By Message Staff
Former U.S. Rep. John Fleming has been nominated by the Trump Administration to serve as assistant secretary of commerce for economic development.
Fleming, who is a member of First Baptist Church in Minden, has long been a champion of faith-based and conservative values. According to a 2016 Baptist Message article, Fleming submitted or supported bills to: protect health entities that decline to provide, pay for or refer for abortions; defund Planned Parenthood, the largest U.S. abortion provider; prohibit public funds from paying for abortions; and require parental consent as a measure to prevent young girls from being transported across state lines for abortions.
“Whether it’s national defense, right-to-life or the protection of First Amendment rights,” Fleming told the Baptist Message, “it’s my personal faith, my belief in Jesus Christ as my Savior and what I think he wants me to do that guides me in my decision-making.”
Since 2017, Fleming has worked in President Donald Trump’s Department of Health and Human Services. He was Louisiana’s 4th District representative to the U.S. House from 2009 to 2017, and was unsuccessfully in a bid for a seat in the U.S. Senate. He lost in a runoff to U.S. Sen. John Kennedy in 2016.
Kennedy was among those congratulating Fleming on his new role.
“I can think of no better candidate than Dr. Fleming for the role of assistant secretary of commerce for economic development,” Kennedy said in a news release. “John is a skilled physician and an experienced entrepreneur who has done it all. He’s treated patients, built companies, served his country and been elected to Congress. He’s also a great guy.”
