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Patrick Leahy

Patrick Leahy
Leahy2009.jpg
United States Senator
from Vermont
Assumed office
January 3, 1975
Serving with Bernie Sanders
Preceded by George Aiken
President pro tempore emeritus
of the U.S. Senate
Assumed office
January 3, 2015
Preceded by Ted Stevens (2009)
President pro tempore of the U.S. Senate
In office
December 17, 2012 – January 3, 2015
Preceded by Daniel Inouye
Succeeded by Orrin Hatch
Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee
In office
January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2015
Preceded by Arlen Specter
Succeeded by Chuck Grassley
In office
June 6, 2001 – January 3, 2003
Preceded by Orrin Hatch
Succeeded by Orrin Hatch
Chair of the Senate Agriculture Committee
In office
January 3, 1987 – January 3, 1995
Preceded by Jesse Helms
Succeeded by Richard Lugar
Personal details
Born Patrick Joseph Leahy
(1940-03-31) March 31, 1940 (age 76)
Montpelier, Vermont, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Marcelle Pomerleau (1962–present)
Children 3
Education St. Michael's College (BA)
Georgetown University (JD)
Signature
Website Senate website

Patrick Joseph "Pat" Leahy /ˈlˌh/ (born March 31, 1940) is an American politician and the senior United States Senator from Vermont. He has been in office since 1975. A member of the Democratic Party, Leahy served as the President pro tempore of the United States Senate from December 17, 2012, to January 6, 2015. As President pro tempore, he was third in the presidential line of succession. He is the most senior senator and took office at a younger age than any other current senator. Leahy received the title of President pro tempore emeritus upon the commencement of the 114th Congress. He is the last remaining member of the Senate to have served during the presidency of Gerald Ford and prior to the 1976 election of President Jimmy Carter.

Leahy is currently the longest-serving Democratic Senator as well as the longest-serving US Senator in the history of Vermont, and the current dean of his state's congressional delegation. Having been there since 1975, he is also the longest serving incumbent Senator following the death of Hawaii's Daniel Inouye, who had served from 1962 until his death in 2012. He is the former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Senate Judiciary Committee worked extensively on prison reform with the introduction on a number of bills aimed at reforming the overcrowded prisons. The bills include: the Justice Safety Valve Act of 2013, The Smarter Sentencing Act of 2013, and the Public Safety Enhancement Act.


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