Steve Cohen
Now serving his seventh term as congressman from Memphis’ 9th District, the Vanderbilt/UM law school graduate has become a figure to reckon with in national politics — a frequent guest on political talk shows, leading critic of President Donald Trump, and mover/shaker on important domestic matters. As chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Cohen conducted hearings in 2019 on the issue of reparations for African-American citizens, a logical follow-up to his earlier sponsorship of an official apology for slavery by the U.S. House of Representatives. He was first elected to a congressional seat vacated by Harold Ford Jr. in 2006 after more than 20 years as an influential member of the state senate, where he midwifed the Tennessee state lottery into being and was the body’s most prominent progressive. Also a member of the Transportation Committee, he was instrumental in getting Transportation Improvement Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants for the Memphis area.
