Meet Jodey
JODEY C. ARRINGTON
U.S. Representative (TX-19) | Chairman, House Budget Committee
Jodey Cook Arrington (born March 9, 1972) is a proud West Texan and lifelong Red Raider, raised in Plainview. Arrington’s parents met while attending Texas Tech in the late 1950s. His father was a first-generation college graduate and basketball letterman from Amarillo, Texas. Arrington is the proud husband of Anne. Together, they have three children: Nate, Jane, and Henry.
After graduating from Plainview High School, Arrington attended Texas Tech, where he joined the Phi Delta Theta fraternity and “walked on” the Red Raider football team under Coach Spike Dykes. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Masters of Public Administration from Texas Tech. Arrington went on to complete a Certificate in International Business Management from Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. Before serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, Arrington built a distinguished career in both the public and private sectors. He served President George W. Bush in both Austin and Washington, including as a senior advisor in the White House, Chief of Staff at the FDIC, and second-in-command for the Gulf Coast rebuilding efforts following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita
Arrington returned to West Texas to serve as Vice Chancellor of the Texas Tech University System, where he led efforts to achieve record growth in student enrollment, research expenditures, and technology development. Before joining Congress, Arrington was serving as President of a healthcare innovation holding company, focused on launching a tele-health business and digital marketing platform for their comprehensive health system.
The Governor’s Office (1996-2000)
After finishing graduate school, Arrington spent four years as an advisor to then-Governor George W. Bush, responsible for recruiting and placing highly qualified individuals in leadership roles across more than 300 statewide boards and commissions.Tasked with advising the Governor on a wide range of appointments, he made weekly recommendations for more than 200 key positions, impacting major sectors such as education, healthcare, criminal justice, and agriculture. These appointees were responsible for setting strategic priorities, shaping public policy, and overseeing complex budgets and regulatory decisions.
White House (2000-2001)
After Bush was elected president in 2000, Arrington joined the White House as a Special Assistant and senior advisor to President Bush and Associate Director of Presidential Personnel. Arrington led an executive search team advising the President of the United States on appointments to more than 150 key roles across the federal government. He collaborated closely with cabinet secretaries and agency heads to identify and onboard top-tier leadership, many of whom went on to achieve notable success, including a former Deputy Secretary of Energy who went on to serve as CEO of Home Depot. He provided weekly briefings to the President, Vice President, and White House Chief of Staff, recommending candidates for over 70 top-level, Senate-confirmed positions — achieving a 100% success rate.
4 Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (2001-2005)
In late December 2001, at age 28, Arrington became the youngest Chief of Staff in the history of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). During his tenure at the FDIC, he managed the Offices of the Chairman, Policy Development, and PublicAffairs, helping run a $1 billion budget and 5,300-employee operations in the regulation of 9,000 banks with over $3 trillion in deposits. Arrington played a key role in supporting agency-wide efficiency initiatives—consolidating four major divisions, reducing field offices from 160 to 80, downsizing staff by over 10%, and cutting annual operating expenses by $80 million. Arrington worked on major legislative reforms like the Deposit Insurance Reform Act of 2005 and helped lead the FDIC in becoming a national leader in financial literacy, reaching more than 300,000 consumers nationwide.
Gulf Coast Rebuilding (2005-2006)
As Deputy Federal Coordinator and COO of the $4 million Office of the Federal Coordinator for Gulf Coast Rebuilding—established by Presidential Executive Order in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita—Arrington led a 25-person startup tasked with restoring devastated communities along the southern coastal region of the United States.The office reported directly to the White House and worked closely with cabinet secretaries, governors, and local leaders. Arrington helped secure over $100 billion in federal funding for critical infrastructure. He was instrumental in developing a multi-billion-dollar recovery plan, including $17 billion for housing and $8 billion for flood control, fortifying the levee system in New Orleans to exceed pre-Katrina strength within a year, delivering on a key presidential promise.
Texas Tech (2007-2014)
From 2007 to 2014, Arrington served as Chief of Staff and Vice Chancellor for Research, Commercialization, and Federal Relations for the Texas Tech University System (TTUS). He was the chief architect of the system-wide Strategic Plan,“Leading the Way,” which helped drive significant growth across the universities. Arrington’s efforts to oversee the execution of the TTUS plan helped achieve record enrollment, graduation, and retention rates; improved national rankings; and historic increases in research funding, along with a two-fold increase in intellectual property and significant gains in university start-ups, licensing agreements, and commercialization revenue. As Chair of the Enrollment Task Force, Arrington’s leadership resulted in successfully reversing a multi-year decline in student enrollment. Under his direction, TTUS achieved record freshman, graduate, and transfer classes while maintaining a strong commitment to academic quality. He played a pivotal role in acquiring millions of dollars in research funding in areas such as cancer and renewable energy, along with securing the naming rights for the Laura W. Bush Institute for Women’s Health, which has since raised over $9 million in public and private support.
Scott Laboratories (2014-2016)
In 2014, Arrington was hired as President of Scott Laboratories, a Lubbock-based health care innovation holding company and parent company of Grace Health System. In this role, Arrington led efforts to diversify revenue streams and spearhead new ventures. Under his leadership, Scott Labs incubated and launched a tele-health startup and developed a digital marketing platform to expand patient outreach and engagement. His work focused on leveraging technology and entrepreneurial strategies to improve healthcare delivery, outcomes, and long-term economic sustainability.
U.S. House of Representatives (2017-present)
Arrington is serving his fifth term as a member of Congress representing the 19th District of Texas. He serves as Chairman of the House Budget Committee as well as a member of the Ways and Means Committee, Tax and Trade Subcommittees, and Joint Economic Committee (appointed by the Speaker).
Arrington previously served on the Veterans Affairs and Agricultural Committees and was one off our House Members to be appointed by the Speaker to the Joint Select Committee on Budget Reforms. He was also appointed to serve on the Select Committee on Economic Fairness and Growth. Additionally, Arrington was selected to serve on the bipartisan bicameral Farm Bill Conference Committee and was one of several members selected to serve on the USMCA Task Force.
Arrington was elected by his freshman class (115th Congress) to represent them on the powerful Steering Committee, which is responsible for committee assignments and chairmanships.
Arrington has been a leader in areas of agriculture, energy, rural health care, border security, as wellas fiscal and economic policy.
