Steve Cohen
U.S. Representative for Tennessee
Stephen Ira Cohen was born in May 1949 in Memphis, Tennessee. He earned an undergraduate degree from Vanderbilt University. He received his Juris Doctor from the Memphis State University of Law.
Cohen set up his own law firm, solely practicing civil and criminal law, after serving as a legal advisor for the Memphis Police Department. He was elected to the Shelby County Commission, and later served as interim Shelby County General Sessions Court judge. Cohen was elected to the Tennessee Senate, where he served for 24 years. He ran an unsuccessful primary campaign for governor of Tennessee.
Cohen first ran for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1996. He ran for the 9th Congressional District seat in 2006 and won. He announced that he would retire after his current term, after the Tennessee legislature approved a redistricted map.
Cohen is Jewish. He is unmarried.
In the News…
Representative Steve Cohen of Tennessee recently explained his withdrawal from the Congressional Progressive Caucus. The retiring congressman stated that he left due to the increase in socialist leadership in the caucus.
Congressman Cohen said, “I just found it to be not the same caucus I joined in 2007. It had become more the socialist caucus, and most of the leadership was socialist Democrats. I didn’t feel comfortable in it.”
The progressive Tennessean continued, “There certainly were not people who were so anti-Israel when I started, and there are within the progressive caucus now.” The Jewish legislator explained that part of the reason he is not running for a redistricted seat is the rise in antisemitism in his party.
Representative Cohen supported the censure of Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib of Michigan in 2023 after she shared a video that featured the anti-Israel slogan “from the river to the sea.”
Contact this Leader…
Did you pray for Representative Cohen today? You can let him know at:
The Honorable Steve Cohen
Representative for Tennessee
2268 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
