the vote.
Tenure Amodei was named the Outstanding Freshman Legislator in 1997. He was selected to serve as president pro tempore of the Nevada Senate from 2003 to 2008.
2003 tax increase
In 2003 Amodei and Terry Care co-authored a plan to increase taxes in Nevada by $1 billion. The plan was offered as an alternative to Governor Kenny Guinn's plan, which called for over $1 billion in revenue increases. The final plan raised taxes by $873 million.
Collective bargaining In 2009, Amodei supported a proposal to expand collective bargaining rights for state workers, who he believed were unfairly treated during the budget process.
Gas tax In 2009, Amodei sponsored a bill that would have allowed for a gas tax increase in Washoe County; the plan gained public approval in an advisory vote.
Medical liability reform In 2003, Amodei voted against a tort reform bill that would have changed Nevada's medical liability law. He was the only Republican senator to vote against the bill.
Committee assignments Amodei has served on the Legislative Commission, the Education Commission of the States, the Public Lands Committee, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency Legislative Oversight Committee, as vice chair of the Governor's Task Force on Access to Public Health Care, as chair of the Education Technology Committee, and as a member of the Nevada Supreme Court's committee on court funding.
2010 U.S. Senate election
Amodei ran for the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate against incumbent Democrat Harry Reid, but dropped out before election day.
U.S. House of Representatives Elections 2011
On September 13, 2011, Nevada's 2nd congressional district elected Amodei to replace U.S. Representative Dean Heller. Heller had been appointed to fill John Ensign's seat in the U.S. Senate after Ensign resigned from the position. Amodei announced his bid for the congressional seat in May 2011. The next month, he won the Republican nomination by taking 221 out of 323 ballots. In the primary, he defeated State Senator Greg Brower, who received 56 votes, and U.S. Navy veteran Kirk Lippold, who received 46 votes.
Amodei defeated Democratic nominee Kate Marshall 58%–36%. He won every county in the district.
2012
Amodei ran for a full term against Democrat Samuel Koepnick. He was endorsed by the NRA Political Victory Fund. He did so in a district that had been made slightly more compact than its predecessor in redistricting. It lost almost all of its southern portion to the new 4th district. Even so, it was still the eighth-largest district in the country that did not cover an entire state. Amodei defeated Koepnick 58%–36%.
2014
Amodei ran for reelection to his second full term. He defeated Democrat Kristen Spees, 65.8% to 27.9%.
2016
Amodei ran for reelection to a third full term. He defeated Democrat Chip Evans, 58.3% to 36.9%.
2018
Amodei ran for reelection to a fourth full term. He defeated Democrat Clint Koble, 58.2% to 41.8%.
2020
Amodei ran for reelection to a fifth full term. He defeated Democrat Patricia Ackerman, 56.5% to 40.7%.
2022
Amodei ran for reelection to a sixth full term. His voting record prompted several primary challengers for the Republican nomination, with four candidates running against him. Amodei won the crowded primary with 54.9% of the vote. The Congressional Leadership Fund, the super PAC endorsed by Kevin McCarthy, spent over $200,000 supporting him in the primary.
Amodei went on to defeat Democrat Elizabeth Krause in the general election, 59.7% to 37.8%
2024
Amodei ran for reelection to a seventh full term. He won the Republican primary with 64% of the vote, and went on to win in the general election with 55% of the vote against Independent candidate Greg Kidd.
Tenure Amodei was sworn in on September 15, 2011.
Amodei voted against the bill to end the United States federal government shutdown of 2013. Of the vote, he said, "During two campaigns, I told Nevadans I would give my full attention to such issues as reining in runaway federal spending, debt, and the harmful aspects of the Affordable Care Act. Unlike many in this town, I will not test your memories and hope you have forgotten. I will continue to pursue these necessary goals. Nothing in this legislation changes the real threats to our country's economy."
Amodei received a 0% rating from Planned Parenthood's 2014 Congressional Scorecard for supporting a nationwide abortion ban after 20 weeks and banning abortion access in the District of Columbia and through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
A moderate Republican and member of the centrist Republican Governance Group, Amodei was the first House Republican to support a formal impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump in his first impeachment on September 27, 2019. National news media began to refer to Amodei as the first House Republican to support impeachment. A spokesman then further clarified his position by stating Amodei supported an inquiry but not impeachment.
Government spending In June 2025, Amodei was one of 4 House Republicans to vote against a $9.4 billion rescissions package backed by the Trump administration and the Department of Government Efficiency.
Immigration Amodei voted for the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020, which authorized DHS to nearly double the available H-2B visas for the remainder of FY 2020.
Amodei voted for the Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 1158), which effectively prohibits ICE from cooperating with Health and Human Services to detain or remove illegal alien sponsors of unaccompanied alien children (UACs).
Amodei supports Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA).
In 2024, as chair of the Homeland Security subcommittee in the Appropriations Committee, Amodei cast doubt on the logistics of mass deportations for the incoming Trump administration, and suggested that long-settled illegal immigrants should be treated with leniency.
Israel-Palestine Amodei voted to provide Israel with financial support following October 7 attacks.
LGBT rights In 2021, Amodei was one of 18 House Republicans to sponsor the Fairness for All Act, the Republican alternative to the Equality Act. The bill's stated goal is to prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity, and simultaneously protect the free exercise of religion.
In December 2022, Amodei voted against the Respect for Marriage Act, which codified federal recognition of same-sex and interracial marriages. He stated that his opposition was based on the belief that Nevada voters had already approved same-sex marriage through a 2020 referendum, and that federal legislation on an issue traditionally governed by states was unnecessary. He also referred to the bill as a “messaging bill” that lacked proper hearings and consideration.
In April 2023, Amodei voted in favor of the Protect Women and Girls in Sports Act, a bill that would prohibit transgender women and girls from participating in school sports programs designated for females. The bill passed the House of Representatives on a party-line vote but did not advance in the Senate.
Legislation On July 25, 2014, Amodei introduced the Northern Nevada Land Conservation and Economic Development Act (H.R. 5205; 113th Congress), a bill that would require the Bureau of Land Management to convey certain federal lands in Nevada to other government entities. The bill is a package of numerous other bills related to land conveyance in Nevada, which make up the bulk of Amodei's legislation.
Controversies and criticism
2014 ethics complaint over campaign material In October 2014, Amodei’s Democratic challenger Kristen Spees filed a complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics, alleging that his campaign improperly used official congressional web domains to promote campaign material—raising concerns about the separation of government resources from partisan activity. The complaint did not result in any formal sanctions.
Public land transfers In 2015, the Republican-controlled Nevada Legislature passed a resolution urging Congress to transfer millions of acres of federally managed land to state control. Following this, in 2016, Amodei introduced the Honor the Nevada Enabling Act of 1864, which proposed transferring large amounts of federal public land back to Nevada. However, after public backlash from recreationists, hunters, and other local stakeholders during town halls across the state, Amodei withdrew the legislation in 2017.
Handling of student phone call In March 2018, Amodei defended his office's decision to contact Robert McQueen High School after a student, Noah Christiansen, called the congressman’s office and used profane language while urging support for gun control legislation. During the call, Christiansen criticized lawmakers for inaction on gun violence, reportedly telling staff to “get off their f---ing asses” and support raising the minimum age to purchase a gun and banning bump stock devices. After the school was contacted by Amodei’s office, Christiansen was briefly suspended, prompting criticism from the ACLU of Nevada, which accused the congressman’s office of retaliation and infringing on the student’s free speech rights.
Support for Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene