Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.)

U.S. Senator (January 2007 to present)

(Melina Mara/TWP)

Why He Matters

After racking up nearly two decades of political experience in Rhode Island, Whitehouse won his first national office in 2006 when he defeated incumbent Lincoln Chafee (R) to become Rhode Island's junior senator.

In his first two years in the Senate, Whitehouse has made his name by going after the George W. Bush administration. He participated in inquiries into the firing of U.S. attorneys and the role of political influence in decisions at the Environmental Protection Agency. Although Bush is out of office now, Whitehouse has pledged to hold the Bush administration accountable for its controversial detention practices, treatment of detainees and warrantless wiretapping, among other things.

Read more

Corrections?

Background

At a Glance

Career History: Practicing Attorney (2003 to 2006); Rhode Island Attorney General (1998-2002)United States Attorney for Rhode Island (1994 to 1998)
Birthday: Oct. 20, 1955
Hometown: New York, New York
Alma Mater: University of Virginia Law J.D. 1982Yale University, B.A. 1978
Spouse: Sandra Whitehouse
Religion: Protestant
Committees: Judiciary (chair, Crime and Terrorism subcommittee); Budget ; Environment and Public Works (chair, subcommittee on Oversight); Aging ; Health, Education, Labor and Pensions

DC Office: Hart Senate Office BuildingRoom 502Washington, D.C. 20510202-224-2921
State Office: 170 Westminster StreetSuite 1100Providence, R.I. 02903401-453-5294 phone401-453-5085 fax
Email
Web site
Facebook
YouTube

Path to Power

Born in New York City, Whitehouse has lived a life afforded by privilege. His father, Charles Whitehouse, served as the ambassador to Loas and Thailand after working for the CIA, State Department and Defense Department. Whitehouse is also a descendant of Charles Crocker, one of California's "Big Four" responsible for the construction of the Central Pacific Railroad.

Whitehouse attended the elite St Paul's prep school in New Hampshire and Yale University, where he received a B.A. in 1978. Four years later, he earned his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law, then won a clerkship from Judge Richard F. Neely of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals.

Read more

In 1985 Whitehouse joined the Rhode Island Attorney General's office as a special assistant attorney general.

He remained in the attorney's general's office until 1990, where he defended the state against civil suits and argued cases before the Rhode Island Supreme Court. When Democrat Bruce Sundlun was elected governor in 1990, Whitehouse became his legal counsel and policy director.

In 1994, with the support of family friend Sen. Claiborne Pell (D), Whitehouse was appointed U.S. Attorney for Rhode Island by President Bill Clinton. During his four-year tenure as a prosecutor, he used federal racketeering laws to prosecute the Latin Kings gang and secured more than $9 million in criminal penalties for the North Cape/Scandia oil spill in 1996.

Rhode Island Attorney General

Whitehouse made his first run for elected office in 1998 when he sought to become Rhode Island's attorney general. His two opponents in the Democratic primary tried to portray him as an out-of-touch, fox-hunting elitist who was trying to buy the office (Whitehouse contributed more than $200,000 of his own money to his campaign). State Treasurer Nancy Mayer (R), Whitehouse's opponent in the general election, hit him harder, questioning his fortitude and forcing him to admit that he tried drugs as a student. The line of attack didn't work, as Whitehouse won with 67 percent of the vote.

Whitehouse said he was only interested in the attorney general position when he ran for it, but four years later he took the first opportunity to run for governor of Rhode Island. He lost the Democratic primary by 926 votes to Myrth York (D), a wealthy former state senator who spent $2 million of her own money during the primary. Whitehouse did not take the loss well, telling a reporter, that the experience "combines elements of losing a loved one, getting dumped by your girl friend, having your house broken into, and losing the big game."

With that ordeal over, Whitehouse went into private practice until April of 2005, when he announced that he would challenge incumbent Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.). Despite Chafee's reputation as a moderate Republican, Whitehouse tied him to the GOP leadership, which in 2006 was a death sentence. "You know it's fine to vote what's right for Rhode Island sometimes, and then vote with the Republican Party and what Tom DeLay and other people are demanding the rest of the time. I'm not going to be like that. I'll be voting what's right for Rhode Island every time," Whitehouse said.

With both candidates supporting federal support of stem cell research, abortion rights and gun control, Rhode Island voters were essentially choosing between parties, a great advantage for Whitehouse in a state where Democrats outnumber Republicans two-to-one. Whitehouse won, 54 percent to 46 percent.

In his two years in the Senate, Whitehouse made his biggest impact during the investigation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' firing of eight U.S. Attorneys; one Los Angeles Times columnist praised the Senator for taking Gonzales "to the woodshed." Whitehouse then introduced a bill, still pending, to restore safeguards against political interference at the Department of Justice.

The Issues

Whitehouse is a liberal in the traditional Rhode Island mold. In the last full session of Congress, he voted with his party almost 96 percent of the time.

The Senator is a supporter of abortion rights and gun control. He has advocated for health care reform and stresses the importance of addressing global warming. On foreign policy, Whitehouse supports a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq and has urged caution in dealing with Iran. Whitehouse also cosponsored a proposal to prohibit the use of secrete detentions. President Obama adopted this proposal as one of his first acts in office.

Read more

The Economy

In 1991 Whitehouse gained his first experience with government bailouts, helping Gov. Bruce Sundlun draft a taxpayer-financed bailout for depositors during Rhode Island's state banking crisis. In 2008 Whitehouse he also backed the financial bailout of Wall Street, but said, "This can't end at Wall Street. "You can't end with [fixing] the machinery of the economy without going down and making everybody else in the economy healthy."

Whitehouse joined his fellow Democrats in voting for the president's economic stimulus package but expressed reservations about the cuts in education spending that were made to secure Republican support.

Health Care

Reforming health care has been a goal of Whitehouse's since the start of his political career. While attorney general of Rhode Island, he started Rhode Island Quality Institute, a group of health care providers and government officials devoted to improving health care in the state.

The first pieces of legislation Whitehouse introduced in the Senate focused on building a national information technology infrastructure encouraging quality health care reforms. The national infrastructure he advocates is "not unlike the highway system." He has also called for the establishment of a publically accountable "national entity with the authority and the know-how to get this process moving." He also supports a series of national standards to protect patients.

The Environment

Whitehouse began establishing his record as an environmental steward when, as Rhode Island's attorney general, he successfully argued to protect public wetlands in front of the U.S. Supreme Court and sued to block Bush administration efforts to weaken the Clean Air Act. Whitehouse also led efforts by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to investigate political interference at the EPA.

Whitehouse has declared climate change the single greatest threat to the environment and has introduced legislation that would establish a national strategy to study the impact of climate change on endangered plants and animals.

The Network

Whitehouse has a slew of political connections in Rhode Island. He worked for Gov. Bruce Sundlun (D) and has worked alongside Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) to bring funding to Rhode Island. As a Judiciary Committee member, he played powerful wingman to Chairman Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) during the U.S. attorneys probe.

Whitehouse has used his fundraising prowess to make many friends in Congress, earning him the distinction as Politico "Best Source of Lunch Money," in 2007.His Rhode Island PAC has made campaign contributions ranging from $10,000 to $500 to dozens of Senate and House candidates.

Read more

Additional Resources