Sheldon Whitehouse

Democrat junior Senator of Rhode Island

  • Senator

    Rhode Island

    January 3, 2019 - January 3, 2025

9

Congresses Served

3

Senate Terms

January 1, 1955 (69 years old)

Birthday

  • Served as the junior United States senator since 2007
  • Previously served as the United States Attorney for the District of Rhode Island (1993-1998) and as the Attorney General of Rhode Island (1999-2003)
  • Known for being a political progressive and a climate hawk
  • Became chair of the United States Senate Committee on the Budget in 2023
  • Has given hundreds of Senate floor speeches about climate change
  • Asserts that conservative “dark money” groups are trying to control the American government, especially the Supreme Court
  • Born in New York City to a family with a history of diplomatic and political involvement
  • Graduated from Yale College and received a Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law
  • Worked in various legal and regulatory positions in Rhode Island before entering politics
  • Ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for governor of Rhode Island in 2002
  • Elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006, reelected in 2012 and 2018
  • Ranked as the second-most liberal senator by the National Journal in 2007
  • Supported the confirmations of Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court
  • Called for Attorney General Alberto Gonzales’s resignation in 2007
  • Speculated as a possible nominee for U.S. Attorney General in 2014 and for the Supreme Court in 2016
  • Faced criticism for alleged insider trading and failure to disclose stock purchases in accordance with the STOCK Act
  • Opposed D.C. statehood in 2018 but cosponsored a Senate bill for D.C. statehood in 2020
  • Introduced the Safeguarding America’s Future and Environment (SAFE) Act in 2011
  • Advocated for prosecution of fossil fuel industry members under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO)
  • Supported limiting U.S. support for the War in Yemen after activist pressure
  • Supports gun control legislation and voted for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
  • Signed a letter requesting the FDA to revise its policy on tissue donation by men who have had sex with men
  • Critic of “dark money” in politics, despite benefiting from it and receiving campaign donations from environmental groups
  • Called for an investigation into the FBI’s investigation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh
  • Married to Sandra Thornton, a marine biologist, and has two children
  • Has faced scrutiny for his family’s membership in an elite private club accused of lacking diversity
  • Portrayed in media, including the film “The Report” and on “Saturday Night Live”
  • Authored publications on corporate influence in American democracy and the conservative movement’s impact on the Supreme Court