Leahy, Patrick J.

Biography

Patrick Joseph Leahy, born in Montpelier, Vermont on March 31, 1940, is the son of Alba Zambon Leahy and Howard Leahy. His family, of Irish and Italian descent, initially arrived in central Vermont to work in the granite industry. His parents ran a printing business for several decades, the Leahy Press, which formerly operated near the Vermont State House in Montpelier and is still in existence.

Leahy attended elementary and secondary schools in Montpelier, graduating from St. Michael’s High School in 1957. He attended St. Michael’s College in Colchester, Vermont, earning a Bachelor of Arts in 1961. He went on to receive a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University in 1964.

After graduating from Georgetown, Leahy was admitted to the Vermont Bar in 1964 and was admitted to practice before the Vermont Supreme Court in 1964, the Federal District Court of Vermont in 1965, the Second Circuit of Appeals in New York in 1966, and the U.S. Supreme Court in 1968. He was appointed Chittenden County State’s Attorney in 1966, serving on several governmental commissions under Governors Philip Hoff, Deane Davis, and Thomas Salmon; he was also vice-president of the National Association of District Attorneys. In 1974, this organization named him one of the country’s three outstanding prosecutors. He served as the Chittenden County State’s Attorney until 1974, when he won his first election to the United States Senate as Vermont’s youngest and first Democratic senator, succeeding Republican George Aiken.

Leahy was reelected seven more times: in 1980, 1986, 1992, 1998, 2004, 2010, and 2016. He served from January 3, 1975 to January 3, 2023, becoming Vermont’s longest-serving U.S. Senator and the third-longest serving U.S. Senator in American history, casting 17,374 votes. He was succeeded by Democrat Peter Welch.

Leahy served on several committees during his 48-year tenure. At various points in his career, he served as a member, Ranking Member, and Chair of the Agriculture, Appropriations, and Judiciary Committees, as well as a member of the Rules and Administration Committee and Select Committee on Intelligence. Leahy resigned from the Senate Intelligence Committee in 1987 after a leak of an unclassified draft report to a journalist. For 31 years, from 1989 to 2020, Leahy served as either ranking member or chair of the State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee.

Leahy obtained more seniority as his tenure continued, and he served as President Pro Tempore of the Senate twice, from December 17, 2012 to January 3, 2015 and again from January 20, 2021 to January 3, 2023. It was in this capacity that he served as the presiding officer for President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial in 2021.

Leahy’s legislative priorities often revolved around humanitarian initiatives, agriculture, the environment, and technology. He is known for the Leahy Law, which prohibits the United States from financially assisting foreign security forces implicated of human rights violations, the Leahy War Victims Fund, which works with USAID to assist civilian victims of war around the world, and for his work in expanding the Violence Against Women Act. He secured billions in federal funding for Vermont, including support for Lake Champlain; Vermont’s downtowns; agricultural, restorative justice, and opioid crisis initiatives; flood relief, particularly after Tropical Storm Irene in 2012; and relief during the COVID-19 pandemic. He organized the Vermont Women’s Economic Opportunity Conference and directed seed funding for the Vermont Center for Emerging Technologies to help entrepreneurs build their companies and employ Vermonters. He is known as the “father” of the country’s organic standards and labeling program, was a leader in the work of the Farm to School program, and was a strong advocate for conservation and environmental issues. His advocacy contributed to improved diplomatic relations with Vietnam and Cuba.

Upon his retirement from the U.S. Senate, Leahy returned to live in Vermont full time. As a President’s Distinguished Fellow at the University of Vermont, he contributes to the University’s land grant mission through several projects, including through the Leahy Institute for Rural Partnerships, which builds collaboration between the University and state partners to support rural places. In 2023, the Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport was renamed for him.

In addition to his many legislative accomplishments, Leahy has a history in the media and entertainment industry. As a lifelong fan of the Batman comics, he has had cameos in Batman movies, donating his royalties to the Kellogg-Hubbard Library of Montpelier, which he frequented as a child. He is an accomplished photographer and has had his images included in publications and exhibited in shows around Vermont and Washington, DC. He is also the author of a memoir, The Road Taken, published in 2022.

Leahy has been married to Marcelle Pomerleau Leahy, a native of Newport, Vermont and a registered nurse, for over 60 years. They have three children – Kevin, Alicia, and Mark.

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