Pending Review
Van Epps issued no press release, floor statement, or public comment explaining or defending his vote on H.R. 7613. A search of his official House website and news coverage found zero statements on the ALERT Act, despite the bill falling within the jurisdiction of two of his three committee assignments (Transportation & Infrastructure and Armed Services).
Date: 2026-04-14
Added: 03 May 2026
Pending Review
The ALERT Act is an aviation safety bill, not a national security bill. It was introduced by Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO), Chair of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, on February 20, 2026, following the NTSB's final investigation of the January 29, 2025 DCA midair collision that killed 67 people. The bill addresses all 50 NTSB safety recommendations and requires ADS-B In equipment on virtually all aircraft by December 31, 2031.
Date: 2026-04-14
Added: 03 May 2026
Pending Review
H.R. 7613 passed the House by a vote of 396–10 under suspension of the rules, with 196 Republican Yeas, 9 Republican Nays, 199 Democratic Yeas, 1 Democratic Nay, and 25 members not voting. The 9 Republican NAY votes included Rep. Ogles (R-TN-05), Van Epps' neighboring Tennessee Republican, creating an intrastate delegation split on the vote.
Date: 2026-04-14
Added: 03 May 2026
Pending Review
Van Epps voted YEA on Roll Call 110 (H.R. 7613, ALERT Act) on April 14, 2026. The House Clerk's official member profile (clerk.house.gov/Members/V000139) records '4/14/2026 | 110 | H. R. 7613 | ALERT Act | Yea | Passed.' This is a primary government record confirming the vote without qualification.
Date: 2026-04-14
Added: 03 May 2026
Pending Review
[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: Race/Ethnicity — Hispanic: 8.2%
Added: 03 May 2026
Pending Review
[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: Race/Ethnicity — Black (Non-Hispanic): 15.3%
Added: 03 May 2026
Pending Review
[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: Race/Ethnicity — White (Non-Hispanic): 69.3%
Added: 03 May 2026
Pending Review
[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: Cook Partisan Voting Index: R+20
Added: 03 May 2026
Pending Review
[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: Foreign-born population: 5.92%
Added: 03 May 2026
Pending Review
[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: Median age: 35.6
Added: 03 May 2026
Pending Review
[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: Poverty rate: 12.5%
Added: 03 May 2026
Pending Review
[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: Bachelor's degree or higher: 29.3%
Added: 03 May 2026
Pending Review
[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: Homeownership rate: 63.5%
Added: 03 May 2026
Pending Review
[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: Population (2024): 791,449
Added: 03 May 2026
Pending Review
[constituency_baseline] Demographic anchor: Median household income: $75,800
Added: 03 May 2026
Pending Review
[constituency_baseline] Ballot measure: Tennessee Constitutional Amendment 1 — Right to Work (2022) (2022) — passed, margin 69.8%-30.2%
Added: 03 May 2026
Pending Review
[constituency_baseline] Dominant industry: NAICS 484110 - General Freight Trucking (share 0.04)
Added: 03 May 2026
Pending Review
[constituency_baseline] Dominant industry: NAICS 722511 - Full-Service Restaurants (share 0.05)
Added: 03 May 2026
Pending Review
[constituency_baseline] Dominant industry: NAICS 622110 - General Medical and Surgical Hospitals (share 0.08)
Added: 03 May 2026
Pending Review
[constituency_baseline] Dominant industry: NAICS 611110 - Elementary and Secondary Schools (share 0.1)
Added: 03 May 2026
Pending Review
[constituency_baseline] Dominant industry: NAICS 928110 - National Security (share 0.22)
Added: 03 May 2026
Pending Review
[constituency_baseline] Top employer: Trane Technologies (Clarksville facility) (1400 employees)
Added: 03 May 2026
Pending Review
[constituency_baseline] Top employer: LG Electronics (Clarksville facility) (900 employees)
Added: 03 May 2026
Pending Review
[constituency_baseline] Top employer: Williamson County Public Schools (5000 employees)
Added: 03 May 2026
Pending Review
[constituency_baseline] Top employer: Montgomery County Public Schools (4500 employees)
Added: 03 May 2026
Pending Review
[constituency_baseline] Top employer: Fort Campbell Army Base (26500 employees)
Added: 03 May 2026
Pending Review
[constituency_baseline] District summary: Tennessee's 7th Congressional District encompasses 14 full counties across Middle and West Tennessee, with urban centers in Clarksville (Montgomery County), Franklin/Brentwood (Williamson County), and Columbia (Maury County), surrounded by extensive rural areas. The district has a population of approximately 791,000 with a median age of 35.6. It is predominantly White (Non-Hispanic) at 69.3%, with a significant Black population at 15.3% and Hispanic population of 8.2%. The district has a Cook Partisan Voting Index of R+20, making it one of Tennessee's most Republican districts, though Donald Trump carried it by 22 points in 2024. Median household income is approximately $75,800, well above the national median. Homeownership is 63.5%, poverty rate is 12.5%, and only 5.92% of residents are foreign-born. The district is car-dependent (74.1% drive alone). Fort Campbell, straddling the Kentucky border, is the largest employer in the region with a direct economic impact of $3.7 billion. Major private-sector employers include LG Electronics, Trane Technologies, and defense contractors supporting the base.
Added: 03 May 2026
Pending Review
Voted yea on H.R. 8029 (Pay Our Homeland Defenders Act) on 2026-03-26: Van Epps voted Yea on final passage of the Pay Our Homeland Defenders Act (Roll no. 104), which passed 218-206 with only 4 Democratic votes. The bill funded DHS operations during the partial shutdown. Van Epps' vote aligned with his House Homeland Security Committee membership and district interests given Fort Campbell's military presence. The tight party-line nature of the vote (213-0-4 Republican, 4-206-4 Democratic) illustrates the partisan pressure on Homeland Security funding.
Date: 2026-03-26
Added: 03 May 2026
Pending Review
Voted yea on H.R. 7147 (Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2026) on 2026-03-27: Van Epps voted Yea on final passage of the DHS appropriations bill (Roll no. 107) to end a weeks-long partial DHS shutdown. The vote aligned with GOP leadership and Trump's immigration enforcement agenda. His district includes Fort Campbell, a major military installation dependent on federal funding, making this a constituent-aligned vote for securing homeland security funding. However, the bill was controversial — House Democrats nearly unanimously opposed the motion to recommit on a 212-217 party-line vote (Roll no. 108), showing deep partisan division over DHS funding terms.
Date: 2026-03-27
Added: 03 May 2026
Pending Review
[statement] During the Republican primary, opponents attacked Van Epps as 'Tennessee's Fauci,' alleging he violated Tennesseans' individual freedoms in his role shaping the state's COVID-19 response. Van Epps served as strategic planner in Tennessee's Unified Command Group (March-May 2020) which issued stay-at-home orders, closed gyms and dine-in services, set masking policies, and defined essential/nonessential workers. He later served as deputy chief operating officer in the governor's office through 2023.
Date: 2025-10-01
Added: 03 May 2026
Pending Review
[platform] Van Epps ran as a pro-freedom, anti-mandate conservative aligned with Trump, with his campaign emphasizing 'Tennessee led the nation in opposing mandates' and 'protecting Tennesseans' personal freedoms' as the Lee administration's COVID-19 legacy.
Date: 2025-11-26
Added: 03 May 2026
Pending Review
[statement] Tennessee veteran Dillon Scott filed a formal complaint alleging Van Epps violated U.S. Department of Defense rules by appearing in his U.S. Army uniform throughout a campaign ad, stating the uniform use 'improperly misleads voters about his military status' and violated regulations barring service members from making political appearances in uniform or engaging in activity 'that could reasonably give rise to the inference or appearance of official sponsorship, approval, or endorsement.'
Date: 2025-10-03
Added: 03 May 2026
Pending Review
[statement] Van Epps' campaign messaging and endorsements emphasized his military combat record, with his campaign logo featuring a silhouetted Chinook combat helicopter and his website featuring photos of him in military uniform. Trump called him a 'MAGA Warrior.' Van Epps stated on the House floor that he was an 'Army Special Operations helicopter pilot with nine combat tours.'
Date: 2025-12-04
Added: 03 May 2026
Pending Review
Van Epps owns Darkhorse Strategies LLC, a consulting firm bridging government and business, founded in 2024. He previously served as Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of General Services (2024-2025) and worked in the Veterans Services and Transportation departments under both Gov. Haslam and Gov. Lee.
Date: 2024-12-31
Added: 03 May 2026
Pending Review
Club for Growth PAC endorsed Van Epps and its affiliated School Freedom Fund ran ads highlighting Trump's endorsement of Van Epps. The School Freedom Fund, bankrolled solely by billionaire Jeff Yass, spent over $500,000 against GOP primary opponent Jody Barrett.
Date: 2025-10-03
Added: 03 May 2026
Pending Review
Out-of-state PACs poured millions into the TN-07 special election. Van Epps received more than $500,000 in outside PAC support, much of it traceable to a PAC funded by the parents of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
Date: 2025-10-02
Added: 03 May 2026
Pending Review
MAGA Inc. reported $684,187 in independent expenditures supporting Van Epps in the 2025 special election, including $401,372 for digital advertising and $21,450 for radio ads placed in November 2025.
Date: 2025-11-19
Added: 03 May 2026
Pending Review
Fox 17 News analysis of FEC data found 91% of Van Epps' $685,381 in individual contributions during the special election came from donors giving more than $200. Van Epps received nearly 6 times the amount of PAC money as his Democratic opponent Behn.
Date: 2025-11-26
Added: 03 May 2026
Pending Review
Van Epps' principal campaign committee (C00908202) raised $1,977,967 in total contributions through March 31, 2026: $1,485,062 from individuals ($1,076,189 itemized, $408,874 unitemized), $7,305 from party committees, and $485,600 from other committee (PAC) contributions. Zero candidate self-financing.
Date: 2026-03-31
Added: 03 May 2026
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