Tom DeLay
Thomas Dale DeLay is an American author and retired politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives. A Republican, DeLay represented Texas's 22nd congressional district from 1985 until 2006. He served as House majority leader from 2003 to 2005.
DeLay began his political career in 1978 when he was elected to the Texas House of Representatives. He was first elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1984. In 1988, DeLay was appointed deputy minority whip. In 1994, he helped Newt Gingrich orchestrate the Republican Revolution, which swept Democrats from power in both houses of Congress and put Republicans in control of the House of Representatives for the first time in forty years. In 1995, DeLay was elected House majority whip. With the Republicans in control of both chambers in Congress, DeLay and conservative activist Grover Norquist helped start the K Street Project in an effort to advance Republican ideals. DeLay was elected House majority leader after the 2002 midterm elections. He was known as a staunch conservative during his years in Congress.
In 2005, a Travis County grand jury indicted DeLay on criminal charges of conspiracy to violate election law by [|campaign money laundering]. DeLay temporarily resigned from his position as House majority leader and later announced that he would not seek to return. He resigned his seat in Congress in June 2006. DeLay was convicted in January 2011 and sentenced to three years in prison, but was free on bail while appealing his conviction. The trial court's judgment was overturned by the Austin Court of Appeals, a Texas intermediate appellate court, on September 19, 2013; the Court of Appeals ruled that "the evidence in the case was 'legally insufficient to sustain DeLay's convictions, and acquitted DeLay. The acquittal was upheld on appeal.
After leaving Congress, DeLay co-authored a political memoir entitled No Retreat, No Surrender: One American's Fight. He also founded First Principles, LLC, a lobbying firm.
Early life and education
DeLay was born in Laredo, Texas, one of three sons of Maxine Evelyn and Charles Ray DeLay. He spent most of his childhood in Venezuela due to his father's work in the petroleum and natural gas industry. He attended Calallen High School in Corpus Christi, Texas, where he both played football and was the lead dancer in school productions. He attended Baylor University for two years, majoring in pre-med, but was expelled for drinking and painting Baylor school colors on a building at rival Texas A&M University. The Washington Post reported that DeLay "received student draft deferments during the Vietnam era and avoided military service through the 1969 lottery". At the 1988 Republican Convention, he said that he could not volunteer to fight in Vietnam because so many minority youths had volunteered that there was literally no room for "patriotic folks" like himself.DeLay graduated from the University of Houston in 1970 with a Bachelor of Science in biology.
Early career
After graduating from college, DeLay spent three years at pesticide-maker Redwood Chemical and then purchased Albo Pest Control, which DeLay grew into a large and successful business. This work was the source for his nickname, "the Exterminator". In the 11 years DeLay ran the company, the Internal Revenue Service imposed three tax liens on him for failure to pay payroll and income taxes. The United States Environmental Protection Agency's ban on Mirex, a pesticide that was used in extermination work, led DeLay to oppose government regulation of businesses, a belief that he has carried with him throughout his political career.Political career
Local politics
In 1978, DeLay won the election for an open seat in the Texas House of Representatives. He was the first Republican to represent Fort Bend County in the state House. He was first sworn in on January 9, 1979, as a representative from the 21st district and served in the state House until 1985. DeLay ran for U.S. Congress in 1984 from the 22nd District, after fellow Republican Ron Paul decided to run in the Republican primary for the 1984 U.S. Senate race instead of for reelection. He easily won a crowded six-way primary with 53 percent of the vote, and cruised to election in November. DeLay was one of six freshmen Republican congressmen elected from Texas in 1984 known as the Texas Six Pack. He was reelected 10 times, never facing substantive opposition in what had become a solidly Republican district.Early congressional career
As a member of the Republican minority in the 1980s, DeLay made a name for himself by criticizing the National Endowment for the Arts and the Environmental Protection Agency. During his first term in Congress, DeLay was appointed to the Republican Committee on Committees, which assigned representatives to House committees, and in his second term, he was appointed to the powerful House Appropriations Committee, a position that he retained until his election as majority leader in 2003. He was reappointed to the committee in 2006 after leaving his position as majority leader. He also served for a time as chairman of a group of conservative House Republicans known as the Republican Study Committee, and as Secretary of the House Republican Conference. DeLay was appointed as a deputy Republican whip in 1988.Majority whip
When the Republican Party gained control of the House in 1995 following the 1994 election, or "Republican Revolution", DeLay was elected Majority Whip against the wishes of House Speaker-elect Newt Gingrich.DeLay was not always on good terms with Gingrich or Dick Armey, the House majority leader from 1995 to 2003, and he reportedly considered them uncommitted to Christian values. Nevertheless, in the heyday of the 104th Congress, DeLay described the Republican leadership as a triumvirate of Gingrich, "the visionary"; Armey, "the policy wonk"; and himself, "the ditch digger who makes it all happen".
In the summer of 1997, several House Republicans, who saw Speaker Newt Gingrich's public image as a liability, attempted to replace him as Speaker. The attempted "coup" began July 9 with a meeting between Republican conference chairman John Boehner of Ohio and Republican leadership chairman Bill Paxon of New York. According to their plan, House majority leader Dick Armey, House Majority Whip DeLay, Boehner and Paxon were to present Gingrich with an ultimatum: resign, or be voted out. However, Armey balked at the proposal to make Paxon the new Speaker, and told his chief of staff to warn Gingrich about the coup.
As Majority Whip, DeLay earned the nickname "The Hammer" for his enforcement of party discipline in close votes and his reputation for wreaking political vengeance on opponents. DeLay has expressed a liking for his nickname, pointing out that the hammer is one of a carpenter's most valuable tools. In the 104th Congress, DeLay successfully whipped 300 out of 303 bills.
In 1998, DeLay worked to ensure that the House vote on impeaching President Bill Clinton was successful. DeLay rejected efforts to censure Clinton, who, DeLay said, had lied under oath. DeLay posited that the U.S. Constitution allowed the House to punish the president only through impeachment. He called on Clinton to resign and influenced Republican House members to vote to approve articles of impeachment.
In 1998, Newt Gingrich faced a second major attempt by House Republicans, including DeLay, to oust him as Speaker. Gingrich announced he would decline to take his seat in the upcoming Congress. After Appropriations Committee chairman Bob Livingston and Dick Armey withdrew from consideration for the speakership, DeLay, as the third-ranking House Republican, had the inside track to the job. However, DeLay concluded that he would be "too nuclear" to lead the closely divided House that had resulted from the Republican House losses in 1996 and 1998. Instead, DeLay proposed his chief vote-counter, Chief Deputy Whip Dennis Hastert, as a compromise candidate, since Hastert had very good relations on both sides of the aisle. As Congress reconvened in January 1999, Hastert was elected House Speaker, and DeLay was reelected House Majority Whip.
Majority leader
After serving as his party's Whip for eight years, DeLay was elected majority leader upon the retirement of Dick Armey in 2003. His tenure as majority leader was marked by strong Republican party discipline and by parliamentary and redistricting efforts to preserve Republican control of the House. After his indictment on September 28, 2005, DeLay stepped down from his position as majority leader. He was the first congressional leader ever to be indicted. Rep. Roy Blunt of Missouri took over as acting leader.On January 7, 2006, after weeks of growing pressure from Republican colleagues, and particularly from Reps. Charlie Bass and Jeff Flake, who wanted to avoid being associated with DeLay's legal issues in an election year, DeLay announced he would not seek to regain his position as majority leader.
Legislative and electoral methods
DeLay was known to "primary" Republicans who resisted his votes.In the 108th Congress, a preliminary Medicare vote passed 216–215, a vote on Head Start passed 217–216, a vote on school vouchers for Washington, D.C., passed 209–208, and "Fast track", usually called "trade promotion authority", passed by one vote as well. Both political supporters and opponents remarked on DeLay's ability to sway the votes of his party, a method DeLay described as "growing the vote". DeLay was noted for involving lobbyists in the process of passing House bills. One lobbyist said, "I've had members pull me aside and ask me to talk to another member of Congress about a bill or amendment, but I've never been asked to work on a bill—at least like they are asking us to whip bills now." His ability to raise money gave him additional influence. During the 2004 election cycle, DeLay's political action committee ARMPAC was one of the top contributors to Republican congressional candidates, contributing over $980,000 in total.
Partly as a result of DeLay's management abilities, the House Republican caucus under him displayed unprecedented, sustained party cohesion.
On September 30, 2004, the House Ethics Committee unanimously admonished DeLay because he "offered to endorse Representative Nick Smith's son in exchange for Representative Smith's vote in favor of the Medicare bill."