US Representative Fred Upton shared his concern for his staff’s safety after receiving a profane voicemail from a man who called him a traitor for voting for the infrastructure bill. The voicemail was shared on CNN’s “Anderson Cooper 360” while speaking to anchorman Anderson Cooper. The voicemail was heavily bleeped voicemail where a man said,
“ (bleep) traitor. That's what you are. You’re a piece of(bleep) traitor. I hope you die. I hope everybody in your (bleep) family dies. You (bleep) piece of (bleep) trash, mother(bleep). Voted for dumb (bleep) Biden? You're a stupider than he is. He can’t even complete a (bleep) sentence, you dumb mother(bleep), piece of trash. I hope everybody in your (bleep) family dies. I hope everybody in your (bleep) staff dies, you (bleep) piece of (bleep) (bleep). Traitor!”
Fred also told,
“ It’s a real step back. Thank goodness it wasn’t a constituent. But I have a colleague, as you know, that put out the phone numbers of the 13 of us that voted that way. I would be glad to defend that vote. And we have been working really since last spring on a bipartisan bill. You know, we’ve seen civility really downslide here. I am concerned about my staff. They are taking these calls. They are threats to them.”
The representative of Michigan concluded saying, “ These are very disturbing adult language, to say the least, that truly is frightening and a real, real bad mark in terms of the civility across the country as we’ve seen these issues like this jump.”
I regret that this good, bipartisan bill became a political football in recent weeks. Our country can’t afford this partisan dysfunction any longer. #MI06 #Infrastructure
— Rep. Fred Upton (@RepFredUpton) November 6, 2021
Fred Upton was one of 13 House Republicans who voted in support of a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill late last Friday while the bill had already passed in the Senate with some Republican support in August.
Fred Upton Net Worth And Political Career
Representative Fred Upton had an estimated net worth of $78,965,614 in 2018 according to OpenSecrets. He also has the 8th rank in the House.
As per the reports, the current member salary is $174,000 by default.
Fred Upton was the chair of the Committee on Energy and Commerce from 2010 to 2016 and during the administration of Ronald Reagan, he also worked in the Office of Management and Budget.
From 1987 to 1993, Upton had represented Michigan’s 4th Congressional District in the U.S. House. Upton ran re-election to the U.S. House to represent Michigan’s 6th Congressional District and won in the general election on 3 November 2020. His term ends on 3 January 2023. He was also awarded Detroit News ‘Michiganian of the Year’ in 2017 and Theodore Roosevelt Leadership Award in 2014.
Fred worked for David Stockman at the start of his career. David was a young congressman in his late 20s and he has since emerged as a fiery critic of fiscal policy under President Donald Trump. Upton literally followed his boss, Ronald Reagan to work at the Office of Management and Budget.
Fred Upton Personal Life
Representative Fred Upton has a real name, Frederick Stephen Upton, and is a grandchild of a co-founder of appliance manufacturer and marketer Whirlpool Corporation headquartered in Benton Harbor. He has a wife with whom he shares two children. He has a supermodel niece, Kate Upton. He is also a member of the Emil Verban Society.