Neal Patrick Dunn (born February 16, 1953) is an American surgeon and politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2017. A member of the Republican Party, Dunn is a medical doctor who served in the United States Army for eleven years, reaching the rank of major.
On January 13, 2026, Dunn announced he would not seek re-election in 2026. It was later revealed on March 16, 2026 that this was likely due to a terminal illness, with President Donald Trump and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson publicly confirming that he has a terminal heart condition and would have likely died by June of 2026 if he hadn't had emergency surgery that gave him a fresh start.
Dunn was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on February 16, 1953. He earned a Bachelor of Science in interdisciplinary sciences from Washington and Lee University, and a Doctor of Medicine from the George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences. He completed his medical internship at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Dunn served in the United States Army for 11 years of active duty, reaching the rank of major. He then settled in Panama City, Florida, where he helped found the Panama City Urological Center and the Panama City Surgery Center, and was the founding chairman of Summit Bank.
In August 2015, Dunn announced his candidacy for the United States House of Representatives for in the 2016 elections. The district's one-term incumbent, Democrat Gwen Graham, opted to retire after court-ordered redistricting made the district heavily Republican. He won the Republican nomination, narrowly defeating attorneys Mary Thomas and Ken Sukhia, and defeated Walter Dartland in the general election. He was sworn in on January 3, 2017.
In 2018, Dunn won reelection against challenger Bob Rackleff, 67.4% to 32.6%.
Constituents voiced frustration with Dunn for his refusal to host town halls. Dunn held multiple virtual town hall meetings since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020.
Dunn was reelected in 2020 with 97.9% of the vote. He had no primary election or official general election opponents.
In 2022, Dunn defeated U.S. Representative Al Lawson with 59.8% of the vote. The boundaries of the district had been redrawn as determined by the 2020 Florida redistricting cycle.
Dunn won re-election to a fifth term with 61.64% of the vote against Yen Bailey.
For the 118th Congress:
Dunn's campaign website identifies him as conservative.
He opposes a ban on semi-automatic weapons. From 2015 to 2016, Dunn accepted $1,000 from the NRA-PVF.
Along with 107 Republican members of Congress, Dunn sent a letter to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai on December 13, 2017, supporting his plan to repeal net neutrality protections ahead of the commission's vote. Dunn accepted $18,500 from the telecom industry before voting to repeal the rule.
Dunn voted for the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, calling the bill "good medicine for America". He believes it will benefit many generations of Americans with a "great economy in which there will be jobs, there will be opportunity, there's possibilities for literally a whole new generation or two of Americans". Dunn says he has received support from "mostly small businessmen" in his district for supporting the bill.
Dunn supports defunding the Department of Education.
Dunn supports repealing the Affordable Care Act, which he says is "failing", saying "no one can afford" the premiums and deductibles.
After the 2021 storming of the U.S. Capitol, Dunn condemned the rioters, but still voted to object to the certification of several states' electoral votes.
Dunn voted to provide Israel with support following the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks on Israel.
Dunn voted against the Honoring our PACT Act of 2022, which expanded VA benefits to veterans exposed to toxic chemicals during their military service.
Dunn and his wife, Leah, have three sons and three grandsons. He announced on January 13, 2026, that he would retire from Congress rather than seek another term in 2026. It was reported the following month that the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives Mike Johnson told Republican donors that Dunn might have been terminally ill. On March 16, 2026, during a broadcast board meeting of the Kennedy Center, President Donald Trump shared private details of Dunn's condition, which he revealed was a heart problem. President Trump disclosed that because he needed his vote, the White House Medical Unit had gone to see Dunn and that "he was on the operating table, like, two hours later." Trump also disclosed that Dunn "would be dead by June," to which Johnson responded, "Okay, that wasn't public."
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