John M. McHugh

Secretary of the U.S. Army (since September 2009)

(Congress Bio Directory)

Why He Matters

McHugh toiled in relative obscurity as a congressman from upstate New York until 2009, when he rose to become the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee. But the lawmaker rose to national prominence when President Obama picked him in June 2009 as his choice for Army secretary.

McHugh is the fourth Republican Obama has asked to join or remain in his administration, following Bush Pentagon holdover Robert Gates, Transportation Secretary Raymond H. LaHood, U.S. Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman and former Commerce Secretary-designate Judd Gregg (D-N.H.). Gregg withdrew his nomination shortly after it was announced.

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Background

At a Glance

Career History: U.S. Representative (1993-2009); Member, New York State Senate (1984-1992); Aide, New York State Senate (1976-1984)
Birthday: Sept. 29, 1948
Hometown: Watertown, N.Y.
Alma Mater: Utica College, B.A. 1970; State University of New York at Albany, M.P.A. 1977.
Spouse: Divorced
Religion: Catholic

Committees: Armed Services (ranking member); Oversight and Government Reform
DC Office: 2366 Rayburn House Office BldgWashington DC 20515; 202-225-4611
District Offices: Watertown, 315-782-3150;Plattsburgh, 518-563-1406;Mayfield, 518-661-6486;Canastota, 315-697-2063
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Path to Power

Born in 1948, McHugh grew up in Watertown, a community situated between Lake Ontario and the Adirondacks in northern New York. He went to public schools before he became the first member of his family to attend college, graduating from Utica College in 1970.

McHugh began work in government soon after graduating. He served as an assistant to the Watertown city manager for five years before joining the staff of New York State Sen. Douglas Barclay (R) in 1976. When Barclay retired in 1984, McHugh ran for and won election to his seat in Albany.

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The Issues

Although McHugh has long been considered a moderate Republican, his voting record shifted even more toward the center after the GOP lost control of Congress in 2006. By 2008, an analysis by Congressional Quarterly ranked McHugh as one of the 10 most "independent" voting members of the House.

McHugh denied that the nation's altered political landscape had changed his voting pattern, but he was forced to defend his loyalty to the Republican Party. "I do find myself pretty much in lock step with the Republican Party on issues like taxes, national security and intelligence," he told the Post-Standard of Syracuse, N.Y., in March 2008. In the 111th Congress, McHugh voted with his party nearly 85% of the time through May 2009.

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McHugh opposes abortion rights and same-sex marriage. He also voted against funding for embryonic stem-cell research. He has broken with his party in recent years by opposing the Central American Free Trade Agreement, voting to increase the federal minimum wage and voting in favor of an expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program, or S-CHIP.

The Economy

McHugh has struck a populist tone throughout the deepening of the 2008-2009 financial crisis, decrying the "incompetence" of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and repeatedly calling for investigations of Wall Street. Nonetheless, he voted to support the initial $700 billion federal bailout of the financial industry in October 2008, a position that drew criticism from his 2008 Democratic congressional challenger, Michael Oot, who denounced the bill as laden with pork. McHugh blamed the Congressional Democratic leadership for adding earmarks, but he defended his vote.

After much deliberation, McHugh voted against the $787 billion economic stimulus package in February 2009. He criticized insufficient tax relief in the bill along with provisions that funded sex-education programs and community organizing groups. He also lambasted Democratic congressional leaders for shutting Republicans out of negotiations and for a lack of bipartisanship. "This bill will do little to help our economy in the short-term and is likely to rob the future of America's children for many years to come," McHugh said in opposing the stimulus.

National Security

As ranking Republican, McHugh's priorities on the House Armed Services Committee have ranged widely. Locally, he has directed hundreds of millions of dollars in funding to Fort Drum and other defense projects while working to protect military installations from closure. As chairman of the panel's subcommittee on Military Personnel, McHugh pushed for increases in the Army and Marine Corps, as well as additional pay and benefits for troops and veterans. He also took on the issue of women in the military, helping to secure an agreement in 2005 that requires congressional approval for the 191 military positions that women are prohibited from holding.

McHugh supported the wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan and has made numerous visits to each theater. In January 2007, he joined Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Evan Bayh (D-Ind.) in a high-profile trip to Iraq , shortly after President Bush announced a planned troop surge to the country and just before Clinton launched her presidential campaign.

McHugh voiced skepticism about the escalation and said that the group told Iraqi leaders that the "clock is ticking" on American support for the war. The GOP congressman did not join his Democratic colleagues, however, in calling for a withdrawal of U.S. troops. McHugh made his ninth trip to the region in February 2009, reporting that "things are going well" in Iraq while backing President Obama's pledge to send more troops to Afghanistan. Later that month he met with Obama, saying that he received assurances from the president to revisit his planned drawdown "if the situation on the ground deteriorates and violence increases."

In May 2009, McHugh and other top Republicans were gearing up for a potential battle with the Obama administration over its plan to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. McHugh is a co-sponsor of a bill that would prevent the administration from transferring any detainees into the United States without approval from the state's governor and legislature.

Postal Service Reform

McHugh worked for more than a decade to win passage of a comprehensive overhaul of the U.S. Postal Service, the first major reform of the agency since 1971. He chaired subcommittee panels on the postal service within the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and he finally saw his bill signed into law by President George W. Bush after the midterm elections of 2006.

Aimed at updating the postal service for the more competitive Internet age, the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act set new rules for rate increases to make them more closely tied to inflation, revamped the agency's finances, reformed practices that were considered monopolistic and strengthened the oversight power of the Postal Regulatory Commission.

The Network

McHugh's network of House Republican colleagues in New York has dwindled considerably in recent years; seven GOP members of the state delegation have retired or lost their seats since 2004, leaving only McHugh, Rep. Peter King and newly-elected Rep. Chris Lee.

McHugh has worked on a bipartisan basis with several Democratic members of the delegation, including Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), and upstate Reps. Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.) and Michael Arcuri (D-N.Y.). He also drew high praise from the Democratic chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Rep. Ike Skelton (D-Mo.), who said in May 2009: "I cannot ask for a better partner than John."

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