Ron Wyden
Ronald Lee Wyden is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Oregon, a seat he has held since 1996. A member of the Democratic Party, he served in the United States House of Representatives from 1981 until 1996. Upon the death of Representative Don Young in 2022, Wyden became the dean of the West Coast's Congressional delegation. He is the dean of Oregon's congressional delegation and serves as the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee. Known for his libertarian-leaning stances within the Democratic Party, Wyden has been a prominent advocate for privacy rights, internet freedom, and limiting government surveillance, positioning him as a defender of civil liberties.
Early life, education, and early career
Ronald Wyden was born in Wichita, Kansas, the son of Edith and Peter H. Wyden, both of whom were Jewish and had fled Nazi Germany. He grew up in Palo Alto, California, where he played basketball for Palo Alto High School. He attended the University of California, Santa Barbara, on a basketball scholarship, and later transferred to Stanford University, where he majored in political science and received his Bachelor of Arts in 1971. He received a Juris Doctor from the University of Oregon School of Law in 1974, but has never been a member of the Oregon State Bar.While teaching gerontology at several Oregon universities, Wyden founded the Oregon chapter of the Gray Panthers, which he led from 1974 to 1980. He was also the director of the Oregon Legal Services Center for Elderly, a nonprofit law service. From 1977 to 1979 he served on the Oregon State Board of Examiners of Nursing Home Administrators.
U.S. House of Representatives
Wyden ran for the United States House of Representatives in 1980. In the Democratic primary, Wyden, who was just 31 at the time, upset incumbent Representative Bob Duncan in, which includes most of Portland. Later that fall, Wyden defeated his Republican opponent, Darrell Conger, with 71% of the vote. The 3rd has long been the most Democratic district in Oregon, and Wyden was reelected seven times, never with less than 70% of the vote.In the House, Wyden played an influential role in the passage of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act of 1996.
U.S. Senate
Elections
1996 Special
In January 1996, in a special election to fill the Senate seat vacated by Bob Packwood, Wyden defeated Oregon State Senate President Gordon Smith by just over 18,000 votes, mainly due to swamping Smith by over 89,000 votes in Multnomah County. Smith won the regular Senate election that November to succeed the retiring Mark Hatfield, and Smith and Wyden served together until Smith's defeat in 2008 by Democrat Jeff Merkley.Wyden holds the Senate seat that was once held by Wayne Morse, a man whom Wyden worked for in the summer of 1968 as Morse's driver, and whom Wyden calls his mentor.
1998
Wyden was elected to a full term in 1998 with 61% of the vote.2004
Wyden was reelected in 2004 with 64% of the vote to Republican nominee Al King's 31%.2010
In 2010, Wyden was reelected with 57% of the vote to Jim Huffman's 39%.2016
In 2016, Wyden was reelected with 57% of the vote to Republican nominee Mark Callahan's 33%.2022
In 2022, Wyden was reelected with 56% of the vote to Republican nominee Jo Rae Perkins's 41%.Tenure
In June 1996, Wyden offered an amendment to the mission of the Federal Aviation Administration that was endorsed by Transportation Secretary Federico F. Peña. In September, Wyden joined Wendell H. Ford in requesting that the FAA publicize information on the federal government's reason for not making safety data on the airlines more readily available to travelers.In late 1999, Wyden threatened a filibuster amid Senate debate over banning physician-assisted suicide.
In May 2000, Wyden and Republican Representative Bill Thomas announced they would collaborate on an attempt to add prescription drug benefits to Medicare that year.
In January 2001, Wyden and Chuck Schumer were the only two senators on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to vote against the confirmation of Gale Norton as United States Secretary of the Interior. Wyden admitted reluctance in his opposition and said he hoped that Norton would change his view of her.
In February 2001, after the U.S. Department of Transportation's Inspector General's Office released a report on airlines providing "untimely, incomplete, or unreliable reports" on flight delays and cancellations, Wyden said the matter amounted to a "failure to communicate honestly about delays and cancellations" as well as the bumping of passengers from flights and that Congress was capable of taking action to give passengers "timely, accurate information and reasonable service." In March, Wyden stated his support for ending a federal rule requiring commercial pilots to cease flying after age 60.
In April 2001, Wyden joined Gordon H. Smith in introducing a proposal for a change in a budget resolution, saying Congress not responding at a time of layoffs was "nothing short of government malpractice." The change was adopted without dissent.
In May 2001, Wyden released a letter by Inspector General Kenneth M. Mead in which he stated that airlines had admitted to him that they deliberately delayed some evening flights to accommodate late-arriving passengers who would otherwise have had to wait until the next morning without notifying passengers of the change in schedule. During an address to the International Aviation Club days later, Wyden warned that airlines that persisted in fighting modest steps like informing the public of perpetually late flights would encounter more burdensome requirements later.
In January 2002, Wyden charged Enron with resorting "to a variety of legal, regulatory and accounting contortions to keep investors and the public in the dark" and called for Congress to begin an investigation into the matter. In February, he said that thousands of Oregonians had been harmed by Enron's collapse and advocated that the Senate Commerce Committee continue inquiring about Enron until they had all the facts.
In March 2002, amid the Senate's inability to reach an agreement on legislation intended to overhaul American election procedures, Wyden said the bill was "not a corpse" and must not disrupt Oregon's and Washington's vote-by-mail systems.
In November 2003, Wyden announced his support for the Bush administration-backed Medicare bill, touted as "the biggest expansion of Medicare since its creation in 1965."
In April 2004, Wyden was among a group of senators who took to the Senate floor to endorse a permanent ban on taxes on Internet access. Wyden said the subject was "about as interesting as prolonged root-canal work" but that it was "fair to say that the decisions the Senate makes with respect to this subject will say a whole lot about the future of the Internet."
In August 2004, amid Democratic opposition to the nomination of Porter Goss for Director of Central Intelligence, Wyden said that Democrats were aware "of what happened in the last election cycle on homeland security" and that he hoped "that Democrats aren't accused by anybody of being obstructionist just by asking tough questions."
In December 2004, Wyden was one of four Democratic senators to refuse to sign "conference sheets" used by the House-Senate conference committee that was working on the 2005 intelligence authorization bill, the four objecting to a classified item in the bill that they believed the funding of which "should be expended on other intelligence programs that will make a surer and greater contribution to national security."
On March 2, 2006, Wyden unveiled the Internet Nondiscrimination Act of 2006, legislation intended to prohibit network operators from charging companies "for faster delivery of their content to consumers over the internet or favoring certain content over others." He said a two-tier system "could have a chilling effect on small mom and pop businesses that can't afford the priority lane, leaving these smaller businesses no hope of competing against the Wal-Marts of the world" and that neutrality in technology allowed "small businesses to thrive on the Internet".
In July 2009, President Barack Obama praised Wyden as a "real thought leader" and an ally on health care reform, but announced he would not support Wyden's health care plan because parts of it were too radical for the United States.
Wyden characterizes himself as an "independent voice for Oregonians and the nation" and emphasizes his positions on health care reform, national security, consumer protection, and government transparency. On the Issues characterizes him as a "Hard-Core Liberal."
On March 6, 2013, Wyden crossed party lines to join Republican Senator Rand Paul, who was engaged in a talking filibuster to block voting on the nomination of John O. Brennan as the Director of the CIA. Wyden questioned the use of drones, saying, "what it comes down to is every American has the right to know when their government believes that it is allowed to kill them."
Politico reported that Wyden's ascent to chair of the Senate Finance Committee would vault him into the ranks of the chamber's most influential. He has been praised for his ability to defuse partisan tensions and encourage bipartisan cooperation.
In August 2016, in response to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump's refusal to disclose his tax returns, Wyden and Chris Murphy announced that they would press for consideration of Wyden's bill that if enacted would require major-party presidential nominees to disclose at least three years of tax returns and thereby authorize the Treasury Department to release Trump's returns over Trump's objections. Wyden asserted that Americans expect candidates to release their tax returns and Trump's break from tradition was "an exceptional moment where a long-standing precedent has been broken, and it presents enormous peril to the public to have this information as private."
In May 2017, after Trump announced the firing of FBI Director James Comey, Wyden restated his past criticisms and said the decision to fire him amid investigation of Trump and his associate into possible Russian ties was "outrageous". Wyden advocated that Comey be called to testify in an open hearing about the investigation of Russia and Trump associates at the time his tenure was terminated.
In August 2017, Wyden was one of four senators to unveil the Internet of Things Cybersecurity Improvement Act of 2017, legislation intended to establish "thorough, yet flexible, guidelines for Federal Government procurements of connected devices."
In December 2017, Wyden called for Trump to resign over allegations of sexual misconduct and said Congress should investigate the matter in the event Trump decided to remain in office.
In May 2018, Wyden was one of six Democratic senators to sign a letter asking that all members of Senate be authorized to read a report from the Department of Justice underpinning the decision to not seek charges in the CIA's destruction of videotapes.
In July 2018, after Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, Wyden said Trump had begun "a forced march back to the days when women's health care choices were made by government" and "a direct attempt to overturn Roe v. Wade."
On August 1, 2018, Wyden announced his intent to put a formal hold on Treasury deputy secretary nominee Justin Muzinich after his confirmation by the Senate Finance Committee. He also confirmed his support for IRS general counsel nominee Michael Desmond and criticized Treasury consideration of indexing capital gains taxes to inflation as contributing extra tax savings to the wealthy along with possibly being illegal.
In August 2018, after the White House barred CNN reporter Kaitlan Collins from covering an open press event after she repeatedly asked Trump about his relationship with his former attorney Michael Cohen, Wyden cosponsored a resolution urging Trump to respect the press.
On July 9, 2024, it was reported that Wyden and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse sent an official letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland the previous week requesting that he appoint a special counsel to investigate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas for tax and ethics violations. The letter says, "The breadth of the omissions uncovered to date, and the serious possibility of additional tax fraud and false statement violations by Justice Thomas and his associates, warrant the appointment of a Special Counsel to investigate this misconduct."