Ohio has one new member in Congress this year, and you might know him if you follow Ohio State football.

Swearing in day for former Ohio State star Anthony Gonzalez was unusually chaotic because he spent the early morning hours in the hospital with his seven-month-old son who had the flu, but Gonzalez made it to Capitol Hill in time on January 3 to be sworn in. And his boy is feeling better.

  • Gonzalez played for OSU from 2004-2006
  • Represents Ohio's 16th District in Northeast Ohio
  • Gonzalez supports border wall with Mexico  

Now #11 said he’s ready to get to work representing Ohio’s 16th Congressional District.

“My priorities are to deliver on the campaign promises that I made,” Gonzalez, a Republican, said. “And one of those promises was, no matter who’s in the majority, no matter what the situation is, I will knock on any door, I will work with anybody to do what’s right for the voters of the 16th district. And so, I look forward to doing that. I’m excited to do that. And I think there will be opportunities, especially on things like health care and hopefully infrastructure, where we can really do some great work for the American people.”

Gonzalez’s career has taken him from the NFL to helping run a business to now serving on Capitol Hill.

He said his constituents talked most about health care and immigration while he was campaigning in 2018.

Because of that, Gonzalez said he wants to work with anyone he can to lower medical costs and, as the son of Cuban immigrants, work for comprehensive immigration reform.

Gonzalez also said he supports building a border wall along the US-Mexico border.

On just his eighth day in office, Gonzalez got some attention on Capitol Hill for sending a tweet that condemned fellow Republican Congressman Steve King of Iowa, who used racist language in an interview with the New York Times. 

“The language used by @SteveKingIA has no place in Congress or in a country of free people committed to the founding ideals that all Americans hold firm in our hearts,” the Tweet read.


Gonzalez said he’d prefer if Republicans were still the majority in the House of Representatives, but since he’s beginning his term in the minority, he said he has the advantage of knowing no better.  He said his first impression of the Ohio congressional delegation is a good one and that it’s a ‘very collaborative’ group.