Rob Bishop

He joined Thomas Wright's ticket as a candidate for lieutenant governor in the 2020 Utah gubernatorial election.

On December 18, 2019, Bishop voted against both articles of impeachment against Trump. Of the 195 Republicans who voted, all voted against both impeachment articles.

In March 2019, Bishop said that "the ideas behind the Green New Deal are tantamount to genocide". Asked to elaborate how this was similar to genocide, Bishop answered, "I’m an ethnic. I’m a westerner." Asked whether he believed that the Green New Deal would kill him, Bishop said, "If you actually implement everything they want to. Killing would be positive if you implement everything the Green New Deal actually wants to. That’s why the Green New Deal is not ready for prime time."

Bishop announced in July 2019 that he would not seek reelection to the House in 2020. He mentioned the same year that he was considering running for governor, but considered himself a "horrible" candidate.

In the 2016 election cycle, 92.6% of contributions to Bishop's political campaign came from outside Utah, the highest out-of-state percentage of any member of the House, with much of the contributions coming from the energy and agribusiness sectors, according to an analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics.

On April 10, 2013, Bishop introduced the Ensuring Public Involvement in the Creation of National Monuments Act. The bill would amend the Antiquities Act of 1906 to subject national monument declarations by the President to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). At present, the President of the United States can unilaterally designate areas of federally-owned land as a national monument, whereas national parks and other areas are required to be enacted into law by the United States Congress. Bishop argued that "the American people deserve the opportunity to participate in land-use decisions regardless of whether they are made in Congress or by the President". He claims his new bill would ensure "that new national monuments are created openly with consideration of public input".

Well known for his three-piece suits, Bishop was named the third-best-dressed congressmen in 2012 according to the Washingtonian.

In February 2011, Bishop introduced a budget amendment that would have defunded the National Landscape Conservation System, which manages 27 million acres of Bureau of Land Management land, including the National Monument, National Conservation Area, National Wilderness Preservation, National Wild and Scenic Rivers, National Scenic Trail, National Historic Trail systems and other systems. After coming under fire for introducing this amendment, Bishop withdrew it.

In 2010 Bishop introduced to the House an amendment to the United States Constitution, known as the "repeal amendment," which would allow a majority vote of the states to overturn any act of the United States Congress.

In 2002, Bishop returned to politics when he ran for the Republican nomination in the 1st District. 22-year incumbent Jim Hansen had recently announced his retirement. At the state Republican convention, he finished first in the seven-candidate field and went on to face State Representative Kevin Garn in a primary. He defeated Garn in that primary with 59.8 percent of the vote, all but assuring him of being the next congressman from this heavily Republican district. As expected, he won the general election with 61% of the vote. He has won re-election in 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010, and 2012 with even larger margins. In 2014, he was reelected with 64% of the vote.

In 1997, he was elected chairman of the Utah Republican Party, and served for two terms in this position. He has also worked as a legislative lobbyist in Washington.

Bishop was a member of the Utah House of Representatives from 1978 to 1994. He was House Majority Leader and later served as Speaker of the House from 1992 until 1994.

Bishop supports repeal of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, saying it has been "hijacked" to control land and block economic development, and that he "would love to invalidate" the law. Bishop is among those most critical of the Antiquities Act. Bishop opposed the designation of the Bears Ears National Monument and supports repealing or shrinking the designation. Bishop supports transferring federal public lands to the states.

Bishop was born in Kaysville, Utah and graduated from Davis High School. He served as a Mormon missionary in Germany from 1970 until 1972. Bishop received a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Utah in Salt Lake City in 1974. He taught civics classes at Brigham City's Box Elder High School from 1974 to 1980; he next taught German in Ogden, Utah at Ben Lomond High School; then he returned to teaching government and history classes at Box Elder High School until his retirement from teaching in 2002. While a teacher at Box Elder, Bishop partnered with the Close Up Foundation to help students participate in Close Up's Washington, D.C. based civic education programs. He remains actively involved in the program and works to ensure that Utah students have the opportunity to visit Washington, D.C.

Robert William Bishop (born July 13, 1951) is an American politician currently serving as the U.S. Representative for Utah's 1st congressional district . He is a member of the Republican Party. Bishop has been a member of Congress since 2003 and is the current dean of Utah's congressional delegation. Prior to his congressional tenure, Bishop was a member of the Utah House of Representatives.