# Howard P. "Buck" McKeon

> Howard P. "Buck" McKeon is co-founder, chairman and CEO of The McKeon Group, Inc., a government relations firm he established with his son Howard in 2015. A former Western wear retailer and Santa Clarita’s first mayor, he represented California’s 25th Congressional District from 1993 to 2015 and chaired both the House Education and the Workforce Committee and House Armed Services Committee.

- **Role:** Co-founder, Chairman and CEO at The McKeon Group, Inc.
- **Organizations:** The McKeon Group, Inc., U.S. House of Representatives, House Armed Services Committee, House Education and the Workforce Committee, City of Santa Clarita, William S. Hart Union High School District, Howard and Phil’s Western Wear, Valencia National Bank
- **From:** Los Angeles, United States
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** Bachelor of Science, Brigham Young University, Verdugo Hills High School
- **Known for:** Served as Santa Clarita’s first mayor., Elected to eleven consecutive terms in the U.S. House., Chaired two full House committees: Education and the Workforce, and Armed Services.

## Career timeline

- **1979-1987** — Served on the William S. Hart Union High School District board.
- **1985** — Received a B.S. from Brigham Young University.
- **1987** — Elected to Santa Clarita’s inaugural city council and selected as its first mayor.
- **1987-1992** — Served on Santa Clarita City Council.
- **1993-2015** — Represented California’s 25th Congressional District in the U.S. House for eleven terms.
- **2006-2007** — Chaired the House Education and the Workforce Committee.
- **2009** — Became ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Committee.
- **2011-2015** — Chaired the House Armed Services Committee.
- **2014** — The fiscal 2015 defense authorization act was named for Carl Levin and McKeon.
- **2015** — Co-founded the McKeon Group with his son Howard and established an archive, scholars award endowment and leadership forum at College of the Canyons.
- **2016** — The McKeon Group registered under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

## Achievements

- Served as Santa Clarita’s first mayor.
- Elected to eleven consecutive terms in the U.S. House.
- Chaired two full House committees: Education and the Workforce, and Armed Services.
- Co-namesake of Public Law 113-291, the fiscal 2015 National Defense Authorization Act.
- Helped expand his family’s Western wear business to more than 50 locations.
- Established the McKeon Archive, McKeon Scholars Award endowment and McKeon Leadership Forum at College of the Canyons.

## Latest updates

- **2026-07** — Appeared on Tim Hutchinson’s Cigar Caucus podcast in “From Small Business to National Defense: A Conversation with Buck McKeon,” listed July 7, 2026.
- **2026-09** — KHTS published a September 9 local-history retrospective on his birth and Santa Clarita career.

## Links

- Website: https://www.mckeongrp.com/chairman-mckeon9365537a
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/buckmckeon
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/BuckMcKeon
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BuckMcKeon

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Last updated: 2026-10-22