Few personalities in the history of American politics can bring a more opposite picture on the table than Louisiana Congressman, Clay Higgins. At the same time as the so-called Cajun John Wayne, because of his hard-on-crime image, and as a controversial politician whose background included a number of inflammatory comments, Higgins has developed a niche in the Republican Party. This former law enforcement officer is now in his fourth term representing Louisiana 3 rd Congressional District and still has an active commission of a reserve officer when negotiating the politics of federal politics. His experience between local police departments and the halls of Congress tells a lot about contemporary conservative politics and the timeless popularity of anti-establishment image.
Elected to represent the 5 th District in 2016, Higgins has demonstrated himself as one of the most conservative representatives of the U.S. House of Representatives, a member of the House Freedom Caucus and earned a reputation as the person who consistently upholds Constitutionalist principles, smaller government, and secure borders. But beyond the political posturing, there is a complex individual whose career has been defined by both social media celebrityhood and immense controversy, whether it is his extremely unorthodox Crime Stopper videos or the fact that he is the only figure who has voted against releasing Jeffrey Epstein files. This paper will take a look at the full picture of Clay Higgins including the financial situation, his personal life, the law enforcement history, and his political identity.
Early Life and Background
Childhood in Louisiana.
Glen Clay Higgins was born on 24th August, 1961, in New Orleans, Louisiana. His family moved to Covington, Louisiana at the age of six and he spent his childhood there. Being the seventh of eight children, Higgins was surrounded with a family atmosphere where the core of their activity was raising and training horses, which left him with the principles of the discipline and hard work, which would be associated later with his image in publicity.
Higgins was educated at Covington High School before enrolling at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge where he went on to receive higher education. Higgins never finished his university education, as many other politicians who made their way to office by not following the traditional way, but the reasons why Higgins left the university are part of his personal story. This degree background would later make him stand out in a Congress where higher education degrees are the norm.
Military Foundation
Higgins served his nation as a military man before he started his civilian career. He joined the Military Police Corps of the Louisiana National Guard at a tender age of 18 thus serving a period of six years between 1979 and 1985. Higgins rose to the rank of Staff Sergeant in the course of his time in the military, which shaped the law enforcement basis on which he would build his career later on. This army experience still shapes his own political views especially in his present Tenure in the House Armed Services Committee.
Career Law Enforcement: The Making of the “Cajun John Wayne”.
The Police Work and Controversy in early years.
Higgins was a law enforcement officer since he joined the Opelousa City Police Department as a patrol officer in 2004. He was later terminated in 2007 amidst scandals in his tenure at the firm. Police Chief Perry Gallow had been ready to impose a significant disciplinary measure against Higgins, who was found to beat a handcuffed Black man and then give false statements in the course of internal investigation. Higgins later on according to records, recanted his story and acknowledged hitting a suspect in cuffs. He stepped down before any disciplinary measures could be taken.
Higgins later joined the Port Barre Police Department until 2010 and later on in 2011 joined the St. Landry Parish Sheriff’s Office. Here his public image was to be radically restructured and launched him off on a journey to the political office that no one would have ever anticipated.
Viral Fame and Resignation
Higgins became the public information officer of the St. Landry Parish Sheriff in 2014, making him a captain. During the production of videos on the parish Crime Stoppers, he started with normal scripts but quickly began improvising in his own unique way, which is; telling the suspect directly to turn himself in and even warning them personally sometimes with a personalized threat . These video clips rapidly spread into the popular culture, and he gained national media coverage and the title of Cajun John Wayne due to his menacing image.
Nonetheless, this notoriety did not bring professional repercussions. Sheriff Bobby Guidroz advised Higgins on multiple occasions to keep his professional voice and not to use personal remarks concerning suspects. This state of events led to Higgins resigning in February 2016 after a controversial video recorded on behalf of the state police sparked protests by the families and ACLU of suspects. Sheriff Guidroz mentioned an increasing tone of insubordination and lack of discipline on the part of Higgins as providing grounds of departure.
Further issues were also raised over Higgins misusing his office to gain personal gain. Guidroz observed that Higgins had breached departmental policy by misusing his badge and uniform to make money, such as using his uniform in an advert making a sale of T-shirts and shot glasses to his own profit-making venture, which was a personal limited liability company.
Its further Law Enforcement Engagement.
Higgins, in spite of his resignation, remained linked to the law enforcement. He was accepted and sworn in as a reserve deputy marshal in Lafayette, Louisiana in March 2016, a few months after his departure out of the Sheriff’s Office. He retired this commission in 2019, but still has an active law enforcement commission as a reserve officer in the office of Louisiana Attorney General. This constant contact with law enforcement is another trait of his political being, as it contrasts with that of colleagues who have abandoned their former jobs completely upon entering Congress.
Personal Life Relationships and Family.
Marital History
The complexity of his journey has been experienced through several relationships that Clay Higgins has had in his personal life. He has undergone four wives. His first wife was Eloisa Rovati whom he married in 1983 and divorced in 1991. This marriage resulted in a daughter called Daniela who unfortunately died soon after her birth. To make matters worse, Eloisa died in an automobile accident later.
Higgins later became a husband in 1991 and divorced Rosemary Rothkamm-Hambrice in 1999. He married Kara Seymour in 2003 and they were married until 2007. Higgins has a wife, Becca Higgins who he married in 2009. Even after the difficulties in his past relationships, his marriage to Becca has been persistent in his career in the congress.
Family and Personal Problems.
Higgins has three children together with Becca, culminating his one child in first marriage to make a total of four children. His family is based in Lafayette, Louisiana, which is located under his district.
In May 2023, the Higgin family was dealing with a serious health crisis as Becca had what was being referred to as a serious neurological episode which necessitated admission into the Intensive Care Unit to be treated. This was a personal struggle that Congressman Higgins has made public in a Facebook post; he has written that Becca had been out of ICU and that the recovery process was underway. This candidness when it comes to personal plight has been one of his signatures in relating with constituents.
Becca Higgins has also been able to enter into the audience through the descriptions of her alleged psychic gifts by her husband. In a social media post covered by the media in 2020, Clay Higgins stated that his wife had the gift of premonition and described a dream she had in which federal squads took guns and unauthorized foods. These intimate revelations have helped build up the confusing image of the congressman and his family in the eyes of the general public.
Financial Profile: Clay Higgins Net Worth.
Estimated Financials and Disclosure of Wealth.
Compared to numerous members of his congressional group who are rich individuals with personal fortunes, Clay Higgins is a less wealthy individual. Based on several studies of congressional financial disclosures, Higgins is one of the poorest congressmen in the House. The net worth of this person was particularly estimated at 0 by one analysis by Roll Call, although in reference to liabilities it was found to be negative by others.
Another more current evaluation dated in 2025 puts the net worth of Higgins, at around half a million dollars. Nevertheless, this number is highly questionable, the author observes that it is difficult to make accurate calculations because disclosure forms present values over broad categories and not as specific amounts.
Assets and Liabilities
The main source of knowledge of the congress finances is through the annual reports of mandatory disclosure. Higgins showed no assets according to his latest filing, an unusual situation when a member of Congress is in office. He did say there was one considerable liability that includes a mortgage on a personal house worth between 250,001 and 500,000 using PennyMac Loan Services, LLC.
This apparently anomalous financial report, no reported assets and a huge mortgage, can be partially justified by the shortcomings of congressional disclosure laws. The disclosure regulations do not require residences to be disclosed as assets although mortgages incurred over the same properties should be disclosed as liabilities. This paints a half picture of the financial situation usually underestimating the actual net worth of congressional members, especially those of lower financial means whose major asset is home equity.
Table: Financial Profile of Clay Higgins on the Basis of Disclosure Reports.
Reported Value Facts Reported Categories.
Estimated Net Worth A wide range of estimates puts it between $0 (Roll Call) and $500,000 (estimate in 2025).
Reported Assets Some disclosed Not applicable
Reported Liabilities Mortgage personal residence 250,001- 500,000.
Primary Omitted Asset Personal residence value Not to be disclosed.
Putting Congressional Wealth into Perspective.
In comparison to the larger financial background of Capitol hill, Higgins is relatively unscrupulous. The Louisiana congressional delegation alone has an estimated net worth of 6.4 million with Senator John Kennedy and another representative, Ralph Abraham, having a net worth of 4.8 million each. These numbers put Higgins on the low-end of the financial scale in Congress which may add to his political image of an everyman.
The calculation of congressional wealth, as a methodology, is usually conservative in nature, only utilizing the low range of values as disclosed forms suggest. It indicates that the real net worth can be greater than its estimate, but with Higgins, since he is not reported to hold any assets except his home, he could actually be holding very modest holdings relative to most of his colleagues.
Political Career and scandalous Stances.
Election to Congress
The start of Higgins political career was soon after he had resigned to St. Landry Parish Sheriff Office in 2016. Hired by Republican campaign staffer Chris Comeaux, Higgins announced his campaign in Louisiana 3 th Congressional District, although his home in Port Barre technically fell within the 5 th District. The constitution of the United States does not specify that the representatives should be located in the district but just in the state where they are representing.
Higgins emerged the winner of the runoff election on December 10 after losing to fellow Republican Scott Angelle in the nonpartisan blanket primary on 2nd June, 2012 by 56.1 percent of the vote. He has been reelected three times since then, including a decisive 70.6 percent of the vote in 2024, showing that voters in southwestern Louisiana continue to like him.
Membership Records of Congressional committees and tenure.
After being sworn in, Higgins has cemented his conservative position in the House, as he has been a reliable conservative vote in Congress since he took office on January 3, 2017. He is a senior member on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee and the Chairman of the Federal Law Enforcement Subcommittee which are positions that are conducive to his law enforcement background. Besides, he is also a member of the House Armed Services Committee where he sits on the Subcommittee of Seapower and Projection Forces, and Subcommittee of Readiness.
Although his financial portfolio is rather small, Higgins has his unconventional attitude towards his Washington style of life. He has even said that he sleeps in an air mattress on the floor of his office at Capitol Hill and uses the House gymnasium amenities to take a shower and exercise to give the impression of living simply and following his work.
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