U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton questions senior military leaders during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, March 7, 2017. U.S. Air Force Gen. Selva, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testified alongside U.S. Air Force Gen. John E. Hyten, commander of U.S. Strategic Command; U.S. Navy Adm. Bill Moran, Vice Chief of Naval Operations; and U.S. Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Stephen Wilson. They spoke about the continuing relevance of U.S. nuclear forces for our national security and the steps the Joint Force is taking to modernize and replace them. He also stated that U.S. weapons, delivery systems, the infrastructure that supports them, and the personnel who operate, monitor, and maintain them are prepared today to respond to any contingency. (DoD Photo by U.S. Army Sgt. James K. McCann)
By Vivienne Machi |
@VivienneMachi
5 years ago |
04/22/2019

Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), a Marine Corps combat veteran and House Armed Services Committee (HASC) member, announced April 22 that he is running for president in 2020.

Moulton, 40, served four tours in Iraq between 2003 and 2008 after graduating in 2002 from the Officer Candidate School in Quantico, Virginia. After serving his fourth tour as a special liaison with tribal leaders in southern Iraq at the request of then-Central Command Commander Army Gen. David Petraeus, he was discharged from the Marine Corps in 2008 at the rank of captain.

U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton questions senior military leaders during a House Armed Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, March 7, 2017. U.S. Air Force Gen. Selva, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testified alongside U.S. Air Force Gen. John E. Hyten, commander of U.S. Strategic Command; U.S. Navy Adm. Bill Moran, Vice Chief of Naval Operations; and U.S. Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Stephen Wilson. They spoke about the continuing relevance of U.S. nuclear forces for our national security and the steps the Joint Force is taking to modernize and replace them. He also stated that U.S. weapons, delivery systems, the infrastructure that supports them, and the personnel who operate, monitor, and maintain them are prepared today to respond to any contingency. (DoD Photo by U.S. Army Sgt. James K. McCann)

A Massachusetts native, Moulton first entered the House of Representatives in 2015. He currently serves on the HASC subcommittees for seapower and projection forces and strategic forces. He also serves on the House Budget Committee.

With his announcement, Moulton becomes the 20th Democrat to announce either an exploratory committee or candidacy to run for president in 2020. As of Monday, he has raised over $253,000 for his 2020 campaign, according to the nonprofit Center for Responsive Politics.

He received over $53,000 from defense aeronautics firms and nearly $36,000 from defense electronics companies for the 2018 midterm elections. Companies including Northrop Grumman [NOC], Boeing [BA] and Raytheon [RTN] each donated over $10,000 to his re-election campaign. Defense companies have donated nearly $194,000 to Moulton over the course of his career in the House, over $177,000 of which came from Political Action Committees.

After the 2018 midterm elections saw leadership of the House of Representatives swing back to the Democrats, Moulton briefly led a small group within the party that sought to block a vote to make Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) Speaker of the House in the 116th Congress and demanded new leadership. He agreed to support Pelosi only after she agreed to a four-year term limit in December 2018.

Moulton joins three other Armed Services Committee members vying for the 2020 Democratic nomination. Senate Armed Service Committee members running include Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), who serves as ranking member of the SASC Personnel Subcommittee and also sits on the cybersecurity subcommittee, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who sits on the airland, personnel and strategic forces subcommittees.

Moulton’s HASC colleague Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii), a member of the Army National Guard, is also running for president as is Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio), a member of the House Appropriations Committee defense panel.