Gus M. Bilirakis

Biography

Overview

Gus Bilirakis is a Republican U.S. Representative from Florida's 12th congressional district, serving since 2013. He is a lawyer who previously served in the Florida House of Representatives (1998-2006) and succeeded his father, Michael Bilirakis, in Congress. His district includes much of the northern Tampa Bay area. Born in Gainesville and raised in Tarpon Springs, Bilirakis is a second-generation Greek-American known for focusing on healthcare policy, veterans' affairs, and energy issues.

Career

Bilirakis has sponsored 20 recent bills addressing healthcare access (Medicaid continuity, Medicare audiology, kidney disease prevention), veteran benefits, broadband deployment, and technology safety. He is chair of the Veterans' Affairs Task Force for the Republican Policy Committee and co-chairs the Congressional Diabetes Caucus and Congressional Military Veterans Caucus. He co-founded the Congressional Hellenic-Israeli Alliance. In the Florida legislature (1998-2006), he chaired several committees including Crime Prevention and Economic Development, Trade, & Banking. He supported the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 and holds an "A" rating from the NRA. He has focused on combating opioid trafficking and addressing fentanyl interdiction.

Prior political experience

Bilirakis was first elected to Congress in 2006, defeating Hillsborough County Commissioner Phyllis Busansky with 55% of the vote to succeed his retiring father in what was then Florida's 9th district. He has been reelected three more times without substantive opposition. He was also elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1998 when he won the District 48 seat that had been held for 10 years by Representative Sandy Safley, who did not seek reelection.

Biographical material adapted from the Wikipedia article (retrieved April 29, 2026), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Ideology

Liberal–Conservative (DW-NOMINATE dim 1)

Liberal

Conservative

119th Congress+0.423

Secondary axis (DW-NOMINATE dim 2)(?)

−1

+1

-0.030

Source: Voteview DW-NOMINATE · 334 scored votes

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Officeholding history

Term	Seat	Term dates	Termination	Predecessor	Successor
7th	U.S. House FL-12	2025–present	In progress	Gus M. Bilirakis	—
6th	U.S. House FL-12	2023–2025	Term ended	Gus M. Bilirakis	Gus M. Bilirakis
5th	U.S. House FL-12	2021–2023	Term ended	Gus M. Bilirakis	Gus M. Bilirakis
4th	U.S. House FL-12	2019–2021	Term ended	Gus M. Bilirakis	Gus M. Bilirakis
3rd	U.S. House FL-12	2017–2019	Term ended	Gus M. Bilirakis	Gus M. Bilirakis
2nd	U.S. House FL-12	2015–2017	Term ended	Gus M. Bilirakis	Gus M. Bilirakis
1st	U.S. House FL-12	2013–2015	Term ended	—	Gus M. Bilirakis
3rd	U.S. House FL-9	2011–2013	Term ended	Gus M. Bilirakis	Darren Soto
2nd	U.S. House FL-9	2009–2011	Term ended	Gus M. Bilirakis	Gus M. Bilirakis
1st	U.S. House FL-9	2007–2009	Term ended	—	Gus M. Bilirakis

Committee assignments

Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade
HouseChair· 2025–present
Health
House· 2025–present
House Committee on Energy and Commerce
House· 2025–present
Communications and Technology
House· 2025–present
House Select Committee on the Strategic Competition Between the United States and the Chinese Communist Party
House· 2025–present

Current term legislation

Bills sponsored this term10

Bills cosponsored this term10

Elections

Year	Seat	Result	Vote share	Field
2024	U.S. House FL-12	Pending	71.04%	Gus M. Bilirakis71.04% Rock Aboujaoude, Jr.28.96%