Tom Ridge | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2001 | |
| 1stUnited States Secretary of Homeland Security | |
| In office January 24, 2003 – February 1, 2005 | |
| President | George W. Bush |
| Deputy | Gordon R. England James Loy |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | James Loy (acting) Michael Chertoff |
| 1stUnited States Homeland Security Advisor | |
| In office October 8, 2001 – January 24, 2003 | |
| President | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | John A. Gordon |
| 43rdGovernor of Pennsylvania | |
| In office January 17, 1995 – October 5, 2001 | |
| Lieutenant | Mark Schweiker |
| Preceded by | Bob Casey Sr. |
| Succeeded by | Mark Schweiker |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania's21st district | |
| In office January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1995 | |
| Preceded by | Donald Bailey |
| Succeeded by | Phil English |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Thomas Joseph Ridge (1945-08-26)August 26, 1945 (age 80) Munhall, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Harvard University (BA) Dickinson School of Law (JD) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch/service | United States Army |
| Years of service | 1969–1970 |
| Rank | Staff Sergeant |
| Unit | Bravo Company,1st Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment,11th Infantry Brigade,23rd Infantry Division |
| Battles/wars | Vietnam War |
| Awards |
|
Thomas Joseph Ridge (born August 26, 1945) is an American politician and author who served in theGeorge W. Bush administration as theAssistant to the President for Homeland Security from 2001 to 2003 and as theUnited States secretary of homeland security from 2003 to 2005. He was the first person to hold either office. A member of theRepublican Party, he previously served in theUnited States House of Representatives from 1983 to 1995 and as the 43rdgovernor of Pennsylvania from 1995 to 2001.
Ridge was born inMunhall, Pennsylvania, and raised in veterans' public housing inErie, Pennsylvania. After graduating fromHarvard University with honors, he served in theU.S. Army during theVietnam War where he was awarded theBronze Star. He then returned to Pennsylvania and completed hisJuris Doctor (J.D.) degree at theDickinson School of Law, graduating in 1972, and entered private practice.
As assistant district attorney in Erie, Ridge ran for Congressin his district, where he served six terms. He then ran for governor in1994, despite being little-known outside of northwest Pennsylvania. He won the election, and was reelected in1998 with the most votes for a Republican governor in Pennsylvania (where Democrats outnumbered Republicans by almost 500,000) in more than half a century.[1] As Governor of Pennsylvania, he is credited for statewide advances in economic development, education, health care and the environment. As of 2025, he is the last Republican to win reelection as Pennsylvania's governor.
Following theSeptember 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, U.S. PresidentGeorge W. Bush named Ridge the first director of the newly createdOffice of Homeland Security. In January 2003, the Office of Homeland Security became an officialCabinet-level Department, theDepartment of Homeland Security, and Ridge became the firstSecretary of Homeland Security. He served in these roles for Bush's first term as president, then retired and returned to the private sector.
Since reentering the private sector, Ridge has served on the boards ofThe Home Depot,The Hershey Company andExelon Corporation and as a senior advisor toDeloitte & Touche and TechRadium. He is also the founder and chairman of Ridge Global, a Washington, D.C.–based security consulting firm. He spent time campaigning with SenatorJohn McCain during his 2008 presidential bid and was believed by some to have been on the short list of potential running mates.[2][3]
Ridge was born inMunhall, Pennsylvania, inPittsburgh'sSteel Valley, the eldest of three children. His parents were Laura (née Sudimack) and Thomas Regis Ridge, who was a traveling salesman andNavyveteran. Ridge's maternal grandparents wereRusyn immigrants[4] from the formerCzechoslovakia (nowSlovakia), and his paternal great-grandparents emigrated fromGreat Britain.[5] He was raised in veterans' public housing inErie, Pennsylvania. He was educated at St. Andrews Elementary School andCathedral Preparatory School and did well both academically and in sports. He attendedHarvard College, where he paid his way through with construction work, playedintramural baseball and football,[5] and graduated with honors in 1967. In 1968, after his first year at theDickinson School of Law, he was drafted into theUnited States Army.
Ridge waived an opportunity for officer training school because it would have required a longer service commitment.[6] In November 1969, Ridge arrived as a sergeant inSouth Vietnam where he would serve for six months as astaff sergeant with Bravo Company,1st Battalion, 20th Infantry,11th Infantry Brigade,23rd Infantry Division (Americal Division)[7] during theVietnam War.
In May 1970, a rupturedappendix cut short his tour of duty in Vietnam and he was sent home; his service also aggravated a childhoodear infection which caused him afterwards to have ahearing aid in his left ear.[8]
For his service in Vietnam, Ridge received theBronze Star with"V" Device,[9][10]National Defense Service Medal,Vietnam Service Medal,Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Unit Citation with Palm,Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, and theCombat Infantryman Badge.[11]
 | |||||
  |  | ||||
 |  |  | |||
| Badge | Combat Infantryman Badge | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st row | Bronze Star Medal with"V" device | National Defense Service Medal | ||||
| 2nd row | Vietnam Service Medal | Vietnam Gallantry Cross Ribbon with Palm | Vietnam Campaign Medal | |||
After returning toPennsylvania, he completed hisJuris Doctor (J.D.) degree at the Dickinson School of Law, graduating in 1972, and entered private practice.[12]
Ridge became assistant district attorney inErie County, Pennsylvania, in 1980 and prosecuted 86 cases in two years.[13]
.jpg)
.jpg)
In 1982, Ridge won a seat in Congress fromnorthwestern Pennsylvania by the margin of only 729 votes.[13] He was then re-elected five times.
In1994, despite being little-known outside of northwest Pennsylvania, Ridge ran forgovernor. He won the election as apro-choiceRepublican. He was reelected in1998 with 57 percent of the vote in a four-way race. His share of the vote in that election was the highest for a Republican governor in Pennsylvania (where Democrats outnumber Republicans by almost 500,000) in more than half a century.[1]
During his time as governor, Ridge promoted "law and order" policies, supporting athree-strikes law and a fasterdeath penalty process. A death penalty supporter,[14] Ridge signed more than 224 execution warrants[15] – five times the number signed over a 25-year period by the two previous governors – butonly three voluntary executions were carried out. On social issues, he opposedsame-sex marriage while supportingabortion rights.[16]
Over Ridge's tenure, the Commonwealth's budget grew by two to three percent per fiscal year and combined tax reductions totaled over $2 billion. Ridge created and grew a "Rainy Day" Fund balance to over $1 billion to be utilized during an economic downturn or recession.[17]
Ridge pushed for legislation permitting competition among electric utilities and enhanced federal and state support for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). He separated the Commonwealth's environmental regulatory and conservation programs into two new agencies; the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.[18]
Ridge proposed the creation of publiccharter schools in Pennsylvania and in establishing alternate schools for disruptive students. He launched new academic standards that established academic expectations for what students were expected to know in different grades. He proposed a school choice demonstration program.[citation needed]
Ridge oversaw a number of e-government projects including renewing drivers' licenses and vehicle registrations to viewing historical documents and library catalogs. The Commonwealth's portal won several national awards. One of the nation's first electronic grant systems was put into place at the Pennsylvania Department of Education. He created theLink-to-Learn initiative to increase the effective use of technology in public schools and universities.[19]
Ridge signed two death warrants for African-American radio personalityMumia Abu-Jamal, who was convicted of first degree murder for the killing of police officer Daniel Faulkner.[20]
He served as governor until his resignation in 2001, at which time he became the Director of Homeland Security following theSeptember 11 attacks.[21]
Ridge was a potential running mate forBob Dole in 1996, and served as a close advisor to Republican presidential nomineeGeorge W. Bush, a close friend from their simultaneous tenures as governors, during the 2000 presidential campaign. In return, Bush named Ridge to his short list for possible running mates, along withNew York GovernorGeorge Pataki,Michigan GovernorJohn Engler,Oklahoma GovernorFrank Keating, former Missouri SenatorJohn Danforth, and formerAmerican Red Cross PresidentElizabeth Dole.[22]
Following theSeptember 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, U.S. PresidentGeorge W. Bush created theOffice of Homeland Security within the White House, and named Ridge to head it. The charge to the nation's new director ofhomeland security was to develop and coordinate a comprehensive national strategy to strengthen the United States against terrorist threats or attacks. Ridge formally resigned as Pennsylvania's governor on October 5, 2001.[21]
In January 2003 and after the passage of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, the Office of Homeland Security split into aCabinet-level Department, theDepartment of Homeland Security, and the White HouseHomeland Security Advisory Council. Ridge left the White House and became the firstSecretary of Homeland Security. The department's mission "is to (A) prevent terrorist attacks within the United States; (B) reduce the vulnerability of the United States to terrorism; and (C) minimize the damage, and assist in the recovery, from terrorist attacks that do occur within the United States" (From H.R. 5005-8 the Homeland Security Act of 2002). The newly created department was the most comprehensive reorganization of the Federal government since theNational Security Act of 1947.
The Department of Homeland Security consolidates 22 agencies and 180,000 employees, unifying once-fragmented Federal functions in a single agency dedicated to protecting America from terrorism. Ridge worked with the employees from combined agencies to strengthen borders, provide for intelligence analysis and infrastructure protection, improve the use of science and technology to counter weapons of mass destruction, and to create a comprehensive response and recovery division.[23][24][25][26][27]
In January 2004, Ridge was named among others in a lawsuit filed by a Syrian-born CanadianMaher Arar who said he was tortured in Syria after being deported by American authorities.[28]
On November 30, 2004, Ridge submitted his resignation to the President, saying, "After more than 22 consecutive years of public service, it is time to give personal and family matters a higher priority."[29]
In his bookThe Test of Our Times: America Under Siege...and How We Can Be Safe Again, Ridge says his resignation was due to an effort by senior Bush administration officials to raise the nation's terror alert level in the days before the 2004 presidential vote.[30][31]
Ridge is the founder and chairman of Ridge Global, an advisory firm in Washington, D.C.[32]
Ridge served on a state-appointed incident review panel that investigated theVirginia Tech shooting.[33]
Ridge also sits on the board of directors of theAtlantic Council.[34]
In 2010, Ridge's two former Chiefs of Staff, Mark Campbell and Mark Holman, opened a lobbying firm after Ridge lent the firm his name. The full-service government affairs firm has offices in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Washington, D.C.[35][36]
In July 2010, companies seeking to usehydraulic fracturing to extractnatural gas from theMarcellus Shale formation engaged Ridge and Ridge Policy Group at $75,000 a month to help them gain support.[37]
Ridge has served on a variety of corporateboards of directors and in other roles. In 2005, he was named to the board ofHome Depot,[38] with an expected annual compensation of about $100,000.[39] and in the same year was appointed to the board of theRFID companySavi Technology.[40] He was appointed to the board of directors of theExelon Corporationelectric utility in 2006, with starting director compensation of $35,000 annual retainer plus a $1,500 meeting fee or per diem fee and (at the time) $60,000 in annual deferred stock units.[41] In 2006, Ridge was announced as a senior advisor forDeloitte & Touche USA LLP.[42] He was named to serve on the executive board ofThe Hershey Company in 2007,[43] and was named senior advisor to Texas-based security technology company TechRadium, Inc. in 2008.[44] In 2009,antimicrobial company PURE Bioscience named Ridge, along with formerWisconsin governorTommy Thompson, to its advisory board.[45] He currently sits on the bipartisan advisory board of States United Democracy Center.[46]
Ridge served as a senior aide to Republican presidential candidate SenatorJohn McCain of Arizona,[47] and was considered by some as apossible running mate for McCain.[2][3]
According toFox News, many Republicans hoped Ridge would run for theUnited States Senate against the newly turned DemocratArlen Specter, who stated he would seekre-election in 2010 in the Democratic primary. Already seeking the Republican nomination was formerRepresentativePat Toomey, who narrowly lost to Specter in the Republican primary in 2004. Some Republicans thought Ridge would have a better chance against Specter than would Toomey.[48] AQuinnipiac University Polling Institute poll conducted between April 30, 2009, and May 3, 2009, placed Ridge within three points of Specter in a hypothetical matchup between the two men.[49]
Some Toomey supporters criticized the idea of a Ridge candidacy because, although Ridge was still registered to vote in Pennsylvania, he was actually living inChevy Chase, Maryland.[50] On May 7, 2009, Ridge announced that he would not be a candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2010.[51]
In September 2011, Ridge endorsedthe campaign of formerUtah GovernorJon Huntsman in the2012 election.[52]Mitt Romney announced an endorsement from Ridge on March 14, 2012.[53]
In 2013, Ridge was a signatory to anamicus curiae brief submitted to theSupreme Court in support ofsame-sex marriage during theHollingsworth v. Perry case.[54]
Ridge spoke at a conference in support of the removal of thePeople's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK, also PMOI, MKO) from theUnited States State Department list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations.[55][56] The group was listed on the State Department list from 1997 until September 2012.[57][58] TheLos Angeles Times reported a senior Clinton administration official as saying inclusion of the People's Mojahedin was intended as a goodwill gesture to Tehran and its newly elected president, Mohammad Khatami.[59][60] Ridge, along with other former government officials and politiciansEd Rendell,R. James Woolsey,Porter Goss,Louis Freeh,Michael Mukasey,James L. Jones,Rudy Giuliani, andHoward Dean, have spoken in support of the group.[61] Ridge and others wrote an article for the conservative publicationNational Review stating their position that the group should not be classified as a terrorist organization, raising the point that "The material-support statute doesn’t need revision to accommodate non-existent defects. What it does need – and does not often enough get for fear of offending some Muslim organizations – is rigorous enforcement against accurately designated organizations, of which MEK is not one."[62]
In 2015, Ridge served as co-chair of theBlue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense, a commission that recommended changes to U.S. policy regarding biodefense.[63] In order to address biological threats facing the nation, the Blue Ribbon Study Panel on Biodefense created a 33-step initiative for the U.S. Government to implement. Tom Ridge headed the organization with former Senator Joe Lieberman, and the Study Panel assembled in Washington, D.C., for four meetings concerning current biodefense programs. The Study Panel concluded that the federal government had little to no defense mechanisms in case of a biological event. The Study Panel's final report,The National Blueprint for Biodefense, proposes a string of solutions and recommendations for the U.S. Government to take, including items such as giving the vice president authority over biodefense responsibilities and merging the entire biodefense budget. These solutions represent the Panel's call to action in order to increase awareness and activity for pandemic related issues.
In 2016, Ridge endorsedJeb Bush and subsequentlyJohn Kasich after Bush's withdrawal from the2016 Republican presidential primaries. Ridge stated he would not endorseDonald Trump, following Trump becoming thepresumptive nominee, orHillary Clinton in the general election.[64]
_(cropped).jpg)
In July 2020, Ridge criticizedPresidentTrump for saying in June thatvote-by-mail leads to widespread voter fraud, responding that it is not a threat and that voters need a safe way to cast a ballot in the2020 election, amid theCOVID-19 pandemic. Ridge also said that it was "sad" that the President wants to quash the legitimacy of the election. In response to Ridge's comments, theRNC said lawsuits by Democrats to strip ballot safeguards are an attempt to delegitimize the election. Ridge is a co-chair of VoteSafe, a bipartisan group that promotes safe voting by mail and in person.[65][66]
Also in July 2020, Ridge slammedhis former Department for sending in federal agents to detain rioters allegedly committing federal crimes inPortland, Oregon, after more than 50 days of protests and riots there. He also said, during an interview with radio hostMichael Smerconish, that it would be a "cold day in hell" before he "would consent to an uninvited, unilateral intervention" in one of his cities inPennsylvania. TheWhite House cited federal law to support this use of federal law enforcement.[67][68] Trump later slammed Ridge onTwitter, calling him "a failedRINO" and saying he "loved watching pathetic Never Trumpers squirm!".[69]
In September 2020, Ridge endorsed formerVice PresidentJoe Biden for president in aPhiladelphia Inquirer op-ed.[70] On November 6, 2020, he confirmed toCNN that it was the first time he ever voted for a Democratic presidential candidate.[71]
Ridge, along with more than 100 Republican former national security officials, signed a letter in November that stated that the delay of thepresidential transition imperiled the security of the nation. The9/11 Commission finding that the shortened transition to theadministration of George W. Bush during thedisputed 2000 presidential election "hampered the new administration in identifying, recruiting, clearing, and obtaining Senate confirmation of key appointees" was mentioned in the statement.[72]
In August 2022, Ridge described theJanuary 6 United States Capitol attack as "conduct you’d see in a Third World country, not in the United States of America" and described current politics in America as "distressing", "personal, vengeful, [and] mean-spirited."[73]
In 2022, Ridge endorsed fellow RepublicanMehmet Oz in the2022 United States Senate election in Pennsylvania.[74]
Tom Ridge's bookThe Test of Our Times was published in September 2009.[75] Written with Larry Bloom, it focuses on Ridge's time as the head of the Department of Homeland Security. He explains the challenges and decision-making processes of the newly formed department, and gives his own views as to the future of the security of the United States of America. The book further discusses
the infighting he saw that frustrated his attempts to build a smooth-running department. Among the headlines promoted by publisherThomas Dunne Books: Ridge was never invited to sit in on National Security Council meetings; was 'blindsided' by the FBI in morning Oval Office meetings because the agency withheld critical information from him; found his urgings to blockMichael Brown from being named head of the emergency agency blamed for theHurricane Katrina disaster ignored; and was pushed to raise the security alert on the eve of President Bush's re-election, something he saw as politically motivated and worth resigning over.[31]
Ridge wrote in his memoir that then-Secretary of DefenseDonald Rumsfeld and then-Attorney GeneralJohn Ashcroft pressured him to raise theterror alert level, running up to the 2004 elections, because of a pre-election message critical of President Bush fromOsama Bin Laden.[30]
 | This section of abiography of a living personneeds additionalcitations forverification. Please help by addingreliable sources.Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced orpoorly sourcedmust be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentiallylibelous. Find sources: "Tom Ridge" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(June 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
.jpg)
Tom's wife, Michele Ridge, is the former executive director of theErie County Library System. Married since 1979, they have two children: Lesley and Tommy.[79]
Ridge was hospitalized in critical condition in Texas after a cardiac event on November 16, 2017.[80]
On June 16, 2021, Ridge suffered a stroke while at his home inBethesda, Maryland. He was hospitalized and underwent a successful procedure to remove ablood clot.[81] Discharged in late June, Ridge beganrehabilitation therapy in the Washington, D.C., area.[82]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Tom Ridge | 1,627,976 | 45.40% | |
| Democratic | Mark Singel | 1,430,099 | 39.88% | |
| Constitution | Peg Luksik | 460,269 | 12.84% | |
| Libertarian | Patrick Fallon | 33,602 | 0.94% | |
| Reform | Tom Holloway | 33,235 | 0.93% | |
| Write-in | 345 | 0.01% | ||
| Total votes | 3,585,526 | 100.00% | ||
| Turnout | 60.98% | |||
| Republicangain fromDemocratic | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Tom Ridge (incumbent) | 1,736,844 | 57.42% | |
| Democratic | Ivan Itkin | 938,745 | 31.03% | |
| Constitution | Peg Luksik | 315,761 | 10.43% | |
| Libertarian | Ken Krawchuk | 33,591 | 1.11% | |
| Write-in | 281 | 0.01% | ||
| Total votes | 3,025,022 | 100.00% | ||
| Turnout | 41.67% | |||
| Republicanhold | ||||
{{cite book}}:|work= ignored (help){{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania's 21st congressional district 1983–1995 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forGovernor of Pennsylvania 1994,1998 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theRepublican Governors Association 2001 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of Pennsylvania 1995–2001 | Succeeded by |
| New office | United States Homeland Security Advisor 2001–2003 | Succeeded by |
| United States Secretary of Homeland Security 2003–2005 | Succeeded by James Loy Acting | |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former U.S. Cabinet Member | Order of precedence of the United States as Former U.S. Cabinet Member | Succeeded byas Former U.S. Cabinet Member |
 | ||
 | ||
d Currently styled asDeputy National Security Advisor for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism | ||
| Presidents (1777–1790) |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Governors (since 1790) |
| |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
