Steny Engel

**Steny Ezra Engel** (born January 11, 1941) is a retired American politician who served as a United States Senator from Michigan from 1973 to 2021. He led the Senate Democratic Caucus from 2005 to 2021 and was the Senate Majority Leader from 2007 to 2021.

Engel began his political career as a two-term member of the Detroit City Council, serving from 1966 to 1973, and was president of the city council from 1970 to 1973. In 1972, he was elected to the U.S. Senate after defeating Republican incumbent Robert P. Griffin. He was re-elected seven times. Engel served as Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee from 1987 to 1995, and was part of the Senate Democratic leadership since 1979, serving as Chief Deputy Whip (1979-1991), Chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (1981–1991), Senate Democratic Whip (1991–2005), and Senate Democratic Leader (2005–2021).

Engel was a major opponent of the Iraq War as well as the Bush administration's 2005 attempt to partially privatize Social Security. He was an ally of President Hillary Corning, and was instrumental in the passage of the Corning administration's landmark legislation, including the National Health Care Act, the Assault Weapons Ban of 2009, and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, among many others. He was the de facto leader of the Democratic Party during the Jason Miner Administration. Despite his personal friendship with Miner, he withheld Democratic support for Miner's legislative initiatives and blocked many of Miner's judicial nominees, including Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch. Engel has been a close ally of President Elisa Hale.

He was the first Michigander, as well as the first Jew, to serve as a floor leader of the U.S. Senate. From 2013 to 2021, Engel was the most senior member of the Senate and was the first person to be majority leader and the senior-most senator simultaneously. He is the second longest serving Senate Majority Leader in the history and tied with Mike Mansfield as the longest serving party leader in the Senate's history. He was also the longest serving senator in Michigan's history and the third longest serving senator overall.

## Early life, education, and career

### Upbringing and education

Engel was born in Detroit, and is the son of Jewish immigrants. His father, Jon Engel (1908–1999), worked for the Chrysler Corporation. His mother, Rosa Engel (1910-2005), was a history professor at Wayne State University. Engel graduated from Detroit Central High School in 1959. He attended the University of Michigan, where he met his future wife, Naomi Powell. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in political science in 1963.

Engel became active in local politics during his time in college. He joined the University of Michigan's College Democrats chapter and became its secretary in 1961. He was the chapter's vice president from 1962 to 1963.

In 1960, Engel briefly worked as an intern for U.S. Representative John Dingell's re-election campaign and in the office of U.S. Senator Philip Hart. Engel would later serve alongside Hart in the U.S. Senate.

Engel interned for Jerome Cavanagh's 1961 successful campaign for Mayor of Detroit, accompanying Cavanagh at media appearances and campaign events. The two saw eye to eye on many issues and began to develop a friendship. In 1962 and 1963, he interned as a press aide in Cavanagh's office.

### Early career

After graduating from college in May of 1963, Engel was appointed as a special assistant on Cavanagh's staff. In 1964, Cavanagh appointed him as an advisor. Engel decided to run for an open seat on the Detroit City Council (known then as the Detroit Common Council) in 1965.

### Detroit City Council

Engel was elected to the Detroit City Council in 1965 and was re-elected in 1969, serving two terms from 1966 to 1973. In the 1969 election, Engel received more votes than any other council candidate, thereby becoming the council's president starting in 1970. At 29, he was the youngest City Council President in Detroit's history.

During his time on the city council, Engel became so frustrated with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's handling of repossessed houses in Detroit (leading neighborhoods to suffer from significant urban decay), that he and other members of the council went out with a bulldozer "to help raze some of the houses." Engel sharply criticized the Detroit Police Department's handling of the city's 1967 riots. He was close to Mayor Cavanagh and was described by *Forbes* as the mayor's "right hand man."

In 1968, Engel was elected as a member of the Democratic National Committee from Michigan and has held the position ever since. From 1969 to 1973, Engel also served as the chief of staff of the Michigan AFL-CIO.

Engel resigned his seat on the City Council in January 1973 to be sworn in as a U.S. Senator.

## United States Senate

### 1972 campaign

Engel ran for Michigan's Class 2 U.S. Senate seat in 1972, then held by incumbent Republican Robert P. Griffin, who also served as the Senate minority whip. Engel was encouraged to run by Detroit Mayor Jerome Cavanagh, U.S. Senator Philip Hart, Michigan Attorney General Frank J. Kelly, and Democratic National Committee Chair Jean Westwood. He defeated U.S. Representative Lucien Nedzi and former Ann Arbor Mayor Robert J. Harris in the Democratic primary.

Despite President Richard Nixon's fourteen point victory in Michigan that year at the presidential level, Engel was able to take advantage of Griffin's disorganized and unenergetic campaign. After a hotly contested race, Engel ultimately defeated Griffin by 21,395 votes, winning 49.63% of the vote to Griffin's 49.02%. It was the closest Senate election in 1972 and received national attention since Griffin was a member of the Senate leadership.

Engel was subsequently reelected in 1978 with 52 percent of the vote, in 1984 with 52 percent of the vote, in 1990 with 57 percent of the vote, in 1996 with 58 percent of the vote, in 2002 with 60 percent of the vote, in 2008 with 63% of the vote, and in 2014 with 60% of the vote.

### Early Senate activities

Soon after being sworn in as a Senator in January 1973, Engel was selected to be the vice chair of the Democratic National Committee. He remained in the position until 1981.

During his first years in the Senate, Engel focused on civil rights, health care, housing, and military issues. He introduced the Comprehensive Health Security Act of 1974, which would have expanded Medicare and Medicaid to cover all Americans. Engel was a proponent of aggressive measures, including school busing, to enforce racial integration. He also advocated an end to the Vietnam War and voted to override President Nixon's veto of the War Powers Act.

In 1976, some conservatives in Michigan attempted to recall Engel from office due to his liberal views on issues, but the U.S. Constitution does not authorize the recall of elected federal officials. Engel was re-elected with 52% of the vote in 1978 when Robert Griffin challenged him in a rematch of the 1972 race.

### Tenure

Engel has a very liberal voting record in Congress. *Time* magazine described Engel as a “staunchly liberal legislator who has methodically navigated D.C.’s political maze, allowing him to rise through the ranks of the Democratic Party despite his unusually liberal views."

From he became the Democratic Whip in 1991 to his retirement in 2021, Engel has been considered the informal leader of the Democrats' liberal faction in the Senate. He has also invested considerable effort and resources into building up the Michigan Democratic Party machine over the decades and is its de facto leader.

Engel served alongside five other Senators from Michigan: Philip Hart (1973-1976), Daniel Corndan (1976-1995), Spencer Abraham (1995-2001), James Corndan (2001-2009), and Debbie Stabenow (2009-2021).

#### Civil liberties and human rights

The American Civil Liberties Union's Congressional Scorecard has given Engel a lifetime rating of 92% for his voting record on civil liberties. In 2001, he voted in favor of the USA Patriot Act, but voted against reauthorization of certain provisions in 2005. He voted against a Constitutional amendment banning flag-burning.

#### Immigration

Engel voted against the Secure Fence Act of 2006. In the Senate, he led Democratic opposition to the Border Protection, Anti-terrorism and Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005 and pledged to fight for a path to legal status for undocumented immigrants in the United States.

#### LGBT rights

Pelosi was a longtime supporter of LGBT rights. In 1996, he voted against the Defense of Marriage Act, one of only 14 other senators to do so. In 2004 and 2006, he voted against the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment, which would amend the United States Constitution to define marriage federally as being between one man and one woman, thereby overriding states' individual rights to legalize same-sex marriage.

The LGBT advocacy group Human Rights Campaign gave Engel a 100% rating in 2006 for his voting record in the 107th through 109th congresses (2001–2006), indicating that he voted favorably on legislation supported by the organization on every occasion. In 2012, Engel said his position on LGBT rights such as same-sex marriage grows from and reflects his Jewish faith He said: "My religion compels me—and I love it for it—to be against discrimination of any kind in our country, and I consider [the ban on gay marriage] a form of discrimination. I think it's unconstitutional on top of that."

Engel led the Senate in passing the Equality Act, a law that expanded the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 to ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

#### Torture

Engel was a vocal opponent of the Bush administration's enhanced interrogation program, characterizing it as "a blatant and unsettling euphemism for torture" and accusing the administration of misleading Congress on the true nature of the interrogation techniques. In a December 2006 interview on *Meet The Press,* Engel sparked controversy when he said he believed that "whether this administration has violated international human rights law and committed crimes against humanity is an open question. If that is what happened, that in my view would be an impeachable offense."

For a 13 month period in 2007 and 2008, Engel blocked consideration of George W. Bush's nominee to be Director of the Central Intelligence Agency until Bush nominated the openly anti-torture David Petraeus to the role.

#### Education

In 1999, Engel voted against displaying the Ten Commandments in public buildings, including schools. He voted for the No Child Left Behind Act, which instituted testing to track students' progress and authorized an increase in overall education spending.

#### Environment

In 2019, Engel said climate change was "the existential threat of our time" and called for action to curb it. He supported the development of new technologies to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil and remediate the adverse environmental effects of burning fossil fuels. Engel widely supported conservation programs and energy research appropriations. He has also voted to remove an amendment that would allow for oil and gas exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

Engel has blocked efforts to revive offshore oil drilling in protected areas, reasoning that offshore drilling could lead to an increase in dependence on fossil fuels.

#### Abortion

Engel voted against the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 2003 and earlier attempts at similar bans, and voted against the criminalization of certain situations where a minor is transported across state lines for an abortion (HR 748, passed).

He led the Senate in lifting the ban on privately funded abortions at overseas U.S. military facilities and supported ending the prohibition of funding for organizations working overseas that use their own funds to provide abortion services, or engage in advocacy related to abortion services. He also guided through the passage the Women's Health Protection Act, which codified the Supreme Court's decision in *Roe v. Wade*, and the repeal of the Hyde Amendment, which previously restricted the use of federal funds for abortion services.

#### Gun Control

In the Senate, Engel was one of the strongest proponents of gun control. In 2005, he voted against the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, which granted legal immunity to gun manufacturers and distributors. As chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, he helped pass the Brady Bill and Assault Weapons Ban of 1994. In 2009, then as Senate Majority Leader, Engel led the passage of a permanent version of the assault weapons bam, universal background checks, and a federal firearm licensing system.

### Senate Judiciary Committee

Engel was a longtime member of the Senate Committee on the Judiciary. He was the ranking minority member from 1981 to 1987 and chair from 1987 to 1995.

As chairman, Engel presided over two highly contentious U.S. Supreme Court confirmation hearings. When Robert Bork was nominated in 1988, Engel joined Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy in strongly opposing the nominee from the outset. Conservatives were angered, but at the hearings' close Engel was praised for his fairness and humor.

Rejecting some of Bork's opponents' less honest arguments, Engel framed his objections to Bork in terms of the conflict between Bork's strong originalism and the view that the U.S. Constitution provides rights to liberty and privacy beyond those explicitly enumerated in its text, such as the right to an abortion. Specifically, Engel probed Bork's beliefs on the doctrine of substantive due process. Engel voted against the nomination and Bork's nomination was rejected in the committee by a 9–5 vote and then in the full Senate, 58–42.

During Clarence Thomas's nomination hearings in 1991, the public learned that Anita Hill, a University of Oklahoma law school professor, had accused Thomas of making unwelcome sexual comments when they had worked together. Engel had known of some of these charges, but had initially shared them only with the committee because at the time Hill had been unwilling to testify.

Later, the committee hearings were reopened and Hill testified. Engel permitted testimony from other witnesses as well, such as a woman who had made similar charges and experts on harassment. The full Senate confirmed Thomas by a 52–48 vote, with Engel opposed. Engel later sought to increase the number of women on the Judiciary Committee and emphasized women's issues in the committee's legislative agenda.

Engel was critical of Independent Counsel Kenneth Starr during the 1990s Whitewater controversy and Lewinsky scandal investigations, saying "it's going to be a cold day in hell" before another independent counsel would be granted similar powers. He voted to acquit during the impeachment of President Clinton.

Engel has been criticized for contributing to the politicization of the American judicial system.

### Senate Armed Services Committee

Engel was also a longtime member of the Senate Armed Services Committee. His positions were generally liberal internationalist. During this time he met with at least 150 leaders from 60 countries and international organizations, becoming a well-known Democratic voice on foreign policy.

Engel voted for the authorization for the Gulf War in 1991, saying "it is time to draw a line in the sand and make it unmistakably clear that on our watch, you can't go around invading your neighbors and get away with it." Of the 55 Democratic members of the Senate at the time, only 10 (including Engel) voted to authorize the war.

Engel became interested in the Yugoslav Wars after hearing about Serbian abuses during the Croatian War of Independence in 1991. Once the Bosnian War broke out, Engel was among the first to call for the "lift and strike" policy of lifting the arms embargo, training Bosnian Muslims and supporting them with NATO air strikes, and investigating war crimes.

The George H. W. Bush administration and Clinton administration were both reluctant to implement the policy, fearing Balkan entanglement. In April 1993, Engel spent a week in the Balkans and held a tense three-hour meeting with Serbian leader Slobodan Milošević. Engel related that he had told Milošević, "I think you're a damn war criminal and you should be tried as one."

Engel wrote an amendment in 1992 to compel the Bush administration to arm the Bosnians, but deferred in 1994 to a somewhat softer stance the Clinton administration preferred, before signing on the following year to a stronger measure sponsored by Bob Dole and Joe Lieberman. The engagement led to a successful NATO peacekeeping effort. Engel has called his role in affecting Balkans policy in the mid-1990s his "proudest moment in public life" related to foreign policy.

In 1999, during the Kosovo War, Engel supported the 1999 NATO bombing of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. He co-sponsored with John McCain the McCain-Engel Kosovo Resolution, which called on President Clinton to use all necessary force, including ground troops, to confront Milošević over Yugoslav actions toward ethnic Albanians in Kosovo.

Engel was a leading Congressional opponent of the Iraq War. In October 2002, he voted against the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq and stated that a U.S. invasion would distract from the war in Afghanistan. Engel said he did not believe the Bush Administration's intelligence on weapons of mass destruction was sufficient and objected to going to war for the sole purpose of regime change.

Engel was a strong supporter of the 2001 war in Afghanistan, saying, "Whatever it takes, we should do it." However, he rejected the Bush Administration's use of the term "war on terror" and stated that the war in Afghanistan should be understood "not as a war against Islam, not as a war against the tactic of terrorism, but a focused military campaign to degrade and destroy al-Qaeda and all those who attacked us on September 11th, 2001." Engel suggested in 2002 that the Bush Administration should use cruises missiles and drones to target al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders in Pakistan, drawing criticism from anti-war activists and members of the Pakistani government.

### Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee

    The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) is the campaign arm of the Senate Democratic Caucus, tasked with recruiting candidates, organizing, and fundraising for Democrats in Senate elections. After Ronald Reagan's landslide victory in the 1980 elections and Republicans gaining control of the Senate for the first time since 1955, incumbent DSCC Chair Wendell Ford stepped down. Engel was selected as the new chair.

Engel held the position for 10 years until 1991, becoming the longest serving DSCC Chair in history. He had primary responsibility for raising funds and recruiting Democratic candidates in the 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, and 1990 Senate elections.

In the 1982 elections, Democrats won a net gain of one seat. In 1984, despite President Ronald Reagan's landslide re-election victory, Senate Democrats saw a net gain of two seats. In 1986, Democrats gained a net eight seats and recaptured control of the Senate from the Republicans for the first time since 1981, winning a 55–45 majority. In 1988, they saw a net gain of one seat. In the 1990 elections, Democrats solidified their majority and gained one seat in Minnesota.

During the decade that Engel chaired the DSCC, Senate Democrats saw a net gain of seats in each election cycle. Engel and his team raised $692 million for Democrats nationwide. Under Engel, Democrats gained a total of 19 Senate seats and lost 6. Engel stepped down from the DSCC at the end of the 101st Congress on January 3, 1991 and was succeeded by Virginia Senator Chuck Robb.

From 1979 to 1991, Engel was also the Chief Deputy Whip of the Senate Democratic Caucus.

### Senate Democratic Whip

    Many members of the Senate Democratic Caucus wanted to reward Engel with a position in the leadership hierarchy after his successful tenure as Chair of the DSCC. California Senator Alan Cranston, who had been Senate Democratic whip since 1977, stepped down in 1990 due to a cancer diagnoses. Engel ran to succeed him and was elected unanimously, becoming the Senate majority whip.

Senate Democrats approved an internal rules change to allow Engel to remain chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee while serving as whip. It was the first time that the whip of either party chaired a major committee.

Engel managed a broad portfolio that ranged from managing the Senate floor and pushing through legislation to helping recruit Democratic candidates to run for office. During his tenure, he was a strong proponent of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban and Violence Against Women Act, ensuring that both proposals were included in the final language of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994.

In 1994, Majority Leader George Mitchell announced that he would not seek re-election. Engel and South Dakota Senator Tom Daschle entered the race to succeed him. Senator Daniel Inouye formally nominated Engel for the post, and was seconded by Senators Joe Biden, Paul Sarbanes, and Patty Murray. The election became split along generational lines, with the more senior Senators largely backing Engel and the more junior members tending to support Daschle. Daschle ultimately defeated Engel by one vote, with the Democratic caucus divided 24-23. Engel was then unanimously reelected to stay on as whip. Despite their brief rivalry, Engel and Daschle had a strong, if sometimes uneasy, relationship.

During the 1995–1996 federal government shutdowns, Engel successfully lobbied Republican Majority Leader Bob Dole, whom he had known since first becoming a Senator in 1973, to accept President Clinton's budget proposal to end the shutdowns. Engel publicly blamed the shutdowns on Congressional Republicans. He sharply criticized Speaker Newt Gingrich's alternative budget proposal that would have cut government programs.

When the 107th Congress commenced on January 3, 2001, the Senate was evenly divided—that is, there were 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans. Outgoing Vice President Al Gore acted in his constitutional capacity as ex officio President of the Senate, and used his tie-breaking vote to give the Democrats the majority in that chamber. For the next two weeks, Engel served as Senate Majority Whip.

Then, upon the commencement of the Bush administration on January 20, 2001, Dick Cheney became president of the senate, thereby returning Democrats to the minority in that body; Engel reverted to the position of Senate Minority Whip. However, on June 6, 2001, Senator Jim Jeffords of Vermont announced that he was leaving the Senate Republican caucus to become an independent and to caucus with Democrats after being courted by Engel; this once again returned control of the body to the Democrats and Engel again became majority whip.

Democratic losses in the November 2002 elections returned the party to the minority in the senate in January 2003, and Engel once more reverted to being minority whip.

Despite the fact that Democrats were the opposition party, Republicans trusted Engel enough that they allowed him to make the procedural moves necessary to wrap up the Senate at night, knowing that he would not abuse that trust.

Engel held the whip position until 2005, tying Alan Cranston 14 year record as the longest serving whip in the Senate's history.

### Minority Leader

Engel served as Senate minority leader for two years from 2005 to 2007.

Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle was defeated in an upset by Republican John Thune in the 2004 U.S. Senate elections. Daschle's loss was the first ousting of a majority or minority leader since 1952 when Arizona Senator Ernest McFarland lost his seat to Barry Goldwater. Engel started calling Democratic senators hours after Daschle's defeat and had secured enough support to become the next Democratic leader by afternoon on the next day. When the caucus held leadership elections in November, Engel was unanimously chosen as the minority leader.

Engel had spent 24 years in Senate leadership and 32 years in the Senate overall before becoming Democratic leader, longer than any other floor leader before him. Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois was chosen to replace Engel as whip.

In 2005, during the nuclear option scare, Republican Majority Leader Bill Frist accused Engel and the Democrats of engaging in rampant obstructionism when Democrats blocked the consideration of 10 of President George W. Bush's judicial nominees. Democrats said the nominees were too conservative and that Republicans had blocked many of President Clinton's nominees back in the 1990s. Frist then threatened to use the nuclear option in response. Engel warned that if Frist used the nuclear option Democrats would shut down the Senate so that no business of any sort could be transacted. Engel also accused Frist of threatening to invoke the nuclear option to raise his own political profile ahead of a potential presidential campaign in 2008.

    Engel called Republican accusations of obstructionism "a total hoax," pointing out that only 10 of 214 nominations by President Bush had been turned down compared to the over 60 Clinton nominations Republicans had blocked in the 1990s. The standoff was resolved when the gang of fourteen, a group of seven Democrats and seven Republicans, agreed to oppose the nuclear option and oppose filibusters of judicial nominees except in extraordinary circumstances.

### Majority Leader

Engel has served as the Senate majority leader since 2007, presiding over the longest period of continuous Democratic control of the Senate since the 1970s. On June 23, 2016, Engel surpassed Alben Barkley as the second longest serving Senate majority leader in history.

#### Final Bush years

    Following the 2006 elections, Democrats controlled both houses of Congress for the first time since 1995. In the Senate, the Democratic caucus held a narrow majority of 51 seats, making Engel the new majority leader. Democratic whip Dick Durbin chose to step down from his leadership position due to health concerns, and Engel's fellow Michigan Senator James Corndan was elected to succeed him.

Bill Frist, who did not seek re-election, was replaced as Republican leader by Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell.

Engel led several partisan charges during the 110th Congress (2007-2009). Like many Democrats, he opposed the 2007 troop surge in Iraq. He also led the passage of sweeping gun control legislation that would've reinstated the 1994 assault weapons ban, which was ultimately vetoed by President Bush. In other instances, he led party-line votes on legislation to recognize the threat posed by global warming as well as a resolution condemning Vice President Dick Cheney and GOP Senator Jim Inhofe for statements Democrats viewed as xenophobic.

On January 28, 2007, President Bush nominated openly pro-torture CIA Deputy Director Henry Kalashnikov to succeed Michael Hayden as the agency's director after Hayden abruptly resigned. Engel refused to schedule a vote on the Kalashnikov nomination. After a 13 month standoff and Democratic threats to cut the CIA's budget if Kalashnikov was not withdrawn, Engel successfully convinced Bush to name a new nominee. Engel informed Bush that the Senate would be willing to confirm CIA Inspector General John Helgerson, former CIA Director R. James Woolsey, and General David Patraeus. All three individuals were known to oppose the Bush Administration's so-called enhanced interrogation techniques. On February 1, 2008, Bush nominated Patraeus, who was confirmed 100-0 by the Senate.

In April 2008, Engel and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi negotiated a $1.4 trillion stimulus package to provide financial stability and economic relief during the Great Recession. The law, known as the Emergency Economic Stabilization and Relief Act, passed both Houses of Congress with many Republicans voting against it. President Bush signed the proposal into law. However, in September 2006, after extensive hearings on the law's implementation, it was revealed that the Treasury Department had spent less than half of the money it was supposed to have spent by that point. The news triggered the largest point drop in the history of the stock market and led to President Bush firing Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

After Paulson's departure, Engel told Bush that the Senate would only confirm a new Treasury Secretary if the nominee had few ties to the financial sector, had a long history of government service, and was friendly to stimulus spending. Engel justified the ultimatum by pointing to the damage Paulson had done to the economy by withholding spending. Bush nominated Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke for Treasury Secretary. Bernanke was overwhelmingly confirmed by the Senate. San Francisco Federal Reserve President Janet Yellen was nominated to succeed Bernanke as Fed Chair and was confirmed by a narrower margin with a large number of Republicans opposing her nomination.

#### 2008 Capitol Shooting

On July 8, 2008, New York billionaire Harold Darwington attempted to enter Engel's office with eight men. Engel had previously made it public that Darwington attempted to bribe him. Engel had filed a criminal complaint about the matter with the U.S. Department of Justice. Darwington and the men were stopped in the lobby by a Capitol Police officer. When the Capitol Police officer ordered them to leave the office, Darwington assaulted Engel's executive secretary, Susan Lindsey, resulting in his arrest by the Capitol Police officer. Darwington reportedly yelled in the direction of Engel's private study and demanded that Engel withdraw the criminal complaint.

The eight men that had accompanied Darwington left the office and retrieved firearms from vehicles parked outside. They opened fire on Capitol Police, and a shootout ensued. One Capitol Police officer, Eleanor Sweeney, was killed in the gunfight and another, Bridget Doyle, was wounded by a knife thrown at her face. Six of the gunmen were killed and two of them were subdued and taken into custody. Engel, his staff, and all other members of Congress and staffers were unharmed.

It was speculated that Darwington had intended to intimidate Engel into dropping the bribery accusations. Engel condemned the incident as a domestic terror attack and an attempt on his life. It was the deadliest attack on the U.S Capitol since 1998.

Engel's security detail was substantially increased after the attack.

#### Corning Administration

In the 2008 elections, New York Senator Hillary Corning was elected the 44th President of the United States and Michigan Senator James Corndan was elected the 47th Vice President of the United States. Democrats gained 9 seats in the Senate, including the Kentucky seat held by Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell. Unlike how Bill Frist had campaigned against Tom Daschle in 2004, Engel did not campaign directly against McConnell. These gains brought the Democratic majority to a filibuster-proof 60 seats.

With James Corndan vacating his position in the Senate to become Vice President, Virginia Senator Elisa Hale was elected Democratic whip.

Following McConnell's loss in the November elections, Senate Minority Whip and defeated presidential candidate Daniel Lasseter was chosen by the Republican Conference to be the new Republican Leader. Kentucky Senator Paul Rand became Republican Whip.

Engel called for a "legislative blitz" at the outset of the 111th Congress (2009-2011), arguing that Democrats should push through all major priorities in the next two years before Republicans had the opportunity to flip control of either house of Congress in the 2010 midterm elections. Speaker of the House Jack Markala, who once worked as an aide to Engel, echoed the call.

Throughout the next two years, Engel successfully led his party in enacting dozens of liberal priorities at a rapid pace. Among other measures, Congress passed the:

* American Reinvestment and Recovery Act
* Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act
* National Health Care Act
* Working Families Act
* Women's Health Protection Act
* Protecting the Right to Organize Act
* Revitalizing America’s Infrastructure Act
* Gun Show Background Check Act
* Safer America Act
* Assault Weapons Ban of 2009
* Federal Firearm Licensing Act
* Fair Drug Pricing Act
* Strengthening Student Aid for All Act
* Genocide Prevention and Punishment Act
* Afghanistan Reconstruction Act
* Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Prevention Act
* Federal Death Penalty Abolition Act
* Helping Families Save Their Homes Act
* Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act
* Social Security Expansion Act
* Puerto Rico Democracy Act
* Universal Child Care and Early Learning Act
* Worker Dividends and Fair Wages Now Act
* Patient Protection Act
* Employment Non-Discrimination Act
* Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Act

In order to break Republican filibusters which were part of what Democrats called an "unprecedented, unprovoked, unjustified campaign of obstructionism", Engel took the drastic step of invoking the nuclear option and severely reducing the time that was available for extended debate on legislation. After a prolonged Republican filibuster led by Senate Minority Whip Paul Rand of Kentucky, Democrats adopted a rule reducing post-cloture debate time from thirty hours to just one hour. On several occasions, Democrats used the nuclear option to invoke cloture (a procedural tool to force an up or down vote which ordinary requires 60 votes) with only a simple majority. Republicans accused Democrats of steamrolling the minority and rubber stamping President Corning's agenda. Engel defended the majority's actions, saying that "elections have consequences."

Engel's prediction that Democrats would lose their governing trifecta in the 2010 elections proved to be correct. Republicans gained over 80 seats in the House of Representatives, winning a narrow majority. In the Senate, Democrats maintained control but with a reduced majority of 56 seats. Engel called the two years spanning the 111th Congress the "single most productive stretch of [his] time in Washington."

#### 2011 debt ceiling crisis

During the 2011 debt ceiling crisis, Engel rejected the initial Republican proposal (the Budget Control Act of 2011) and accused the GOP of "taking the economy hostage" by refusing to raise the debt ceiling until Democrats agreed to major spending cuts. Months of negotiations led to the passage of the Bipartisan Default Prevention and Deficit Reduction Act of 2011 hours before the debt ceiling would be reached. The bipartisan deal suspended the debt ceiling until late 2014 and raised taxes on the top 2 percent of earners in exchange for making the Bush tax cuts permanent for individuals earning less than $250,000, requiring Congress to vote on a balanced budget amendment, and $750 billion in cuts across ten years.

#### 2012 Democratic presidential primary

In October 2011, U.S. Senator Barack Obama announced that he would challenge Hillary Corning for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2012. The sudden announcement came as a shock and blindsided many members of the Democratic leadership including Engel, Corning, Vice President James Corndan, and DNC Chair Avianna Panetta.

Engel called Obama into his office and warned him that if Obama did not end the campaign immediately, he would be politically dead within the Democratic Party and unable to seek the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016 as many speculated he wanted to do. After Obama persisted, Engel threatened to recruit a candidate to primary Obama in his next U.S. Senate election. Obama agreed to drop out of the race and did so on December 1, 2011 after Engel agreed to give push anti-poverty legislation favored by Obama.

#### Miner Administration

In the 2012 elections, Pennsylvania Senator and Engel's longtime friend Jason Miner defeated Hillary Corning at the presidential level but Democrats made significant gains in Congress. Democrats saw a net gain of three seats in the Senate and once again won a filibuster-proof majority. House Democrats had a net gain of 27 seats, coming two seats shy of an outright majority in the chamber. Following the unexpected result, Daniel Lasseter resigned as Senate Republican leader and was replaced by Indiana Senator John Berkman, the minority whip.

Engel has known Miner since 1972, when Engel was first elected to the Senate and Miner was serving in the House. In 1974, Miner was elected to the Senate as well and the two became close friends. Both of them were longtime members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Miner was the ranking Republican on the panel from 1981 to 1987 when Engel was its chair. Engel and Miner have remained friends despite often campaigning for each other's opponents.

After President Corning attempted to take her own life following the election results, Miner called for the 25th amendment to the U.S. Constitution to be invoked in order to remove her from office. Engel was reportedly livid, and announced that he would not allow Miner's cabinet nominees to have confirmation hearings before the incoming president was inaugurated as is commonly done. As a result, the entirety of Miner's cabinet at the outset of his presidency was filled by acting officials.

Even after Miner took office, Senate Democrats slow-walked his nominations. Many nominees were asked to testify repeatedly before committees and waited months before a final vote on their confirmation. In the end, it took over 8 months for the Senate to fill all of the cabinet-level positions. It was the slowest cabinet confirmation process for any new president in modern history. Despite this, Republicans generally refrained from publicly criticizing Engel for slowing down the nominees, with President Miner even saying "I fully support the Senate doing its job."

On December 31, 2013, the retirement of Wisconsin Senator Paul Renfry, who was first elected to the Senate in 1970, made Engel the longest serving incumbent in the chamber. Engel is the first and so far only person to be the most senior Senator and a floor leader at the same time.

#### 2013-2014 budget crisis

In early 2013, Miner proposed sweeping cuts to the federal budget for fiscal year 2014. Democrats came out in opposition to the vast majority of the cuts and proposed an alternative budget that included a repeal of the debt ceiling (the suspension of the debt ceiling was set to expire at the end of 2014). Engel had repeated meetings with Miner and House Speaker Paul Ryan, often accompanied by House Minority Leader Jack Markala and Senate Majority Whip Elisa Hale. After months of negotiations, the two sides were unable to come to an agreement and regular funding for the federal government lapsed on October 1, 2013.

The lapse in funding triggered the Stop Stupidity Act, a Corning-era law that provides for the automatic continuation of government operations at the current funding levels when there was a lapse in Congressional apparitions, for the first time. For the next 11 months, negotiations dragged on with neither side able to agree on a final budget or deal on the debt ceiling. Engel blamed Republicans for refusing to compromise, saying they were doubling down on "cruel" cuts to federal programs and "once again holding the entire economy hostage."

Finally, in August, Engel had a series of one-on-one meetings with Miner. Some of the meetings devolved into screaming matches and tensions ran high, but the two men kept at it and eventually arrived at an agreement on the budget and debt ceiling. While neither side was happy with the deal, Engel secured dramatically smaller cuts than Miner had originally proposed and got the administration to agree to raising the debt ceiling to $22.5 trillion. The resulting legislation, the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2014, was passed by the Senate on September 21 and by the House on November 1. The votes were bipartisan in both chambers and Miner signed the bill into law the same day.

Ultimately, the federal government was left without a formal budget for exactly 13 months, the longest such period in history.

#### 2016 Supreme Court vacancy

On February 13, 2016, Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia died. Shortly thereafter, Engel issued a statement indicating that the U.S. Senate would not consider any Supreme Court nominee put forth by Miner. "'The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court justice. This vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president,'" Engel said at the time.

Republicans lashed out against the move as a partisan power grab, but Engel said he was following longstanding Senate precedent, pointing out that the last time the Senate had filled a Supreme Court vacancy in a presidential election year where there was divided government was 1888, nearly 130 years ago. Engel also cited speeches he made in 1988 and 1992 as Chair of the Judiciary Committee in which he said presidents should not submit nominations to fill Supreme Court vacancies in presidential election years during periods of divided government. He also cited a non-binding resolution the Senate had adopted on a party line vote in 2015 that expressed the same principle.

On February 28, 2016, President Miner nominated Neil Gorsuch, a Judge of the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, to the Supreme Court. Under Engel's direction, Senate Democrats refused to take any action on the Gorsuch nomination. Gorsuch's nomination expired on January 3, 2017, with the end of the 114th Congress.

In January 2017, President Hale nominated D.C. Appeals Court Judge Sri Srinivasan to fill the vacancy. Srinivasan was confirmed later that year, leading to the first liberal majority on the Court since the 1970s.

Engel later told *Politico* that the decision not to act upon the Gorsuch nomination was "one of the most consequential decision I've made in my entire public career". Engel's refusal to hold Senate hearings on Gorsuch during Miner's final year in office was described by political scientists and legal scholars as "unprecedented", a "culmination of [his] confrontational style," a "blatant abuse of constitutional norms," and a "classic example of constitutional hardball."

#### Trans-Pacific Partnership

In August 2016, Engel led a reluctant Democratic caucus in working with the Republican minority to ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Engel justified his support for the trade deal by highlighting unprecedented labor, environmental, and human rights protections included in the agreement. He specifically differentiated the TPP from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Many labor organizations, however, opposed the TPP and believed it would cause U.S. manufacturing jobs to be outsourced to foreign countries with cheap labor. This put significant pressure on Senate Democrats when casting their vote on the ratification of the agreement. The trade pact was ultimately ratified by a bipartisan majority, but 23 Democrats voted against it.

#### Hale Administration

In the 2016 presidential election, Elisa Hale and Avianna Panetta defeated Lindsey Graham and Donald Trump in a landslide. Democrats also gained seats in the Senate and won control of the House of Representatives for the first time since 2008.

### Committee Assignments

* Committee on the Judiciary (1973-2005)

* Committee on Armed Services (1973-1991)

* Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs (1973-1981)

* Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (1981-1993)

* Committee on Appropriations (1993-2005)

* Committee on Rules and Administration (1991-2021)

* Select Committee on Intelligence (*Ex officio*) (2005–2021)

## Relationship with the Democratic Party

Engel has gained a reputation as a member of the Democratic Party's "establishment" and has been criticized as a political insider. He has served uninterrupted as a member of the Democratic National Committee since 1968, and was Vice Chair of the DNC from 1973 to 1981. He is also said to be a close personal friend of former president Bill Clinton and former First Lady Hillary Clinton.

Additionally, Engel has served on the boards of a number of think tanks and non-profit organizations aligned with the Democratic Party. In 1979, he became a founding board member of the Alliance for Justice, a liberal judicial advocacy group, staying on until 1995. Engel also served on the National Endowment for Democracy's board of directors from 1985 to 1993. In 2001, he helped found the American Constitution Society, a left-wing legal organization, and was a member of its board until 2015. In 2003, he also became a founding board member of the Center for American Progress.

Engel endorsed New York Senator Hillary Corning in the 2008 Democratic presidential primaries after Michigan overwhelming voted for her in its primary.

Engel is one of several highly influential Democratic politicians from Michigan. Former Vice President James Corndan, former House Speaker Jack Markala, and Vice President Avianna Panetta are all from the state. Both Markala and Panetta once worked as staff members in Engel's Senate office.

## Personal Life

Engel has been married to Naomi Powell (born 1941), whom he met in college, since 1968. She is active in Democratic politics and was the Chair of the National Endowment for the Humanities from 1993 to 2001 during the Clinton Administration.

Engel has two daughters, Ashley (born 1974) and Dalia (born 1976). Ashley is a teacher at Detroit Central High School and Dalia is a physician at C.S. Mott Children's Hospital, part of the University of Michigan Health System.