1. Brian Mast is the son of James Mast and Tixomena Trujillo.
30 Facts About Brian Mast
1. 2.
Brian Mast later joined the 28th Ordnance Company, a special operations explosive ordnance disposal unit that works alongside personnel of the 75th Ranger Regiment.
3.
Brian Mast served in Afghanistan as part of Operation Enduring Freedom.
4.
On September 19,2010, while clearing a path for United States Army Rangers in Kandahar, Brian Mast stepped on an IED along the road.
5.
Brian Mast received the Bronze Star and Purple Heart for his actions.
6.
Brian Mast first considered running for office while recovering from his injuries at Walter Reed Medical Center.
7.
On June 8,2015, Brian Mast announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for US Representative in Florida's 18th congressional district.
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In 2016, Brian Mast was briefly linked with World Patent Marketing, a company the Federal Trade Commission shut down as an invention promotion scam.
9.
Brian Mast claimed no knowledge of being given a position on the board and said he had only a couple encounters with members of the company.
10.
Between March and June 2018, Brian Mast's campaign received thousands of dollars from Soviet-born Igor Fruman, one of two business associates of Rudy Giuliani who later faced charges of violating federal campaign finance laws.
11.
Brian Mast ran for reelection in 2020 against Democratic nominee Pam Keith.
12.
Brian Mast was a member of the Republican Main Street Partnership and the Climate Solutions Caucus.
13.
Business Insider found that Brian Mast violated the STOCK Act a third time when, in October 2022, he reported an exchange of shares in Aphria, Inc for shares of Tilray Brands, Inc more than a year after the federal deadline.
14.
Brian Mast said he would "probably be the only representative in the history of this district to vote against the sugar industry".
15.
Brian Mast accepted over $15,000 in campaign donations from the owners and executives of the sugar company Florida Crystals.
16.
In December 2020, Brian Mast was one of only five House Republicans to vote for the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement Act.
17.
In November 2021, Brian Mast was one of four original cosponsors of the Republican-led States Reform Act to legalize cannabis federally and regulate it similarly to alcohol.
18.
In June 2016, Brian Mast said he supported President Donald Trump "unanimously and wholeheartedly" in the 2016 presidential election.
19.
On December 18,2019, Brian Mast voted against both articles of impeachment against Trump.
20.
However, Brian Mast voted against final passage on December 8,2022.
21.
Brian Mast supports conducting further research on gun violence, which would require a change in federal law.
22.
Brian Mast has partly blamed violent video games and violent movies for school shootings.
23.
Brian Mast is in favor of repealing the Affordable Care Act.
24.
Brian Mast said he would support a Republican proposal to cut US funding to the United Nations.
25.
Brian Mast is "a vocal supporter of Israel and Israelis", reported The Times of Israel during his 2016 campaign.
26.
In January 2015, Brian Mast volunteered with the Israel Defense Forces through Sar-El, working at a base outside Tel Aviv packing medical kits and moving supplies.
27.
On November 1,2023, in arguing for a bill to reduce humanitarian funding to Gaza during the Gaza war, Brian Mast compared Palestinian civilians to the civilians of Nazi Germany during World War II, saying:.
28.
Brian Mast, who sits on the House Veterans Affairs Committee, was the first member of Congress to open an office inside a federal agency.
29.
In October 2017, Brian Mast voted against the original version of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 due to "out of control" federal spending, fear of the national debt growing, and a desire to see lower tax rates with loopholes closed.
30.
Brian Mast was among the 71 Republicans who voted against final passage of the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 in the House.