Ray LaHood | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2009 | |
| 16th United States Secretary of Transportation | |
| In office January 23, 2009 – July 2, 2013 | |
| President | Barack Obama |
| Deputy | Thomas J. Barrett John Porcari |
| Preceded by | Mary Peters |
| Succeeded by | Anthony Foxx |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromIllinois's18th district | |
| In office January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2009 | |
| Preceded by | Robert Michel |
| Succeeded by | Aaron Schock |
| Member of the Illinois House of Representatives from the 72nd district | |
| In office May 1, 1982 – January 11, 1983 | |
| Preceded by | Ben Polk |
| Succeeded by | Bob DeJaegher |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1945-12-06)December 6, 1945 (age 79) Peoria, Illinois, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Kathy |
| Children | 4, includingDarin |
| Education | Spoon River College Bradley University (BS) |
Raymond H. LaHood (/ləˈhʊd/lə-HOOD; born December 6, 1945) is an American politician who served as the 16thUnited States Secretary of Transportation from 2009 to 2013 under PresidentBarack Obama. A member of theRepublican Party, he previously served in theIllinois House of Representatives (1982–1983) andUnited States House of Representatives (1995–2009).
In 2015,Seeking Bipartisanship: My Life in Politics, a book by Ray LaHood, coauthored with Frank H. Mackaman of The Dirksen Congressional Center, was published byCambria Press.
In 2017, LaHood admitted to the FBI that while holding federal office he had accepted a $50,000 payment from a foreign national for personal home repairs, and that he violated federal government ethics by not reporting the payment on his Office of Government Ethics Form 278. In 2019, government prosecutors and LaHood agreed to a Non-Prosecution Agreement that required LaHood to admit responsibility, repay the $50,000 loan and pay a $40,000 fine to the U.S. government.[1]
LaHood was born inPeoria, Illinois, the son of Edward M. LaHood, aLebanese American who managed a restaurant, and Mary A. LaHood (née Vogel), who was of German ancestry.[2][3] In 2006, he was one of fourArab American members of Congress.[4]
He graduated fromSpalding Institute (nowPeoria Notre Dame High School), worked his way throughCanton Junior College andBradley University in Peoria, earning aBachelor of Science in education andsociology in 1971.[2]
Following graduation, he taughtmiddle schoolsocial studies atpublic andCatholic schools,[2] and has said that "teaching kids ... about the constitution and government" stirred his interest in politics.[5]
LaHood was director of theRock Island County Youth Services Bureau and then districtadministrative assistant for U.S. representativeTom Railsback, aMoline, Illinois Republican, from 1977 to 1982.[6] He was appointed in 1982 to fill a vacant seat in the Illinois House of Representatives, serving for nine months, and running for the seat in November 1982, but losing toDemocratic candidateBob DeJaegher.[6] LaHood then becameadministrative assistant and ultimately thechief of staff to U.S. House Minority LeaderRobert Michel, serving from 1982 until 1994.[6]
When Michel announced his retirement in 1994, LaHood ran for and won his seat in the House, representing Illinois's 18th congressional district.[2] LaHood was one of only three Republicans elected to the House that year who did not sign on to theContract with America,Newt Gingrich's manifesto for a Republican majority,[6][7] and was a member of the moderateRepublican Main Street Partnership. In 1997, in an effort to promote bipartisan cooperation, LaHood organized bipartisan retreats for members of Congress.[6]
During his service in Congress, he became well known amongC-SPAN viewers for frequently serving as Speaker Pro Tempore of the House, presiding over more debates than any other member.[2] Most notably, in 1998 he presided over the contentious debate overthe impeachment ofPresidentBill Clinton.[6][8]
LaHood was a strong advocate for preserving the legacy ofAbraham Lincoln; LaHood's district covered much of the territory that Lincoln represented during his single term in the House. LaHood authored a law that established theAbraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, which laid the groundwork for celebrating the 16th President's 200th birthday in 2009, and he was also a leadCapitol Hill supporter for theLincoln Presidential Library inSpringfield, Illinois.[9]
LaHood served on theHouse Transportation and Infrastructure Committee from 1995 until 2000,[10] theHouse Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence beginning in 1998, and theHouse Appropriations Committee beginning in 2000.[6] In 2005 he voted against renewing thePATRIOT Act, saying he opposed extending its intrusivepolice powers.[6]
LaHood was said to be considering a challenge to DemocraticGovernorRod Blagojevich'sre-election bid in 2006, but chose to run for another term in Congress instead.[6] He won the 2006 race against Steve Waterworth[11] by a margin of 147,108 (67%) to 71,106 (33%).[12] On July 26, 2007, LaHood stated he would not seek re-election in 2008.[13]
In August 2007, LaHood received a 0% rating from the fiscally conservative501(c)4 organizationClub for Growth 2007 RePORK Card.[14] He received an 11% rating from the conservative lobbying groupCitizens Against Government Waste in August 2007, and holds a lifetime 49% rating from the group.[15]
In 2007 LaHood considered, but later decided against, applying for the post ofpresident ofBradley University.[6]
During the2008 presidential election, LaHood supportedJohn McCain, but criticized the rallies being held by McCain's vice presidential nominee,Sarah Palin, saying she should stop "name calling", and that the tactic could backfire. "This doesn't befit the office that she's running for. And frankly, people don't like it," he said.[16][17]
On December 19, 2008, President-electBarack Obama announced that he would nominate LaHood to be the next Transportation Secretary. LaHood served on theHouse Transportation and Infrastructure Committee from 1995 to 2000.[10] As a member of theHouse Appropriations Committee he won praise for his "skills as an arbiter" in being able to bridge sometimes bitter partisan divides in the Congress, something the position would require.[18] Some critics alleged a reputation forpork barrel spending, including in support ofcampaign contributors.The Washington Post reported that of the $60 million inearmarks LaHood secured for his district in 2008, $9 million went to campaign donors.[19]
His nomination was confirmed by theSenate byvoice vote on January 21, 2009.[20] He was, withRobert Gates,[21][22] one of two Republican members of the original Obama Cabinet.[23]
On February 3, 2010, LaHood was criticized for advice he was asked to give while testifying before a congressional committee regardingToyota's recall of 2.3 million vehicles due tosudden acceleration, wherein he suggested Toyota owners stop driving their cars. LaHood qualified his statement within an hour and a half of his testimony, spelling out that he meant "owners of any recalled Toyota models (should) contact their local dealer and get their vehicles fixed as soon as possible."[24]
LaHood is a supporter of airline passenger rights to facilities, food and water during lengthy on-aircraft delays.[25] He is also a strong proponent ofhigh-speed rail, saying "This is what the American people want.If you build it, they will come."[26]
On December 6, 2011, LaHood accepted the resignation of FAA AdministratorRandy Babbitt, who was charged withdrunk driving near his Washington home. In February 2013, LaHood lamented the amount of infrastructure spending that was approved by Congress during his tenure at the Department of Transportation. "America is one big pothole right now," LaHood said in an interview onThe Diane Rehm Show onNational Public Radio.[27] He went on to mention that Congress passed a $105 billion surface transportation bill last year, but he lamented the fact that the measure only provided appropriations for road and transit projects until 2014. "Congress passed a two-year bill. Ordinarily they would pass a five year bill," he said. "It was only a two-year bill because they couldn't find enough money to fund a five-year bill."
LaHood announced his plans to step down as Transportation Secretary at the end ofObama's first term in 2013. He did not seek any public office after that and instead entered the private sector.[28] On January 29, 2013, LaHood announced he would resign as the Secretary of the Department of Transportation upon the confirmation of his successor by theUnited States Senate. President Obama nominatedAnthony Foxx, the incumbent Mayor ofCharlotte, North Carolina, to succeed LaHood. Foxx was subsequently confirmed by the U.S. Senate and was sworn into the position on July 2, 2013.[29]
On November 21, 2019, GovernorJ. B. Pritzker nominated LaHood to serve as a member of theAbraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum Board of Trustees. He resigned his job in April 2021 after it emerged that he had paid a $40,000 fine for failing to disclose a $50,000 loan he had received from Lebanese-Nigerian businessman Gilbert Chagoury.[30]
LaHood did not supportDonald Trump in the2016,2020, and2024 presidential elections, and endorsed the Democratic nomineeJoe Biden in 2020 andKamala Harris in 2024.[31][32][33][34]
In May 2013, Illinois State RepresentativeJehan Gordon-Booth, who, like LaHood did in the U.S. Congress, represents a central Illinois district, introduced legislation in theIllinois House of Representatives Rules Committee (House Joint Resolution 35) that, if passed by the state House and Senate and signed by GovernorPat Quinn, would rename a 6-mile stretch ofInterstate 74 from theMurray Baker Bridge (over the Illinois River between Tazewell and Peoria Counties) to Sterling Avenue exit as the Ray LaHood Highway. That section corresponds to much of what was contained in the major multi-year revision that was the Upgrade 74 project in the last decade (the 2000s) that LaHood had backed in the later years of his tenure in the U.S. House.[35]
Also that month, in recognition of his Congressional and Cabinet service as he neared his last days in office, a portrait of him (with a bust ofAbraham Lincoln's head in the background—LaHood had represented his 18th Illinois congressional district and named the headquarters of his agency after him) bySimmie Knox. The portrait was unveiled and dedicated at the Abraham Lincoln U.S. Department of Transportation Building in the presence of LaHood's family, U.S. Merchant Marines,Shaun Donovan (Secretary of theUnited States Department of Housing and Urban Development), andJanet Napolitano (Secretary of theUnited States Department of Homeland Security), as well as his predecessor in Congress for Illinois's 18th congressional district, former U.S. House Minority LeaderRobert Michel.[36]
He was Inducted as a Laureate ofThe Lincoln Academy of Illinois and awarded theOrder of Lincoln (the State's highest honor) by the Governor of Illinois in 2016 in the area of Government and Law.[37] The new international terminal, with full U.S. Customs, TSA and Port of Entry services, at theGeneral Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport, was named for him in April 2016. It opened in late May 2016.[38]
LaHood's congressional seat,Illinois's 18th congressional district, has been Republican since 1939.
| Year | Democrat | Votes | Pct | Republican | Votes | Pct | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | G. Douglas Stephens | 78,332 | 39% | Ray LaHood | 119,838 | 60% | * | ||
| 1996 | Mike Curran | 98,413 | 41% | Ray LaHood | 143,110 | 59% | |||
| 1998 | (no candidate) | Ray LaHood | 158,175 | 100% | * | ||||
| 2000 | Joyce Harant | 85,317 | 33% | Ray LaHood | 173,706 | 67% | |||
| 2002 | (no candidate) | Ray LaHood | 192,567 | 100% | |||||
| 2004 | Steve Waterworth | 91,548 | 30% | Ray LaHood | 216,047 | 70% | |||
| 2006 | Steve Waterworth | 73,052 | 33% | Ray LaHood | 150,194 | 67% |
* Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 1994, write-ins received 955 votes. In 1998, write-ins received 2 votes.
LaHood did not to seek re-election in 2008, andBarack Obama nominated him to beU.S. Secretary of Transportation. Illinois State RepresentativeAaron Schock of Peoria won the seat for the Republicans in the2008 election.[40]
LaHood and his wife Kathleen have a residence inPeoria, Illinois. Ray and Kathy have four children—Darin, Amy, Sam, and Sara. Their sonDarin LaHood is a current member of the U.S. House of Representatives, having represented Illinois's 18th congressional district since a2015 special election, and previously served in theIllinois Senate.
On January 21, 2012, LaHood's son, Sam LaHood, was detained by the Egyptian government and not allowed to leave the country as part of a politically charged criminal investigation by the Egyptian government into the activities ofnon-governmental organizations (NGOs) monitoring local elections inEgypt. LaHood's son is the Egypt director of theInternational Republican Institute. The Egyptian government detained twelve NGO representatives from leaving Egypt.[41]
On February 5, 2012, Egyptian authorities charged LaHood's son and 42 other individuals with "spending money from organizations that were operating in Egypt without a license." Nineteen Americans were part of the 42 charged. The U.S. government said that $1.5 billion in U.S. aid to Egypt could be withheld if the investigation was not finished quickly. Faiza Abu Naga,Egypt's Minister of International Cooperation, was seen as the person pushing the investigation forward.[42][43] Sam LaHood left Egypt along with several foreign NGO workers on March 1, 2012.[44] Sam LaHood was triedin absentia by an Egyptian criminal court, and convicted of operating without a license and receiving foreign funding.[45] He was given a five-year jail term and fined 1,000 Egyptian pounds ($143).[45][46]
In 2012, while serving as U.S. Secretary of Transportation, LaHood accepted a $50,000 check that he knew had originated fromGilbert Chagoury, a foreign national. LaHood failed to disclose this on two government ethics forms, and he also made misleading statements to the FBI when asked about the source of the check.
TheDepartment of Justice considered the investigation resolved in March 2021 after LaHood agreed to pay a $40,000 fine.[47]
In a separate and unrelated matter, Ray LaHood, 75, who served as U.S. Secretary of Transportation from 2009 to 2013, paid a $40,000 fine to resolve a federal criminal investigation into LaHood's conduct related to a $50,000 financial transaction between LaHood and Baaklini in June 2012. LaHood, who at the time was suffering financial difficulties, admitted that in 2012 he accepted a $50,000 personal check from Baaklini – with the word "Loan" written in the check's memo portion – and understood at the time that the money came from Chagoury. LaHood failed to disclose the $50,000 check on two government ethics forms as required because LaHood did not want to be associated with Chagoury. Later, LaHood also made misleading statements to FBI agents investigating Chagoury about the check and its source. As part of his non-prosecution agreement signed in December 2019, LaHood also agreed to cooperate with the government's investigation and repaid the $50,000 to Baaklini.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromIllinois's 18th congressional district 1995–2009 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | United States Secretary of Transportation 2009–2013 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former US Cabinet Member | Order of precedence of the United States as Former US Cabinet Member | Succeeded byas Former US Cabinet Member |
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| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
