Overview

Virginia Ann Foxx is an American politician serving as the U.S. Representative for North Carolina's 5th congressional district since 2005. She has chaired the House Education and Workforce Committee (originally Education and Labor) since 2023; previously chairing it from 2017 to 2019. Foxx is most notable for her aggressive defense of for-profit colleges and her efforts to weaken federal oversight of predatory educational institutions. Under her leadership; the committee worked to roll back Obama-era regulations that protected student borrowers; including the "gainful employment" rule that required career training programs to prove graduates could earn enough to repay their student loans. She received significant campaign contributions from the for-profit education industry and led efforts to block or limit student loan forgiveness programs. Foxx controversially referred to the murder of Matthew Shepard as a "hoax" on the House floor in 2009; then apologized. She opposed the Violence Against Women Act reauthorization and voted against the Equality Act. She was one of the most vocal critics of campus antisemitism during the 2024 congressional hearings that led to the resignations of university presidents.

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1 documented sources from official records, investigations, and reports