Saxby Chambliss | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Chair of theSenate Agriculture Committee | |
| In office January 3, 2005 – January 3, 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Thad Cochran |
| Succeeded by | Tom Harkin |
| United States Senator fromGeorgia | |
| In office January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2015 | |
| Preceded by | Max Cleland |
| Succeeded by | David Perdue |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromGeorgia's8th district | |
| In office January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2003 | |
| Preceded by | Roy Rowland |
| Succeeded by | Jim Marshall (redistricted) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Clarence Saxby Chambliss (1943-11-10)November 10, 1943 (age 82) |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | |
Chambliss discusses the2009 Southeastern United States floods. Recorded September 24, 2009 | |
Clarence Saxby Chambliss (/ˈsæksbiˈtʃæmblɪs/; born November 10, 1943) is an American lawyer and retired politician who was aUnited States senator fromGeorgia from 2003 to 2015. A member of theRepublican Party, he previously served as aU.S. representative from 1995 to 2003.
During his House tenure, Chambliss chaired the House Intelligence Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security. This subcommittee oversaw investigations of the intelligence community following theSeptember 11 attacks in 2001.
Chambliss was first elected to the U.S. Senate in2002, defeatingDemocratic incumbentMax Cleland. As a senator, he chaired theSenate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry during the 109th Congress (2005–2007). During the 112th Congress (2011–2012), he was the ranking Republican on theSenate Select Committee on Intelligence. In December 2011, theWashington Post named Chambliss as one of the Best Leaders of 2011 for his attempts to craft a bipartisan deficit reduction package. Chambliss was re-elected to the Senate in2008, but did not seek reelection in2014.
Chambliss was born inWarrenton, North Carolina, the son of Emma Baker (née Anderson) and Alfred Parker Chambliss, Jr., anEpiscopal priest.[1][2] He graduated fromC.E. Byrd High School inShreveport,Louisiana, in 1961. He attendedLouisiana Tech University from 1961 to 1962 and earned aBachelor of Business Administration from theUniversity of Georgia’sTerry College of Business in 1966, working his way through college at a bakery inAthens.[1] He received hisJuris Doctor from theUniversity of Tennessee College of Law in 1968. He is a member of theSigma Chi fraternity.[3]
During theVietnam War, Chambliss received student deferments and was also given a medical deferment (1-Y) for bad knees due to afootball injury.[4]
Chambliss was elected to theU.S. House of Representatives in 1994 as one of the newconservative Republican congressmen whose elections caused the party to gain a majority in both houses of Congress. A long-time Congressman and fellow Georgian,Newt Gingrich, was the leader of the movement, and Chambliss and the other Republicans elected that year are known as theClass of '94.[5]
Chambliss was elected from theMacon-based 8th District, after six-term incumbentJ. Roy Rowland retired. He was elected with 63%[6] of the vote—an unexpectedly large margin since the 8th had never elected a Republican. He faced a tough re-election fight in 1996 against Macon attorney Jim Wiggins, but breezed to reelection in 1998 and 2000. In the latter contest, he faced a reasonably well-financed challenger in former Macon mayorJim Marshall, but turned back this challenge fairly easily with almost 59 percent of the vote.[7]
During his four terms in the House, Chambliss served on theUnited States House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and chaired the House Intelligence Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security.[8]
Less than a month after theSeptember 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the House Intelligence Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security, which Chambliss chaired, investigated intelligence issues related to the attacks. The committee's investigation resulted in the first comprehensive report detailing critical shortfalls within the United States intelligence community's performance and technological capabilities.[9]
Chambliss was criticized for remarks he made during a November 19, 2001 meeting with first responders inValdosta, Georgia, where he said that homeland security would be improved by turning the sheriff loose to "arrest everyMuslim that crosses the state line." Chambliss apologized for the remarks.[10]
In 2006, Chambliss was among several congressional Republicans and Democrats who returned campaign donations fromJack Abramoff.[11]
Upon urging fromKarl Rove and the Bush administration who viewed the Democratic party of Georgia as vulnerable, Chambliss ran for the Senate in 2002, facing freshmanDemocratic incumbentMax Cleland.[12] During the campaign, Chambliss ran an advertisement against Cleland, a decorated Vietnam War veteran who lost three limbs during the war, in which Cleland was described as weak on defense and homeland security.[13][14] Chambliss received criticism from Democrats and Republicans for this advertisement.[14] Republican Sens.John McCain andChuck Hagel complained to the Republican National Committee about the advertisement, and it was taken down.[15]
Chambliss won the election, receiving 53 percent of the votes to Cleland's 46 percent.[16]
On November 4, 2008, Chambliss received 49.8% of the vote, whileDemocratic challengerJim Martin received 47% andLibertarian Allen Buckley received 3% of the vote.[17]
Since no candidate exceeded 50% of the vote, a runoff election between Chambliss and Martin was held on December 2, 2008.[18]
During the run-off period, Chambliss received a subpoena regarding the investigation of a lawsuit againstImperial Sugar that claims that Imperial "wrongfully" failed to remove hazards that caused the disaster of aSavannah-based sugar refinery thatexploded on February 7, 2008. Chambliss was accused of "harassing"[19] a former sugar company executive. In a statement, Chambliss stated that he sympathized with the families affected by the explosion and had referred the matter to Senate lawyers. When he was subpoenaed to testify in the case, Chambliss claimed "legislative immunity."[20][21][22]
Chambliss defeated Martin 57% to 43% in the runoff election.[23]
Chambliss was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2002. As a senator, he chaired theSenate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry during the109th Congress (2005–2007). During the112th Congress (2011–2013), he was the ranking Republican on theSenate Select Committee on Intelligence.[24]
Although Chambliss had a conservative voting record, he participated in bipartisan legislation—such as the2007 Farm Bill, the bipartisan immigration reform (led byJohn McCain andTed Kennedy) in 2007[25] and theEmergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.[25] He was also the Republican leader of theGang of 10, a bipartisan group which worked to create a compromise surrounding the energy policy of the United States.[26] In December 2011, theWashington Post named Chambliss as one of the Best Leaders of 2011 for his attempts to craft a bipartisan deficit reduction package.[27]
On March 6, 2013, Chambliss was among 12 Senators invited to a private dinner hosted, and personally paid for, by President Obama atThe Jefferson Hotel.[28] That same night, Chambliss participated in Rand Paul's filibuster over the government's use of lethal drone strikes—forcing the Senate to delay the expected confirmation of John O. Brennan to lead the Central Intelligence Agency.[29]
In April 2013, Chambliss was one of 46 senators to vote against a bill which would have expanded background checks for all firearms buyers. Chambliss voted with 40 Republicans and five Democrats to stop the passage of the bill.[30]
Chambliss received bipartisan criticism in 2013 after discussing the "hormone level created by nature" as a possible cause of sexual assault in the military.[31]
In January 2014, Chambliss signed an amicus brief in support of SenatorRon Johnson's legal challenge against theU.S. Office of Personnel Management's Affordable Care Act ruling.[32]
Chambliss's son, Bo, was a registered lobbyist for theChicago Mercantile Exchange. Bo Chambliss lobbied on commodityfutures trading issues that fell under legislative jurisdiction of theSenate Agriculture Committee, of which the Senator was a member. Sen. Chambliss's office enacted a policy that prevented Bo Chambliss from lobbying the Senator or his staff.[33]
Chambliss did not seek reelection in2014.[34] Days after his retirement from the Senate in 2015, it was announced he was joiningDLA Piper as a partner.[35]
Source:[36]
Chambliss is a member of St. Mark's Anglican Church inMoultrie, Georgia. He married Julianne Frohbert in 1966 and they have two children and six grandchildren.[37]
Chambliss suffered a minor stroke in December 2020.[34]
| Year | Democratic | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Craig Mathis | 53,408 | 37.3% | Saxby Chambliss | 89,591 | 62.7% | |||
| 1996 | Jim Wiggins | 84,506 | 47.44% | Saxby Chambliss(incumbent) | 93,619 | 52.56% | |||
| 1998 | Ronald L. Cain | 53,079 | 38% | Saxby Chambliss(incumbent) | 87,993 | 62% | |||
| 2000 | Jim Marshall | 79,051 | 41% | Saxby Chambliss(incumbent) | 113,380 | 59% |
| Year | Democratic | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | 3rd Party | Party | Votes | Pct | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Max Cleland (incumbent) | 931,857 | 45.90% | Saxby Chambliss | 1,071,153 | 52.77% | Claude "Sandy" Thomas | Libertarian | 26,981 | 1.33% | ||||
| 2008 | Jim Martin | 1,757,393 | 46.83% | Saxby Chambliss(incumbent) | 1,867,093 | 49.76% | Alan Buckley | Libertarian | 127,923 | 3.41% |
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Saxby Chambliss (incumbent) | 1,228,033 | 57.44% | ||
| Democratic | Jim Martin | 909,923 | 42.56% | ||
| Majority | 318,110 | 14.88% | |||
| Turnout | 2,137,956 | ||||
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromGeorgia's 8th congressional district 1995–2003 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forU.S. Senator fromGeorgia (Class 2) 2002,2008 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. Senator (Class 1) from Georgia 2003–2015 Served alongside:Zell Miller,Johnny Isakson | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theSenate Agriculture Committee 2005–2007 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Ranking Member of theSenate Agriculture Committee 2007–2011 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Vice Chair of theSenate Intelligence Committee 2011–2015 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former U.S. Senator | Order of precedence of the United States as Former U.S. Senator | Succeeded byas Former U.S. Senator |
| Agriculture (1829–1857; 1863–1881) |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Agriculture and Forestry (1884–1977) | ||
| Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry (1977–) | ||
| Class 2 | | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 3 | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
