Braun, Mike, 1954-

Michael K. Braun(born March 24, 1954) is an American businessman and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Indiana. Previously, he represented the 63rd district in the Indiana House of Representatives from 2014 to 2017. A member of the Republican Party, Braun was elected to the United States Senate in 2018, defeating Democratic incumbent Joe Donnelly. Braun opposes the Affordable Care Act, same-sex marriage, abortion, and a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. He describes himself as a "conservationist" who has called on the Republican Party to take climate change more seriously, but is ranked very poorly by environmental groups, and supported U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accords. He supported President Donald Trump's trade and tariff policies despite having previously been a free trade advocate, and was a staunch ally of Trump throughout his presidency. Braun voted to acquit Trump in the impeachment trial related to the Trump-Ukraine scandal. After Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election and Trump refused to concede, making false claims of fraud, Braun defended Trump's efforts to overturn the election results.