John's Biography

Congressman John Yarmuth represents Kentucky’s 3rd Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. In his third term, Congressman Yarmuth was selected to serve on the Committee on Budget, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and the Committee on Ethics. He has served as President of the Freshman Class and as Senior Whip. Yarmuth has been named Legislator of the Year by the Kentucky Reading Association and Outstanding New Member of Congress by the Committee for Education Funding, which is the largest nonpartisan education organization in the nation. In each of his terms, Congressman Yarmuth has been awarded “Best of Congress” by Working Mother Magazine and Corporate Voices for Working Families.

Though best known for his work in the media, Congressman Yarmuth’s diverse career prior to entering the political arena gave him a solid background in policy, business, higher education, and health care. He previously worked on Capitol Hill as Legislative Aide for Kentucky Sen. Marlow Cook from 1971 to 1974, before moving back to Louisville to publish Louisville Today Magazine. He went on to work as Associate Vice President of University Relations at the University of Louisville and Vice President of a local health care firm.

In 1990, Congressman Yarmuth founded LEO Weekly, a free publication with a readership of more than 150,000. With the Congressman as editor, LEO won nearly 100 Metro Louisville Journalism Awards, 16 of which were awarded to Congressman Yarmuth for his editorial and column writing. He owned the paper from 1990 to 2003 and continued writing columns through 2005. On television, he debated local and national politics as co-host and commentator on WAVE 3’s “Yarmuth & Ziegler” in 2003 and “Hot Button” in 2004 and 2005.

Born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky, Congressman Yarmuth graduated from Atherton High School where he served as student government president.  He went on to earn a degree in American Studies from Yale University.  He and his wife Cathy have one son, Aaron, who graduated from Indiana University in 2006 and obtained a Masters Degree from American University in 2010.