About
Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) was first sworn in to the U.S. House of Representatives on Jan. 3, 2021, representing Montana’s at-large Congressional District. A member of both the far-right House Freedom Caucus and the Republican Study Committee, he won his second term in 2022—now in the 2nd Congressional District—and had Trump’s endorsement.
Prior to being elected to Congress, Rosendale served as the State Auditor from 2017–21, as a member of the Montana Senate from 2013–17, and as a member of the Montana House of Representatives from 2011–13. He began his career in Maryland as a real estate agent.
Rosendale has been implicated in several campaign finance regulation scandals. In January 2022, he faced a campaign finance lawsuit alleging that he illegally coordinated with the National Rifle Association in his failed 2018 campaign to unseat U.S. Sen. Jon Tester (D-Wyo.). During the same election cycle, he was accused of accepting “illegal, unreported and excessive in-kind contributions” from the pro-Trump super PAC America First Action.
Since the 2020 presidential election, Rosendale has been on the forefront of undermining the legitimacy of Biden’s victory. He spread the Big Lie, objected to certifying the Electoral College results, and voted against both impeaching Trump for inciting the mob and establishing a special House committee to investigate the insurrection, among other measures. He was also a leading voice calling for the ouster of Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) from leadership positions in Congress due to her denunciations of Trump’s Big Lie. Moreover, he joined several other congressmen in requesting an emergency audit of the 2020 election results days before the Jan. 6 insurrection.
January 6, 2021
- Just hours after Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, Rosendale joined 146 other congressional Republicans in refusing to certify Biden’s win of the 2020 presidential election.
- Rosendale voted against impeaching Trump for his role in instigating the attack on Congress and the Capitol, and for fanning the flames once the riot broke out. He dismissed the attempt to hold the former president accountable as mere “media stunts drawn from left-wing fever dreams.”
- Rosendale voted against establishing a House committee to investigate the genesis of the mob attack that disrupted the congressional session, echoing Trump in calling it a “partisan witch hunt.”
- Rosendale opposed granting a Congressional Gold Medal to the Capitol Police for their heroism during the insurrection.
The Big Lie
- In justifying his vote against certifying the 2020 Electoral College results, Rosendale said in an official statement: “It is clear that there are widespread, credible allegations of fraud and irregularities in many states, and that these allegations have endangered the American people’s faith in our electoral process.”
- Rosendale actively pushed for the ouster of Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) from her leadership positions for her “distractions” of denouncing Trump for his baseless claims of voter fraud.
Election Audits
- On Jan. 5, 2020, Rosendale called for an “emergency 10-day audit” of the 2020 election results, claiming that it would be “a logical step to help restore faith in the results of this election and one that has historical precedent dating back to 1877.”