Republican · Tennessee's 7th District · 2026
Matt Van Epps
Van Epps grew up in Ohio and graduated from West Point before becoming an Army helicopter pilot.
Biography
Matt Van Epps spent a decade on active duty as an Army helicopter pilot, flying in Iraq and Afghanistan, before continuing his military service in the Tennessee National Guard.1 He lives in Nashville with his wife and daughter, and his campaign biography lists church, family time and the outdoors among his interests.2
A West Point graduate, Van Epps flew Apache and Chinook helicopters and served with the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment.1 His Guard service brought him to lieutenant colonel, and he also earned a master's in public administration at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.1
Before Congress, he was deputy chief operating officer in the Tennessee governor's office and commissioner of General Services, overseeing procurement, facilities and other state operations.1 He entered Congress after the December 2025 special election and serves on the Homeland Security and Science, Space, and Technology committees.34 His Homeland Security assignments cover counterterrorism, intelligence, transportation and maritime security.4
Van Epps supports completing the border wall, expanding American energy production, reducing federal spending and improving veterans' access to care.5 He also calls for a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence, and greater access to rural health care.5 Van Epps faces Democrat Darden Copeland and two independents.6
Record and controversies
Campaign staff complaint and office response
In October 2026, Copeland filed a complaint asking the Office of Congressional Conduct to investigate whether Van Epps used official staff for campaign work, citing a senior adviser's overlapping office and campaign roles and compensation.7 House rules allow paid campaign work on an employee's own time outside congressional facilities, without official resources and subject to other employment restrictions, so overlapping roles alone do not establish misuse.8 Van Epps's office called the complaint misleading, factually unsupported and based on a misunderstanding of the law.9 A later public agency disposition was not verified by October 28, 2026.10