People in the news

William Duhnke

Republican staff director for the Senate Banking Committee (since January 2007)

More on: William Duhnke

 

At a Glance

  • Career History: Staff Director and counsel for the Senate Banking Committee (July 2006 to Jan. 2007); Staff Director and chief counsel for the Senate Intelligence Committee (Jan. 2003 to June 2006); Minority Staff Director for the Senate Intelligence Committee (June 2001 to Jan. 2003)
  • Birthday: April 25, 1962
  • Hometown: Milwaukee, Wis.
  • Alma Mater: University of Wisconsin-Madison, B.A., 1984; Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law, J.D., 1996
  • Spouse: Laurie Ann Schoeben
  • DC Office: 534 Senate Dirksen Office Building, 202-224-739
  • Web site
 

Path to Power

Duhnke is a lifetime public servant, and has spent 15 years on the Hill, but has only spent two years on the Banking Committee. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin-Madision, Duhnke, a Wisconsin native, joined the U.S. Navy and packed his bags for Pensacola, Fla., where he attended Aviation Officer Candidate School and graduated first in his class as a Distinguished Naval Graduate. He served in Hawaii and while still in the Navy worked in the White House before completing his naval service in 1991.

Duhnke worked on the Commission on the Assignment of Women in the Armed Forces and the 1993 Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission, but he wanted to work in the legislative branch after spending some time in the executive branch. When he saw a job open up in Shelby's office, he applied. While working on Shelby's staff and doing work for the commissions, he attended Catholic University Columbus School of Law and earned his J.D.

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The Issues

Duhnke describes his expertise as "managing the legislative process at the staff level." But after a handful of years in the Navy and a dozen years working on the Intelligence Committee, he is extremely knowledgeable about intelligence issues. Former Intelligence Chair Pat Roberts (R-Kansas), who is now the ranking Republican on that panel, was a leading advocate for domestic wiretapping of suspected terrorists after Sept. 11, and Duhnke said Roberts believes the wiretapping program is "necessary and critical to protect us from another terrorist attack."

Duhnke says Shelby's priorities for the 111th Congress will be examining "in detail, the origins of the current financial crisis and whether the 111th Congress should undertake comprehensive regulatory reform." Shelby was one of the critics of the $700 billion bailout in the fall of 2008. "The choice we faced was between pursuing an informed response or panic," he said. "Unfortunately we chose panic and are now about to spend $700 billion on something we have not examined closely."

 

The Network

Duhnke has worked with Shelby for most of his career in Congress. He also was staff director for the Senate Intelligence Committee while Roberts was chairman.

 

Additional Resources

  1. Kaper, Stacy, "In Brief: Dodd names aides to committee jobs," American Banker, Nov. 14, 2006
  2. Abrahms, Doug, "Alabama senators vote against bailout," The Montgomery Advisor, Oct. 2, 2008
  3. Almanac of the Unelected, 2008 edition
  4. Wiebe, Mark, "Kansas Senator is Ardent Supporter of Domestic Spying," St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Mo.), Feb. 5, 2006
  5. Kosterlitz, Julie, "The Hill People 2007: William Duhnke," National Journal, June 25, 2007;