Michael Steele | |
|---|---|
_(1).jpg) Steele in 2019 | |
| Chair of theRepublican National Committee | |
| In office January 30, 2009 – January 14, 2011 | |
| Preceded by | Mike Duncan |
| Succeeded by | Reince Priebus |
| 7thLieutenant Governor of Maryland | |
| In office January 15, 2003 – January 17, 2007 | |
| Governor | Bob Ehrlich |
| Preceded by | Kathleen Kennedy Townsend |
| Succeeded by | Anthony Brown |
| Chair of theMaryland Republican Party | |
| In office December 10, 2000 – July 1, 2002 | |
| Preceded by | Joyce Lyon Tehres |
| Succeeded by | Louis Pope |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1958-10-19)October 19, 1958 (age 67) Andrews Field,Maryland, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Johns Hopkins University (BA) Villanova University Georgetown University (JD) |
| Signature |  |
Michael Stephen Steele (born October 19, 1958) is an American politician, attorney, and political commentator who served as the seventhlieutenant governor of Maryland from 2003 to 2007 and as chair of theRepublican National Committee (RNC) from 2009 until 2011; he was the first African-American to hold either office.[1]
In the 1990s, Steele worked as a partner at the international law firm ofLeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae and co-founded theRepublican Leadership Council, a "fiscally conservative and socially inclusive"political action committee.[2] Steele also made numerous appearances as a political pundit onFox News and other media outlets prior to running for public office. As lieutenant governor, Steele chaired theMinority Business Enterprise task force, actively promoting an expansion ofaffirmative action in the corporate world.[3] He made an unsuccessful run in the2006 U.S. Senate election in Maryland, losing to DemocratBen Cardin. From 2007 to 2009, Steele was chairman ofGOPAC, a527 organization that trains and supports Republican candidates in state and local elections. After serving one term as RNC Chair from 2009 to 2011, he lost his bid for a second term and was succeeded byReince Priebus.[4]
Since 2011, Steele has contributed as a regular columnist for online magazineThe Root[5] and as a political analyst forMS NOW,[6] where he began co-hosting the prime time programThe Weeknight in 2025. In 2018, he became a Senior Fellow atBrown University'sWatson Institute for International and Public Affairs.[7]
In 2020, he formally endorsedJoe Biden for the presidency, after previously starring in an advertisement aired byThe Lincoln Project.[8][9]
Steele was born on October 19, 1958, atAndrews Air Force Base inPrince George's County, Maryland,[10][11] and was adopted as an infant[12] by William and Maebell Steele. His father died in 1962.[13][14] His mother, who had been born into asharecropping family inSouth Carolina,[15] worked for minimum wage as a laundress to raise her children. After Steele's father died, she ignored her friends' appeals to apply for public assistance, later telling Steele, "I didn't want the government raising my children."[15] She later married John Turner, a truck driver. Michael and his sister, Monica Turner, were raised in thePetworth neighborhood ofNorthwest, Washington, D.C., which Steele has described as a small, stable and racially integrated community that insulated him from some of the problems elsewhere in the city.[15] Steele's sister later married and divorced former heavyweight boxing championMike Tyson.[16]
Steele attendedArchbishop Carroll High School in Washington, D.C., participating in the glee club, theNational Honor Society and many of the school's drama productions. During his senior year, he was elected student council president.[17]
In 1981, Steele received aBA degree in international studies from theJohns Hopkins University inBaltimore City, Maryland.[15]
After graduating from Hopkins, Steele worked for one year as a high school teacher atMalvern Preparatory School in Pennsylvania, teaching classes in world history and economics.[18] He spent three years preparing for the Catholic priesthood at the Augustinian Friars Seminary atVillanova University,[19] which he left prior to ordination to enter civil service.[20]
Steele subsequently attendedGeorgetown Law School where he graduated with aJD degree in 1991. He failed the Marylandbar exam, but passed the Pennsylvania exam.[21][22]
From 1991 to 1997, Steele worked in Washington, D.C., as a corporate securities associate for theCleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton international law firm, where he specialized in financial investments forWall Street underwriters. He left the firm to found the Steele Group, a business and legal consulting firm.[11]
After joining the Republican Party, he became chairman of thePrince George's County Republican Central Committee. He was a founding member of the centrist, fiscally conservative and socially inclusiveRepublican Leadership Council in 1993 but left in 2008, citing disagreements over endorsing primary candidates.[2] In 1995, theMaryland Republican Party selected him as their Republican Man of the Year.[11] He worked on several political campaigns, was an alternate delegate to the1996 Republican National Convention and a delegate to the2000 Republican National Convention.[12] Steele's Maryland biography identifies him as a member of theTau Epsilon Phi fraternity.[11]
In December 2000, he was elected chairman of theMaryland Republican Party, becoming the first African-American ever to be elected chairman of any state Republican Party.[11]
In 2002,Robert Ehrlich, who was running for Maryland governor, selected Steele as his running mate for lieutenant governor. The campaign was waged against DemocratKathleen Kennedy Townsend, who was running for governor, andCharles R. Larson who was running for lieutenant governor.
In the September primary election, Ehrlich and Steele had no serious opposition. In the November 2002 general election, the Republican Ehrlich-Steele ticket won, 51 percent to 48 percent, even though Maryland traditionally votes Democratic and had not elected a Republican Governor in almost 40 years. The Townsend-Larson campaign had been tainted by outgoing Democratic governorParris Glendening's marital problems and backlash due to his strict enforcement of environmental regulations.
Steele's most prominent efforts for the Ehrlich administration were reforming the state's Minority Business Enterprise program and chairing the Governor's Commission on Quality Education in Maryland. Steele garnered criticism for his failure to oppose Ehrlich's reinstitution of thedeath penalty, despite claims of racial inequities in the use of the death penalty, Steele's own religious beliefs and his prior anti-death penalty pronouncements.[23]
In 2005, Steele was named anAspen Institute Rodel Fellow in Public Leadership and was awarded the Bethune-DuBois Institute Award for his continuing efforts to improve the quality education in Maryland.[24]
At the2004 Republican National Convention, Steele gave the Republican counterpoint toBarack Obama's2004 Democratic National Conventionkeynote address; it was Steele's first major national exposure. In April 2005, President Bush chose him to be a member of the U.S. delegation at the investiture ofPope Benedict XVI inVatican City.[25]
WhenPaul Sarbanes, Maryland's longest-servingUnited States Senator, announced in March 2005 that he would not be a candidate for re-election in 2006, top state and national Republican officials began pressing Steele to become their party's nominee for the seat.[23] In April 2005,The Baltimore Sun announced the results of a poll it conducted, stating that Steele would run statistically neck and neck against either former NAACP headKweisi Mfume, or Rep.Benjamin L. Cardin ofBaltimore County.[26] Steele formally announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate on October 25, 2005.[27]
Steele won the Republican nomination after facing little opposition in the primary. His opponents were Democrat Ben Cardin and IndependentKevin Zeese (who was endorsed by the Green and Libertarian parties). The three candidates participated in three debates. Cardin primarily attacked Steele over his close relations with President Bush.[28] Steele focused on low taxes, less government spending, free markets and national security.[29]
Steele lost the general election to Cardin on November 7, 2006,[30] 44% to Cardin's 54%. Steele's former campaign finance chairman later alleged improprieties in Steele's handling of campaign funds, which Steele denied.[31]
One day after Steele conceded defeat in the senate election, Chris Cillizza ofThe Washington Post reported that Steele was hoping to succeedKen Mehlman as the chairman of theRepublican National Committee.[32] SenatorMel Martinez of Florida, who had the endorsement of President George W. Bush, got the position.
In February 2007, Steele became chairman ofGOPAC, apolitical action committee that helps fund state and local Republican campaigns around the country and is responsible for training future Republican candidates. He succeeded former U.S. CongressmanJ.C. Watts, a fellow black Republican. In April 2007, Steele joined the international law firm ofDewey & LeBoeuf, as a partner in the firm's Washington, D.C. office.[33]
At a speech given at theMedia Research Center's 2007 DisHonors Awards Gala, Steele said:
I get a question all the time, 'Are you going to run again for office?' And I've thought about that, and I've come to realize that there's still some Democrats out there that I haven't ticked off yet. So, yeah, we're gonna do it again. We're gonna do it again, and all I have to say is, they haven't seen anything yet.[34]
Steele is considered a possible candidate forGovernor of Maryland in the future and said he was "intrigued by the idea" for 2010.[35] He said that he would not run for president in 2012.[36]
Steele appeared several times onHBO's political showReal Time with Bill Maher, and was onComedy Central's talk showThe Colbert Report on January 23, 2007.[37] He also hosted a PBS Republican Primary debate inBaltimore, Maryland on September 27, 2007.[38]
He coined the phrase "Drill Baby Drill" during the2008 Republican National Convention inMinnesota, where he promotedoffshore drilling as an alternative to dependency on foreign oil.[39]
On November 24, 2008, Steele kicked off his campaign for the RNC chairmanship by launching his website.[40] On January 30, 2009, Steele won the chairmanship of the RNC in the sixth round, with 91 votes to Katon Dawson's 77.[41] Steele, the RNC's firstAfrican American chairman, was selected in the aftermath ofPresident Obama's election; many in the GOP saw him as a charismatic counter to the nation's first Black president.[42]
Source: CQPolitics[43] and Poll Pundit[44]
| Candidate | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Round 6 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Steele | 46 | 48 | 51 | 60 | 79 | 91 |
| Katon Dawson | 28 | 29 | 34 | 62 | 69 | 77 |
| Saul Anuzis | 22 | 24 | 24 | 31 | 20 | Withdrew |
| Ken Blackwell | 20 | 19 | 15 | 15 | Withdrew | |
| Mike Duncan | 52 | 48 | 44 | Withdrew | ||
On March 1, 2009, in response to a question onCBS'sFace the Nation as to who spoke for the Republican Party, White House Chief of StaffRahm Emanuel opined thatRush Limbaugh spoke for the Party; Emanuel asserted that "whenever a Republican criticizes [Limbaugh], they have to run back and apologize to him, and say they were misunderstood. He is the voice and the intellectual force and energy behind the Republican Party. And he has been upfront about what he views, and hasn't stepped back from that, which is he hopes for [President Obama's] failure. He said it. And I compliment him for his honesty, but that's their philosophy that is enunciated by Rush Limbaugh."[45][46][47]
In remarks aired by theCNN programD.L. Hughley Breaks the News on March 1, 2009, Steele said he, rather than Limbaugh, was "thede facto leader of the Republican Party. Rush Limbaugh is an entertainer. Rush Limbaugh's whole thing is entertainment. Yes, it is incendiary. Yes, it is ugly." On March 2, 2009, Limbaugh said on his radio show that Steele was not fit to lead the Republican Party, asking why Steele claimed "to lead the Republican Party when [he seemed] obsessed with seeing to it President Obama succeeds?"[48] After the show, Steele called Limbaugh to apologize, saying "I have enormous respect for Rush Limbaugh. I was maybe a little bit inarticulate. There was no attempt on my part to diminish his voice or his leadership. I went back at that tape and I realized words that I said weren't what I was thinking. It was one of those things where I thinking I was saying one thing, and it came out differently. What I was trying to say was a lot of people want to make Rush the scapegoat, the bogeyman, and he's not."[49] Steele later issued another statement to say that Limbaugh "is a national conservative leader, and in no way do I want to diminish his voice. I truly apologize."[50]
In the fall of 2010, Steele launched the "Fire Pelosi Bus Tour",[51] with the goal of "firing" Speaker Pelosi from her position asSpeaker of the House of Representatives by re-establishing a Republican majority in theUnited States House of Representatives.[52] The tour began on September 15 and lasted six weeks, visiting 48 states in the Continental U.S. and more than 100 cities while covering 14,000 miles.[53][54][55][56] The Tour's purpose was to "encourage votes for Republicans in districts across the nation".[57] The stops in individual districts gave Steele, "known for his bomb-throwing speaking style", an opportunity to fire up local GOP activists.[58] During the tour, "Steele urged party unity" as the Republicans attempted to take over the House of Representatives and end Representative Pelosi's tenure as Speaker of the House.[59]
The RNC broke fundraising records by raising over $198 million during the 2010 congressional cycle; in November 2010, Republicans won 63 House seats (the biggest pickup since 1938) and retook control of the House. The 2010 midterm elections were successful for Steele and the Republicans, as they also took back six Senate seats, seven governorships, and the greatest share of state legislative seats since 1928 (over 600 seats).[60]
In December 2010, Steele declared that he would run for re-election as RNC chairman.[4][61] The 2011 Republican National Committee (RNC) chairmanship election was held on January 14, 2011. Steele withdrew from the race after the fourth ballot, urging his supporters to vote forMaria Cino. After seven rounds of balloting,Reince Priebus was elected over Steele,Saul Anuzis,Ann Wagner andMaria Cino.[62]
| Candidate | Round 1 | Round 2 | Round 3 | Round 4 | Round 5 | Round 6 | Round 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reince Priebus | 45 | 52 | 54 | 58 | 67 | 80 | 97 |
| Saul Anuzis | 24 | 22 | 21 | 24 | 32 | 37 | 43 |
| Maria Cino | 32 | 30 | 28 | 29 | 40 | 34 | 28 |
| Ann Wagner | 23 | 27 | 32 | 28 | 28 | 17 | Withdrew |
| Michael Steele | 44 | 37 | 33 | 28 | Withdrew | ||
After his loss in the chairmanship election, Steele was hired byMSNBC to be a regular political analyst as of May 2011.[6] He also was hired to be a columnist for the online magazineThe Root, an African-American news and commentary site owned byThe Washington Post Company.[63]
OnC-SPAN'sWashington Journal on the Sunday after the 2012 Obama reelection victory, Steele expressed some interest in running for RNC Chairman again. Steele emphasized the need to make conservative minorities feel comfortable and welcome in a party that offered them opportunities to launch political careers in counties and statehouses.[64]
In 2018, Steele was named a faculty fellow atBrown University'sWatson Institute for International and Public Affairs, where he leads seminars.[65]
In August 2020, Steele joined theLincoln ProjectPAC and endorsedJoe Biden for president.[66] In April 2021, Steele expressed interest in running in the Republican primary for governor of Maryland,[67] later forming an exploratory committee in July 2021.[68] Later that month, state delegateLauren Arikan filed a campaign finance complaint against Steele, alleging that he was illegally using a527 committee to coordinate campaign activities.[69][70] In a formal response, Steele rejected these claims, citing that the committee had not made any expenditures and was not in violation of Maryland campaign finance law.[71] In January 2022, he announced that he would not run for governor.[72][73] Steele later attended the inauguration of Governor-electWes Moore on January 18, 2023.[74]
On November 30, 2023, MSNBC announced that Steele would be co-hosting a new weekend morning show in 2024,The Weekend, alongsideAlicia Menendez andSymone Sanders-Townsend.[75][76] On February 24, 2025, MSNBC announced that the trio would move to a new evening program on weekdays, which later premiered in May 2025 asThe Weeknight.[77][78][79]
As Lieutenant Governor of Maryland, Steele chaired the Governor's Commission on Minority Business Enterprise Reform.[11]
Steele criticized theAmerican Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (stimulus bill).[80]
Steelerejects the scientific consensus on climate change, claiming in 2009 that the Earth is "cooling" rather than "the supposed warming".[81][82][83]
Steele was openly critical of Donald Trump during his2016 presidential campaign and has continued to oppose President Trump during his subsequentadministration. In a January 2018 interview onMSNBC, in response to an accusation that President Trump had referred to El Salvador and Haiti as "shithole countries", Steele expressed his belief that the President was "racist".[84] Steele reiterated his frustration with Trump and his supporters during the COVID-19 pandemic by saying "I've talked to enough of them over the last few days. I'm exhausted, I'm exasperated. You know, at this point, it's like, save who you can save. Because there's only so much you can do, there's only so much you can say. The fact that we have to literally beg people to wear a mask to save their own dumb ass from getting sick, I'm sorry. To me, it is beyond the imagination... I am just so exhausted with this president."[85]
In 2008, Steele said he wasopposed to abortion and thoughtRoe v. Wade was "wrongly decided".[86] In a March 2009 interview withGQ, Steele suggested that abortion restrictions should be left to state governments, and stated that he "absolutely" believed there was room for a "pro-choice" candidate in the GOP.[86] This statement prompted criticism from socially conservative Republicans such as Arkansas GovernorMike Huckabee and former Ohio Secretary of StateKen Blackwell, as well as theChristian Coalition,[87] andTony Perkins of theFamily Research Council.[88] In response to these critics, Steele suggested that he asked God for patience "so I absolutely don't go out and kick this person's ass".[89]
In 2008, Steele said that he personally opposes aconstitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, saying that he believes states should decide the issue for themselves. Steele, however, has indicated he would uphold the Republican Party platform and support the amendment. He rated the issue of banning same-sex marriage low in importance.[90][91] In 2009, Steele opposed same-sexcivil unions.[92] However, in 2012, Steele said that LGBT couples deserve full privileges and benefits under the law.[93]
In a 2006 interview withThe Washington Post, Steele commented ongun control: "Society should draw lines. What do you need anassault weapon for, if you're going hunting? That's overkill. But I don't think that means you go to a total ban for those who want to use guns forskeet shooting or hunting or things like that. But what's the point of passing gun laws if we're not going to enforce them? If you want to talk aboutgun control, that's where you need to start. We've got 300 gun laws on the books right now. At the end of the day, it's about how we enforce the law."[94]
In 2009, speaking onillegal immigration, Steele called for the U.S. to "secure our borders first", saying, "you cannot begin to address the concerns of the people who are already here unless and until you have made certain that no more are coming in behind them."[95]
During his 2006 campaign, Steele said that he only supportedstem cell research if it did not result in the destruction of theembryo.[96] In February 2006, Steele comparedembryonic stem cell research tomedical experiments performed by the Nazis duringthe Holocaust, remarks for which he later apologized.[97]
In July 2010, video footage of Steele was released in which he stated that theAfghan war was "a war of Obama's choosing. If he's such a student of history has he not understood that, you know, that's the one thing you don't do – is engage in a land war in Afghanistan? Everyone who has tried, over a thousand years of history has failed."[98] He also said the war was "not something the United States had actively prosecuted or wanted to engage in".[99] However, the war in Afghanistan was initiated byGeorge W. Bush in October 2001 in retaliation for theSeptember 11 attacks on New York City and Washington D.C.; Barack Obama increased troop levels there.[100]
Steele's comments drew criticism, with neoconservative commentatorWilliam Kristol calling for Steele's resignation and formerGeorge W. Bush adviserKarl Rove calling Steele's comment "boneheaded."[101] U.S. SenatorJohn McCain ofArizona, the Republicannominee for president in the2008 election, withdrew his support from Steele, calling Steele's comments "wildly inaccurate ... there is no excuse for them" and saying "I think that Mr. Steele is going to have to assess as to whether he can still lead the Republican Party as chairman of the Republican National Committee."[102] SenatorJim DeMint called upon Steele to apologize and SenatorLindsey Graham said, "It was an uninformed, unnecessary, unwise, untimely comment. This is not President Obama's war, this is America's war. We need to stand behind the president." FormerVice PresidentDick Cheney's daughterElizabeth Cheney also called for Steele to resign. However,CongressmanRon Paul, who is known for his generally antiwar stance, in support of Steele said, "Michael Steele has it right, and Republicans should stick by him."[103]
In contrast to his position on Afghanistan, Steele has been a supporter of theIraq War and PresidentGeorge W. Bush's war strategy.[17] During his 2006 campaign, Steele opposed setting a timetable forU.S. withdrawal from Iraq.[104] Steele criticized President Obama on the issue, complaining that he had "demonized" the Iraq War.[105]
Steele is a supporter of theNational Popular Vote Interstate Compact. In a piece co-authored with former Michigan Republican Party ChairmanSaul Anuzis, Steele states that "the good news is that under a national popular vote, a Republican could probably survive a narrow popular vote loss in Texas or Florida and still win the presidency, because every GOP vote in those states would still count toward a national popular vote majority."[106]
Steele's book,Right Now: A 12-Step Program for Defeating the Obama Agenda, was released on January 4, 2010; it was published byRegnery Publishing,ISBN 978-1-59698-108-9. TheAssociated Press reported that, "Steele focuses much of the book on familiar GOP denunciations of PresidentBarack Obama's overall policies ('a roadmap to failure'), the $787 billion stimulus bill ('a reckless, wasteful, pork-laden spending spree'), liberal views on man-made global warming ('A threat to life on Earth? Depends on whom you ask') and other issues. To regain the public confidence, Steele says the GOP should, among other things, expose the 'reign of error' inherent in liberal policies, contrast conservative and liberal principles, and highlight the damage caused by Obama's policies while explaining conservative solutions."[107]
Michael Steele has been awarded honors and awards in recognition of his political career. These include:
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Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, President Bush's brother, heads the U.S. delegation, which includes Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele; Knights of Columbus CEO Carl A. Anderson; Helen Alvary, an associate professor of law at Catholic University of America; and Frank Hanley, president emeritus of the International Union of Operating Engineers.
He told The Baltimore Sun that he is giving "very serious consideration" to running for Maryland governor next year, a process that includes assessing his prospects of succeeding Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, who is barred by term limits from running a third time.
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Joyce Lyon Tehres | Chair of theMaryland Republican Party 2000–2002 | Succeeded by Louis Pope |
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forU.S. Senator fromMaryland (Class 1) 2006 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theRepublican National Committee 2009–2011 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Lieutenant Governor of Maryland 2003–2007 | Succeeded by |
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| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
