Tennessee Rep. Andy Ogles accused of embellishing resume

Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) was accused on Thursday of misrepresenting himself as an economist, police officer, and international sex crimes expert on the campaign trail in 2022 and again as a congressman. 

In a situation reminiscent of lying Rep. George Santos’ (R-NY) scandals, Nashville news outlet WTVF reported on Thursday that Ogles, a freshman member of the House, exaggerated much of his work history related to combating human trafficking and appears to have never formally studied economics or worked as an economist. 

Ogles has touted his expertise “as an economist” in several interviews and during his first meeting as a member of the House Financial Services Committee. His congressional biography also claims he ”studied policy and economics” at Middle Tennessee State University.

However, WTVF uncovered that Ogles has never worked as an economist and that his 2009 resume and a background check show that he majored in international relations and minored in psychology and English while at MTSU.

His work at the Laffer Center, a Tennessee-based think tank, was also reported to be an administrative position where he didn’t author a single report on public policy or economics.

His repeated claims of being a “former member of law enforcement” with “firsthand experience” working on human trafficking also appear to be an embellishment, according to the news outlet. 

Ogles was sworn in as a volunteer reserve deputy with the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office in July 2009, but lost his title after two years for not meeting minimum standards, failing to attend meetings, and not making progress in-field training. 

A spokesperson for the sheriff’s office told WTVF that “there is nothing in Mr. Ogles training or personnel file that indicates he had any involvement in ‘international sex trafficking’ in his capacity as a reserve deputy.”

Ogles also touted being “heavily involved in the fight against human trafficking” during his time working at the nonprofit group Abolition International, but that also appears to be an overstatement. 

The Tennessee Republican appears to have worked for the group for a year in 2011 on a part-time basis, and a former Abolition International manager familiar with his work told Business Insider that his role at the group was to help with marketing and fundraising and that he never traveled to visit safehouses the group established overseas. 

​​”It is such a stretch for him to represent himself as an expert or someone who was in the field, and for it to have informed his views on policy,” the former manager said. 

Ogles rose to some level of prominence in January when he joined 19 other Republicans in blocking House Speaker Kevin McCarthy from being elected to the top leadership position in the House, demanding rule changes and concessions from the California Republican. 

Ogles’ office called WTVF’s report “an attempt by the liberal media to make something out of nothing,” in a statement to The Post.

“It’s a simple case of condensing a resume for the sake of brevity on the campaign trail, and partisan hacks are trying to turn it into a headline for clicks,” the statement continued. 

“Congressman Ogles is proud of the time he spent developing his experience in economic and tax policies with well-known economist Dr. Arthur Laffer and Americans for Prosperity. He was honored to serve as a reserve deputy for the Williamson County Sheriff’s Department and as the Chief Operating Officer for Abolition International, which provided resources and operational support to anti-human trafficking efforts worldwide,” it added.