Embattled GOP Candidate J.R. Majewski Also Exaggerated Academic Credential
J.R. Majewski also misrepresented his academic record. (Photo: Associated Press)
A GOP congressional candidate from Ohio who is accused of embellishing his U.S. Air Force record was also misrepresenting his academic credentials as recently as last month, archived pages from his campaign site show.
Donald Trump-endorsed Republican J.R. Majewski and his spokesperson both chalked it up to a minor mistake, and blamed the media for unfair scrutiny since an Associated Press investigation revealed that Majewski gave misleading accounts of his military and career backgrounds.
Majewski is challenging Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur in a new swing district that leans slightly Republican, making it a prime GOP pickup for the right candidate. But after the AP investigation, House Republicans’ campaign arm canceled nearly $1 million in future spending from the district, signaling a loss of confidence in his race.
Majewski, a consultant in the nuclear energy sector who made his lawn into a giant Trump 2020 sign, has touted his academic credentials for allowing him to climb the “highest ranks” at a “Fortune 200 company.” He’s attributed his success to obtaining bachelor’s and master’s degrees, which helped companies to recognize his “intellect and leadership capabilities.”
It was all on his campaign website, which had stated that Majewski earned a bachelor’s degree in business, summa cum laude, and a master’s degree in project management, magna cum laude, from “Colorado Tech.” The site had this information as recently as late September, according to archived pages — shortly after the AP reported that it couldn’t confirm Majewski’s account of combat service in Afghanistan post-9/11.
Majewski has since scrubbed any reference to graduating with honors. Asked about it this week, his campaign sent photos of diplomas from Colorado Technical University, a private, for-profit school offering online and in-person degree programs.
The diplomas confirm that Majewski earned a bachelor’s degree in business management with a concentration in human resources, summa cum laude, and a master’s degree in project management, awarded in 2006 and 2008, respectively. But there’s no reference to the honors that Majewski had once claimed he received with his graduate degree.
Melissa Pelletier, Majewski’s spokesperson, offered a statement on behalf of Majewski and the campaign.
“Liz Skalka and the DNC’s Puff Post were provided J.R. Majewski’s diploma’s [sic] indicating he graduated with a Batchelor’s [sic] degree Summa Cum Laude, and a Master’s degree. Instead of reporting on the rapid rise in violent crime in Toledo, the massive rise in inflation across the nation, or the fact that our President is discussing a real threat of nuclear war, Miss Skalka is reporting on insignificant changes to a campaign website,” Pelletier wrote to HuffPost.
Universities generally do not award honors like magna cum laude (which designates a GPA of at least 3.4) for graduate degrees since a high level of academic achievement is expected, at minimum.
As of Monday, the National Republican Congressional Committee’s website still says Majewski graduated magna cum laude.
Majewski, on several occasions, has gotten defensive when people on Twitter have accused him of lying because he wasn’t forthcoming about where he went to college (his LinkedIn profile previously listed his alma mater as “Colorado,” according to a screen shot of his now-deleted profile).
Congressional candidate J.R. Majewski on Twitter. (Photo: JR Majewski for Congress/Twitter)
“It’s more fun to let it bother you that you don’t know where,” he replied to a Twitter user in June who questioned where he went to college. “To think a fortune 200 company let me control multi million dollar portfolios and promoted me to the highest ranks without any degrees.” (Fortune 200 is apparently a reference to the top 200 companies in the Fortune 500 list of largest corporations, although it’s not clear which company he’s talking about).
Colorado Technical University did not respond to a request to confirm the information Majewski’s campaign provided to HuffPost.
In a comment to the Toledo Blade, Majewski blamed recent website tweaks and mistakes on his webmaster — who, he noted, does not have a college degree.
“My website guy, who doesn’t have a degree, wrote magna cum laude for my master’s degree,” he told the newspaper. “Just like he put the Air Force logo on my website, just like he put the Project Management Professional logo on my website. He’s just a regular guy from Port Clinton [Ohio] that didn’t know any better, and he was trying to make it look as good as possible.”
Majewski was referring to the removal of the Air Force insignia from his site following an inquiry from the Daily Beast about whether he had received permission to use the logo, a possible violation of ethics rules. Department of Defense policy says that political candidates should not use the logo because it can imply the agency’s endorsement.
Despite repeatedly describing himself as a “combat veteran” who served in Afghanistan after 9/11, Majewski only served in Qatar for six months unloading cargo, per the AP. The outlet’s reporting also contradicted Majewski’s story about why he couldn’t reenlist, revealing that it was due to a drunk driving arrest at a base in Japan and not a “brawl” in a dormitory as he previously claimed.
Regarding his professional life, the AP couldn’t verify Majewski’s claims of being a senior executive in the nuclear energy industry, noting that his public records from his 2009 bankruptcy show he was an outage manager earning $51,000 a year. The same records, filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in northern Ohio, revealed that Majewski owed more than $60,000 in student loan debt.
However, the financial disclosure that Majewski was required to file for his campaign showed he earned more than $200,000 last year from his position at Holtec International, an energy conglomerate that specializes in equipment for the nuclear energy industry. On his campaign site, Majewski trumpets the fact that he was a manager who led teams of “thousands” in several industries.
“Throughout my career in the nuclear, construction and automotive sectors, I have successfully demonstrated my ability to team-build and lead thousands. These hard-working professionals regarded me as their peer and we were equal in friendship. However, when it was time to put in work, I was their leader and they were my teammates. Confidantes marching toward a common goal, sharing in strife and glory. As a leader, I was only ever as good as my team,” Majewski says on his site.
Majewski has downplayed claims about his background as a media smear. In a press conference last month, he doubled down on his Air Force record, insisting that his missions involved flying in and out of Afghanistan, to locations that he could not disclose because his records are “classified.”
“It’s almost impossible for me to tell you where I was and on what day. That’s why my orders are listed as a classified location,” he said.
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.
