Francis Rooney

Laurence Francis Rooney III (born December 4, 1953) is an American politician and diplomat who was a U.S. representative for FL's 19th congressional district from 2017 to 2021.

He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Georgetown University in 1975 and a Juris Doctor from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1978.

As expected, he won handily in the November general election to become only the fifth person to represent this district since its creation in 1983 (it had been the 13th District from 1983 to 1993, the 14th from 1993 to 2013, and the 19th since 2013).

Rooney served as the chief executive officer and President at Rooney Holdings, Inc. from 1984 to 2016 and presently serves as Chairman.

Rooney and his family own Manhattan Construction Group, which includes Manhattan Construction Company; he represents the fourth generation of the Rooney family to own the company.

Manhattan Construction Company built AT&T Stadium, Globe Life Field, Choctaw Stadium (once Globe Life Park and Texas Rangers Ballpark), the BOK Center, the Smoothie King Center (once New Orleans Sports Arena), and NRG Stadium (once Reliant Stadium), the United States Capitol Visitor Center at the United States Capitol, the original Oklahoma State Capitol in Guthrie, and work at the relocated Oklahoma State Capitol in Oklahoma City including adding the Dome in 2002 and the interior restoration completed in 2022, the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) Replacement Project, the Cato Institute Headquarters and Walter Reed Army Institute of Research Phases I and II, and multiple projects at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, George Bush Intercontinental Airport, and Southwest Florida International Airport.

The company built the George H. W. Bush Presidential Library & Museum and the George W. Bush Presidential Center earning it the distinction as the only construction company to have built two presidential libraries.

Rooney was a member of the advisory board of the Panama Canal Authority from 2002-2005 and 2008-2016.

He was among the U.S. delegation led by Colin Powell to the inauguration of Panamanian president Martín Torrijos.

Rooney is a member of the Inter-American Dialogue.

Rooney is a major Republican donor, having contributed to the campaign of George W. Bush.

Rooney served on the fundraising team of Connie Mack IV.

Rooney donated $1 million to Restore Our Future, Mitt Romney's Super PAC, and Rooney hosted a fundraiser for Romney in Rooney's Naples, Florida home.

A Republican, he served as the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See from 2005 until 2008.

Rooney earned a 95.90% lifetime score from the American Conservative Union.

Rooney is chairman of Rooney Holdings, formerly known as Rooney Brothers Company, an investment and holding company based in Naples, Florida.

With a net worth of $22.6 million, Rooney had been one of the wealthiest members of Congress.

Rooney also voted in favor of H.J.Res.40, which successfully used the Congressional Review Act to block the implementation of an Obama-era Amendment to the NICS Improvement Amendments Act of 2007 that was aimed at preventing the mentally-infirm from legally purchasing firearms.

In 2015, Rooney gave over $2 million to Jeb Bush's Super PAC.

In May 2016, incumbent Republican congressman Curt Clawson announced he would not run for a third full term.

Soon afterward, Rooney entered the Republican primary to succeed him—the real contest in this heavily Republican district.

Rooney spent $4 million of his own money and far outspent his opponents in an election that was shortened due to the timing of Clawson's late announcement.

In the August 30 primary, he defeated Sanibel Councilman Chauncey Goss and radio personality Dan Bongino.

Rooney received an unprecedented endorsement from Rick Scott, who is his neighbor in the Naples, Florida Port Royal community.

Rooney was sworn in on January 3, 2017.

He was a member of the conservative Republican Study Committee and the Climate Solutions Caucus.

In 2017, Rooney proposed the Pell Performance Act, alongside Ralph Norman, which proposes that Pell Grants turn into Stafford loans if students fail to graduate college within six years of being awarded the grant.

Rooney is in favor of having Pell Grants turn into Stafford Loans if students who were awarded the grants do not graduate within six years of receiving their award.

Rooney wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and calls it "an experiment that didn't work."

He voted for the American Health Care Act of 2017.

As of 2017, Rooney has a "B" rating from the NRA, indicating a voting record that generally supports gun rights.

As a Congressman, Rooney has voted in favor of several pieces of legislation to expand gun rights, including a yes vote on H. R. 38 (the Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act), which would enable concealed carry reciprocity among all States if and when it is signed into law.

In March 2017, Rooney voted in favor of the Veterans Second Amendment Protection Act, which, if signed into law, will allow veterans who are considered "mentally incompetent" to purchase ammunition and firearms unless declared a danger by a judge.

The proposal includes supporting the Fix NICS Act of 2017, mandating background checks for every firearm purchase, and enacting a gun violence restraining order system to provide a legal justification for temporarily confiscating firearms from those deemed a threat to themselves or others.

Rooney also supports a mandatory 3-day waiting period for all gun sales, a ban on bump stocks, and raising the minimum age to purchase any firearm to 21.

Following the 2018 Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, Rooney announced a proposal to limit mass shootings.

In October 2019, Rooney announced that he would not run for re-election to Congress in 2020.

He was succeeded by state representative Byron Donalds.

Born in Muskogee, Oklahoma, he is the oldest child of Laurence Francis and Lucy Turner Rooney's six children.

Rooney graduated from Georgetown Preparatory School.