Al D'Amato | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait,c. 1990s | |
| Chair of theSenate Banking Committee | |
| In office January 3, 1995 – January 3, 1999 | |
| Preceded by | Donald Riegle |
| Succeeded by | Phil Gramm |
| United States Senator fromNew York | |
| In office January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1999 | |
| Preceded by | Jacob Javits |
| Succeeded by | Chuck Schumer |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Alfonse Marcello D'Amato (1937-08-01)August 1, 1937 (age 88) Brooklyn, New York, U.S. |
| Party | Republican |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 6 |
| Education | Syracuse University (BS,LLB) |
Alfonse Marcello D'Amato (born August 1, 1937) is an American attorney, lobbyist, andRepublican politician who representedthe state of New York in theUnited States Senate from 1981 to 1999. From 1995 to 1999, he chaired theSenate Banking Committee. As of 2026, he is the most recent Republican to serve New York in the federal U.S. Senate.
D'Amato was born inBrooklyn in 1937 and raised inIsland Park, New York. He attendedSyracuse University, receiving a law degree, before returning to Island Park and becoming involved in local Republican politics. Rising through the ranks, he held offices at the village, town, and county levels.[1]
In1980, D'Amato defeated four-term Republican incumbentJacob Javits in the primary election for United States Senator. D'Amato went on to prevail in the general election, defeating Javits (who remained in the race on the Liberal Party ticket) and Democratic U.S. RepresentativeElizabeth Holtzman. He was re-elected in1986 and1992, but was defeated in1998 byChuck Schumer.[2][1][3]
Following his departure from the Senate, D'Amato founded Park Strategies, a lobbying firm.[4]
D'Amato, ofItalian ancestry, was born inBrooklyn and raised in the small village ofIsland Park onLong Island.[5] He is the son of Antoinette (Ciofarri) and Armand D'Amato, an insurance broker.[6] D'Amato is a graduate ofSyracuse University andSyracuse University College of Law.[7][8] He is an attorney.[9]
D'Amato served aspublic administrator ofNassau County from 1965 to 1968, and then served asHempstead tax assessor in 1969. From 1971 to 1977, D'Amato was a Hempsteadtown supervisor. He was the presiding supervisor and the vice chair of the Nassau CountyBoard of Supervisors from 1977 to 1980.[10]
Although a relatively obscure candidate, D'Amato defeated incumbent senatorJacob Javits by 56–44% in the 1980 Republicanprimary election following Javits' 1979 diagnosis ofamyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Javits nevertheless pursued the seat on theLiberal Party ticket,splitting the left-wing vote in ordinarily liberal New York with Democratic CongresswomanElizabeth Holtzman and leading to D'Amato's 45%plurality victory.[11] D'Amato was re-elected in1986 and1992, but lost in1998 to Democratic congressmanChuck Schumer, a futureSenate Majority Leader.[12]
D'Amato drew the nickname "Senator Pothole"[13] for his delivery of "constituent services", helping citizens with their individual cases. While some New Yorkers meant the nickname as apejorative, others saw it as a positive affirmation of his attention to getting things done.[14]
D'Amato holds the record for the third- and eleventh-longestfilibusters ever recorded in the U.S. Senate. He is remembered for his unique and rather comical filibusters. In 1986, in a filibuster against a military bill that lasted 23 1/2 hours, he read theDistrict of Columbia telephone book. In 1992, D'Amato filibustered a bill that would have caused the loss of 750 jobs in upstate New York by singing "South of the Border (Down Mexico Way)".[15]
D'Amato is remembered for presenting a poster of a "Taxasaurus Rex", which he then stabbed with an oversized pencil.[16]
D'Amato voted in favor of thebill establishingMartin Luther King Jr. Day as afederal holiday and theCivil Rights Restoration Act of 1987.[17][18][19] In 1987, D'Amato voted to confirmRobert Bork to theU.S. Supreme Court, but Bork's nomination was rejected.[20] In 1991, D'Amato voted to confirmClarence Thomas to the U.S. Supreme Court; Thomas was confirmed by the Senate.[21]
D'Amato was chair of theSenate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs and was a member of theSenate Finance Committee. As a member of the former, he became a leading critic of theClinton administration regarding theWhitewater scandal, and during 1995 and 1996 he chaired the hearings-heavySenate Special Whitewater Committee. As a member of the latter, he facilitated thelawsuit ofHolocaust survivors trying to recover relatives' funds from accounts inSwiss banks.[citation needed]
D'Amato was influential in New York Republican politics and was considered the "boss" of the state party during his Senate years. For example, he played a leading role in recruitingGeorge Pataki and in securing him the Republican nomination in the gubernatorial race of 1994.[22]
D'Amato was known for being fairlyconservative, a reflection of then-strongly conservativeNassau County andLong Island. He strongly supported the conservative positions of his party on "law and order" issues such ascapital punishment and harsh penalties for drug offenses. On some issues, he agreed with the opposition: in 1993, D'Amato was one of only three Republicans to vote in favor of allowing gays to serve openly in the U.S. military. While D'Amato voted for theDefense of Marriage Act in 1996,[23] he was among the minority of Republicans to vote for theEmployment Non-Discrimination Act that year.[24] In1998, the LGBTQ advocacy groupHuman Rights Campaign endorsed D'Amato for re-election over socially liberal Democratic CongressmanChuck Schumer.[25]
D'Amato's 54–44% loss in 1998 was attributed to a lack of support among moderate voters inNew York City, the site of opponent Schumer's U.S. congressional district.[26][27]
Shortly before leaving office, D'Amato published his book of recollections,Power, Pasta and Politics. After retiring from politics in 1999, he became a regularcolumnist forGeorge magazine until it ceased publication in 2001.[28] He also emerged as an analyst forFox News. A notable on-air incident occurred when D'Amato took offense at comments of GOP strategistJack Burkman.[29] Saying he agreed with Burkman's suggestion that the Postal Service should be privatized; D'Amato slammed him for his characterizations of postal workers, which D'Amato said were racist.[30]
As of 2023, D'Amato is a regular contributor at Red Apple Media’s 77WABC, hosted byJohn Catsimatidis.[31]
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On June 12, 2007, the former three-term Senator from New York endorsed one-time Senate colleague fromTennesseeFred Thompson for the Republican nomination for president in 2008.[32]In explaining his endorsement of Thompson, former Senator D'Amato called Thompson "a real conservative", not a candidate who adopted conservative positions in preparation for an election. D'Amato added, "Fred Thompson is the kind of candidate our party can unify behind and support wholeheartedly."[33][34] On January 22, 2008, after poor showings from Thompson, D'Amato threw his support toJohn McCain for the2008 presidential election, saying: "If you want to win in November, John McCain is the man".[citation needed]
On March 14, 2012, D'Amato endorsedMitt Romney for president.[35] He andPeter Kalikow appeared with Romney at fundraisers in New York leading up to the election.[36]
On August 26, 2015, D'Amato endorsed Ohio GovernorJohn Kasich for president of the United States overJeb Bush and former New York Gov.George Pataki.[37] While stating that the Republican Party needed to move past the Bush family, he credited Pataki as a "wonderful guy", but cited Kasich's experience in balancing the budget as a congressman in the 1990s and in Ohio.[37] FollowingDonald Trump's victory in the2016 general election, D'Amato stated: "I am in great spirits. I feel great for the people of our country." He urged Trump to appointRudy Giuliani asAttorney General, stating: "I think one great appointment and someone who will follow the law and not bend the law as he or she sees fit as the attorney general is Rudy Giuliani..."[38]
In 2020, D'Amato supported Trump for re-election against DemocratJoe Biden.[39]
Leading up to the 2024 election, D'Amato opined that New York donors would be reluctant to donate to Trump's campaign. He also criticized Trump's post-election behavior.[39] In 2024, however, D'Amato expressed support for Trump. He also asserted thatTim Scott should be chosen as the Republican vice presidential nominee.[40]
D'Amato married Penelope Collenburg in 1960.[41] The couple had four children[42] before divorcing in 1995.[43]
D'Amato married Katuria Smith in 2004.[44] The couple had one son and a daughter.[42] Katuria D'Amato filed for divorce on October 3, 2017.[45] Al D'Amato won emergency custody of the couple's children, claiming that Katuria D'Amato was mentally ill following an episode in which she was detained by authorities.[46] In 2018, Katuria D'Amato released a video of Al D'Amato shouting obscenities at her while she was hospitalized.[47][48][49] In the midst of the couple's custody battle, Katuria D'Amato filed a $100 million lawsuit against Al D'Amato for alleged racketeering.[46]
In 2017, D'Amato made headlines when he was removed from a New York-boundJetBlue flight after reportedly trying to rally the passengers against the flight crew. The plane was delayed six times. He later issued a statement apologizing for his behavior.[50]
On November 20, 2020, D'Amato was hospitalized with COVID-19.[51] Five days later, he was released from the hospital.[52]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Al D’Amato | 323,468 | 55.7 | |
| Republican | Jacob Javits (incumbent) | 257,433 | 44.3 | |
| Total votes | 580,901 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Al D’Amato | 2,699,652 | 44.9 | |
| Democratic | Elizabeth Holtzman | 2,618,661 | 43.5 | |
| Liberal | Jacob Javits (incumbent) | 664,544 | 11.1 | |
| Total votes | 5,982,857 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Al D’Amato (incumbent) | 2,378,197 | 53.0 | |
| Democratic | Mark Green | 1,723,216 | 38.4 | |
| Total votes | 4,101,413 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Al D’Amato (incumbent) | 3,166,994 | 49.0 | |
| Democratic | Robert Abrams | 3,086,200 | 47.8 | |
| Total votes | 6,253,194 | 100.0 | ||
| Republicanhold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Chuck Schumer | 2,551,065 | 54.6 | |
| Republican | Al D’Amato (incumbent) | 2,058,988 | 44.1 | |
| Total votes | 4,610,053 | 100.0 | ||
| Democraticgain fromRepublican | ||||
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forU.S. Senator fromNew York (Class 3) 1980,1986,1992,1998 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Barbara Keating | Conservative nominee forU.S. Senator fromNew York (Class 3) 1980,1986,1992,1998 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theNational Republican Senatorial Committee 1995–1997 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. Senator (Class 3) from New York 1981–1999 Served alongside:Pat Moynihan | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theJoint Helsinki Commission 1985–1987 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Ranking Member of theSenate Banking Committee 1993–1995 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theSenate Banking Committee 1995–1999 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theJoint Helsinki Commission 1997–1999 | 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 |
| Banking and Currency (1913–1970) |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs (1970–present) | ||
| Class 1 | | |
|---|---|---|
| Class 3 | ||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
