Matt Salmon was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Arizona.
Salmon served as representative for Arizona’s 5th Congressional District and chaired the Asia and the Pacific Subcommittee on the House Foreign Relations Committee. He retired from politics in 2016 but is now join the race to run for governor of Arizona in 2022.
1994, in Congressional District 1, where Sam Coppersmith's departure gave the Republicans an opportunity to reclaim McCain's old seat, state Senator Matt Salmon was reportedly regarded as McCain's pick. Salmon downplayed the relationship between fund raising and endorsements, even though McCain's name was reportedly on the invitation to Salmon's December Washington, D.C. fundraiser. "Oh, golly, I don't know," said Salmon when asked about the most valuable aspect of McCain's backing. "I've never run for Congress before--and he has--and giving me his insights is real valuable. That's the best thing."
Salmon served as the vice president for government affairs at ASU, where his position included, “working with the governments of other countries to advance international projects.” Arizona State is home to a Confucius Institute, a Beijing-funded educational enterprise that Salmon has stated, brings around $200,000 a year to the university. He’s reportedly earned $336,090 yearly as the chief lobbyist for ASU. He was aided in his duties as a fluent Mandarin Chinese speaker which he learned in preparation for his 1970’s mission in Taiwan.
At an April 2018 event in Washington, co-hosted by the Confucius Institute, faced congressional scrutiny over threats to academic freedom on U.S. campuses. Salmon reportedly dismissed rising concerns about China as “McCarthyism” and said the US should work “with the only other superpower and not against it.”
Most recently in 2020, an ASU journalist who reported Jacob Blake's history sexually assaulting women, got fired for it by the university while no faculty seemed to stand up for the journalist, in support of free speech- Including the VP of Student Affairs, Matt Salmon.
A letter was sent to Arizona State University's Dean, President and VP of Student Affairs, Matt Salmon concerning the unconstitutional treatment of the ASU reporter by Phoenix City Councilman Sal DiCicco, though it has been reported DiCicco "has a personal issue" with Salmon. Letter to ASU Dean, President and Matt Salmon