Missouri Rep. Sparks resigns to take Homeland Security job
A St. Louis County Republican state representative resigned on Monday to take a job in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
State Rep. Justin Sparks was in his third year in the Missouri House representing the state’s Wildwood-based 110th House District. In a resignation letter posted on Facebook, Sparks said that his “entire professional life has been one of service and that will continue as I join the Department of Homeland Security and join in the mission of keeping our nation safe.”
“I fervently pray that God, in His righteous wisdom, will pour out the Spirit of Truth on all of my fellow colleagues as they continue to engage in a government of the People, by the People and for the People,” Sparks said in his resignation letter.
In a subsequent Facebook post, Sparks said he did not receive a presidential appointment. He added he was returning to law enforcement and that he was “happy to support the mission of keeping our country safe!”
Sparks is a former St. Louis County Police Department officer who first won election to the House in 2022. He joined the Missouri Freedom Caucus, a conservative group of House and Senate members who have often clashed with GOP leadership.
Earlier this year, Sparks unsuccessfully ran for speaker of the House against Jon Patterson. Patterson later called Sparks “a person with an oceanic ego who took it upon himself to make this day about himself.”
It will be up to Gov. Mike Kehoe to schedule a special election for Sparks’ seat. There are currently five vacancies in the House.