Don Beyer | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Official portrait, 2023 | |
| Chair of theJoint Economic Committee | |
| In office January 3, 2021 – January 3, 2023 | |
| Preceded by | Mike Lee |
| Succeeded by | Martin Heinrich |
| Vice Chair of theJoint Economic Committee | |
| In office January 16, 2020 – February 3, 2021 | |
| Preceded by | Carolyn Maloney |
| Succeeded by | Martin Heinrich |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromVirginia's8th district | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Jim Moran |
| United States Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein | |
| In office September 8, 2009 – May 29, 2013 | |
| President | Barack Obama |
| Preceded by | Peter Coneway |
| Succeeded by | Suzan G. LeVine |
| 36thLieutenant Governor of Virginia | |
| In office January 13, 1990 – January 17, 1998 | |
| Governor | Douglas Wilder George Allen |
| Preceded by | Douglas Wilder |
| Succeeded by | John Hager |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Donald Sternoff Beyer Jr. (1950-06-20)June 20, 1950 (age 75) |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 4 |
| Education | Williams College (BA) George Mason University |
| Signature |  |
| Website | House website Campaign website |
Donald Sternoff Beyer Jr. (/ˈbaɪ.ər/BY-ər; born June 20, 1950) is an American politician, businessman, and diplomat serving as theU.S. representative forVirginia's 8th congressional district since 2015. A member of theDemocratic Party, his district is located inNorthern Virginia and includesAlexandria,Falls Church,Arlington, and parts of easternFairfax County.
Beyer has owned automobile dealerships inVirginia and has a long record of involvement in community and philanthropic work. From 1990 to 1998, he served two terms as the 36thlieutenant governor of Virginia during the gubernatorial administrations ofDoug Wilder (1990–1994) andGeorge Allen (1994–1998). His party's nominee forgovernor of Virginia in1997, he lost to RepublicanJim Gilmore, who was then theAttorney General of Virginia. From 2009 to 2013, he served asUnited States Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein under PresidentBarack Obama.[1]
In 2014, Beyer announced hiscandidacy for theU.S. House of Representatives seat forVirginia's 8th congressional district held by the retiringJim Moran. Beyer won the 12-candidate Democratic primary in June with 45% of the vote and went on to win the general election 63% to 33%. He has since been reelected five times, most recently in 2024.
Beyer was born in theFree Territory of Trieste, the son of aU.S. Army officer, Donald Sternoff Beyer Sr., and his wife, Nancy McDonald.[2][3] His grandmotherClara Mortenson Beyer was a pioneer in labor economics and workers' rights, and worked in theUnited States Department of Labor underFrances Perkins during theNew Deal era.[4] His grandfather Otto S. Beyer Jr. was Chairman of the National Mediation Board. The oldest of six children, he was raised in Washington, D.C., where his grandparents lived.
In 1968, he graduated fromGonzaga College High School, where he wassalutatorian of his class; in 1972 he graduatedPhi Beta Kappa fromWilliams College,magna cum laude, in economics. Beyer was aPresidential Scholar in 1968 and aNational Merit Scholarship winner. He graduated from a winterOutward Bound course atDartmouth College in January 1971 and attendedWellesley College that year as part of the "12 College Exchange" program.[5][6]
In 2022, during his congressional career, Beyer enrolled atGeorge Mason University in pursuit of a master's degree in computer science with a concentration in machine learning,[7] taking one evening course per semester. He toldThe Washington Post in December 2022 that he was taking required undergraduate courses before he started graduate coursework, which he expected to begin by 2024.[8]
After college, Beyer began working at the Volvo dealership his father had purchased in 1973. In 1986, he and his brother Michael bought the business from their parents and as the Beyer Automotive Group, the business expanded to nine dealerships, including theVolvo,Land Rover,Kia,Volkswagen,Mazda, andSubaru brands. Beyer sold his share of the dealerships to his brother in 2019.[citation needed] Beyer is a past chairman of the National Volvo Retailer Advisory Board. In 2006, he chaired theAmerican International Automobile Dealers Association.[9]
Beyer served as a member of the board of Demosphere International, Inc., a leading soccer registration software provider.[10] He was also a board member of History Associates, which bills itself as "The Best Company in History."[11] He has served on the Virginia Board ofFirst Union National Bank, the board of Shenandoah Life Insurance Company, and the board of Lightly Expressed, a fiber optic lighting design and manufacturing firm.
During nearly two decades of community activism, Beyer has taken leadership roles on the boards of many business, philanthropic and public policy organizations, the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce and theAmerican Cancer Society. He has received numerous awards and honors, including the Grand Award for Highway Safety from the National Safety Federation; the James C. Wheat Jr. Award for Service to Virginians with Disabilities;[12] the Earl Williams Leadership in Technology Award; and the Thomas Jefferson Award for 2012 from American Citizens Abroad.[13]
In 2017, he received the Leaders for Democracy Award from the Project on Middle East Democracy. In April 2017, he received the Community Integration Leadership Award for Community and Public Service from the ENDependence Center of Northern Virginia and the Community Engagement Award from Phillips Programs for Children and Families. In 2021, Beyer received the Excellence in Public Service Award from the Population Association of America.
Beyer chaired the board of the Alexandria Community Trust, Alexandria's community foundation,[14] and the board ofJobs for Virginia Graduates, the state's largest high school dropout prevention program.[15] He is a former president of the board ofYouth for Tomorrow,Washington Redskins coachJoe Gibbs's residential home for troubled adolescent boys and girls.[16] He also served on the board of theDC Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy.[17] He currently serves on the board of directors of Jobs for America's Graduates.
In 2022, readers and editors ofArlington Magazine named Beyer "Best Elected Official" as part of the magazine's annual roundup of favorite restaurants, shops, doctors, summer camps, live bands and more inArlington County, Virginia.[18]
Beyer was the northern Virginia coordinator of theGerald L. Baliles campaign for governor in 1985. In 1986, Governor Baliles appointed Beyer to theCommonwealth Transportation Board (CTB), which is responsible for overseeing the Virginia Department of Transportation and allocating highway funding to specific projects. It consists of 17 members, including the Secretary of Transportation, Commonwealth Transportation Commissioner, Director of the Department of Rail and Public Transportation, and 14 citizen members who are appointed by the governor and confirmed by theVirginia General Assembly.[19]
Beyer was electedlieutenant governor of Virginia in1989, defeating Republican state senatorEdwina P. Dalton. He was reelected in1993, defeating RepublicanMichael Farris 54%-46%, as RepublicansGeorge Allen andJim Gilmore were elected on the same ballot as governor andattorney general, respectively.
Farris's close connection to conservative leaders such asJerry Falwell of theMoral Majority,Pat Robertson of theChristian Coalition andPhyllis Schlafly of theEagle Forum, as well as his adherence to theQuiverfull movement,[20][21] stirred deep-seated feelings and led some prominent Virginia Republicans such asU.S. SenatorJohn Warner to support Beyer rather than Farris.[22]
During his tenure as lieutenant governor, Beyer served as president of theVirginia Senate. He chaired the Virginia Economic Recovery Commission, the Virginia Commission on Sexual Assault, the Virginia Commission on Disabilities, the Poverty Commission and was co-founder of the Northern Virginia Technology Council, an outgrowth of the Chamber of Commerce.[23] He was active in promoting high-tech industries and led the fight to eliminate disincentives in the Virginia Tax Code to high-tech research and development.[24]
He is also credited with writing the original welfare reform legislation in Virginia.[25]
Beyer was the Democratic nominee for governor in 1997, losing toRepublicanJim Gilmore. He served as Finance Chairman forMark Warner's Political Action Committee, "Forward Together",[26] and as the National Treasurer for the 2004 presidential campaign of former Vermont GovernorHoward Dean.[27] After Dean withdrew from the race, he served as chairman of theJohn Kerry campaign in Virginia.[28]
In 2007–08, Beyer endorsed and campaigned extensively for presidential candidateBarack Obama.[29] He chaired the Mid Atlantic Finance Council of Obama for America campaign[30] and served on the campaign's National Finance Council.
The Democratic National Committee appointed Beyer to serve at the 2008 DNC Convention on the Credentials Committee.[31]
Following the 2008 election, President-elect Obama asked Beyer to head up the transition team at theDepartment of Commerce.[32]
Obama nominated Beyer forUnited States Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein on June 12, 2009.[33] In December 2010, Beyer attracted public attention when it was reported that he had warned the Swiss government against offering asylum toWikiLeaks publisherJulian Assange.[34] In March 2013, Beyer received theThomas Jefferson Award fromAmerican Citizens Abroad. The award is presented annually by ACA to recognize State Department members who have rendered outstanding service to Americans overseas. Beyer was recognized for organizing a series of town hall meetings where American citizens overseas could voice concerns and opinions to officials of the State Department. He resigned as ambassador in May 2013.
During the run-up to the 2020 primaries, Beyer endorsedPete Buttigieg for president. He then endorsedJoe Biden on Super Tuesday.[35]
In June 2022, after a spate of mass shootings in the U.S., Beyer said he would propose a bill to increase taxes on assault-style guns by 1,000%.[36] He toldBusiness Insider, "What it's intended to do is provide another creative pathway to actually make some sensible gun control happen. We think that a 1,000% fee on assault weapons is just the kind of restrictive measure that creates enough fiscal impact to qualify for reconciliation."
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On January 24, 2014, Beyer announced his candidacy forVirginia's 8th congressional district to succeed retiring Democratic incumbentJim Moran.[37] It was his first partisan race since losing the 1997 gubernatorial election. He won the June 10 Democratic primary with 45.7% of the vote.[38]
On November 4, Beyer defeated Republican nominee Micah Edmond and three others in the general election receiving 63.1% of the vote. But he had effectively clinched a seat in Congress in the primary. At the time, the 8th was Virginia's second-most Democratic district, with aCook Partisan Voting Index of D+16 (only the 3rd district was more Democratic).
Beyer is a member of theCongressional Progressive Caucus.[39]
Beyer defeated Republican nominee Charles Hernick, 68.6% to 27.4%.[40]
Beyer defeated Republican nominee Thomas Oh, 76.3% to 23.7%.[41]
Beyer defeated Republican nominee Jeff Jordan, 75.8% to 24.0%.[42]
Beyer defeated Republican nominee Karina Lipsman, 73.5% to 24.8%.
2024
Beyer defeated Republican nominee Jerry Torres, 71.5% to 24.7%.[43]
Beyer was a frequent critic of the Trump administration. On April 13, 2017, he was the first lawmaker to call for senior White House adviser and Trump son-in-lawJared Kushner to lose his security clearance after it was revealed that Kushner had omitted numerous contacts with foreign nationals from his security clearance application.[44] In June 2017, Beyer renewed his call, sending a letter signed by more than 50 other House Democrats demanding that the White House immediately revoke Kushner's clearance, citing national security concerns.[45]
Beyer wrote the Cost of Police Misconduct Act, which proposed to create a publicly accessible federal database over police misconduct allegations and settlements.[46]
As of 2022, Beyer has voted with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time, according toFiveThirtyEight.[47]
Beyer voted to provide Israel with support following theOctober 7 attacks.[48][49] He declined to vote in favor of a resolution declaringanti-Zionism a form ofantisemitism, instead voting present.[50]
In October 2023, Beyer introduced legislation to prohibit the trade ofdonkey-hide gelatin, or ejiao, due toanimal welfare concerns.[51] Across multiple Congresses, Beyer has authored the Humane Cosmetics Act, which would prohibittesting cosmetics on animals and bar the sale of new animal-tested cosmetic products in the United States. In March 2025, Beyer stated: "Cosmetics testing on animals is cruel, unnecessary, and outdated, and Congress should finally put a stop to it".[52]
Beyer and his wife,Megan, have two children, Clara and Grace. He also has two children, Don and Stephanie, from a previous marriage,[65] and two grandchildren.[66] He is anEpiscopalian.[67]
As of May 2019, according to OpenSecrets.org, Beyer's net worth was more than $124 million.[68]
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| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Lieutenant Governor of Virginia 1990–1998 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forGovernor of Virginia 1997 | Succeeded by |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by | United States Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein 2009–2013 | Succeeded by Jeffrey Cellars Acting |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromVirginia's 8th congressional district 2015–present | Incumbent |
| Preceded by | Chair of theJoint Economic Committee 2021–2023 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded by | United States representatives by seniority 131st | Succeeded by |
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| Chargé d'Affaires | ||
| Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary | ||
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| National | |
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| Other | |
