# Mike Bost Republican congressman from southern Illinois (IL-12) since 2015 and chairman of the [[House Veterans' Affairs Committee]] since January 2023. Born in 1960, Bost served in the Marine Corps from 1979 to 1982, ran a family trucking business, and spent twenty years in the Illinois House (1995–2015). He won the congressional seat in 2014 by unseating Democrat Bill Enyart. ## Profile Bost is a reliable Trump-aligned vote from a deep-red district rather than a movement figure. He sits in both the Republican Study Committee and the Republican Main Street Partnership, and he voted against the 2024 Ukraine military aid package. Outside the district he is best known for a 2012 Illinois House floor tirade against a rushed 200-page pension bill ("Let my people go!"), which went viral. ## The 2024 scare and the 2026 cycle His one serious test came from the right. In the March 2024 primary, former state senator and 2022 gubernatorial nominee Darren Bailey came within about three points of him: 51.4% to 48.6%. In 2026 no Republican filed against him, so he was unopposed in the March 17 primary. He faces Democrat **Julie Fortier**, an Air Force veteran and biomedical researcher from O'Fallon, in November. Fortier's campaign centers on a charge that Bost refuses to meet constituents; he has won his last two general elections with about 75%. ## Oversight of Oracle His most notable act as chairman runs against type. On **September 2, 2026**, Bost presided over the committee's unanimous vote to subpoena [[Larry Ellison]] and [[Mike Sicilia]] of [[Oracle]] over the [[VA Oracle EHR Modernization Contract]], calling the program "the biggest boondoggle I've seen." It is a rare instance of Republican committee oversight landing on a top Trump donor's company. Ranking member: [[Mark Takano]]. VA Secretary: [[Doug Collins]]. ## Related - [[House Veterans' Affairs Committee]] · [[VA Oracle EHR Modernization Contract]] - [[Members of Congress Hub]] · [[2026 Midterms Hub]]