Patrick Leahy is the longest-serving active member of the United States Senate. He's also one of the longest-serving members in the history of the U.S. Senate. A Democrat, he was elected to the Senate from Vermont.
Leahy is currently the president pro tempore of the Senate. Thusly making him the fourth-highest-ranking government official in the United States. It's the second time that Leahy has held the position. In addition, he's the sitting chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. But the end date to his time in each of those roles could be approaching.
Says he will not run for another term in the Senate
Patrick Leahy reportedly does not plan to run for re-election in 2022. He returned to the role of president pro tempore earlier in 2021 after previously holding it from 2012 to 2015.
Also earlier this year, Leahy took over as chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Prior to that, he'd been its ranking member since 2017. In years past, Leahy was named chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee three times. He was also the chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee.
In 1966, Leahy was appointed as state's attorney of Chittenden County, home of Burlington. He was later elected to the position in his own right twice. Leahy was first elected to the Senate in 1974, defeating Republican U.S.
Representative Richard W. Mallary. Before choosing to run for the Senate, Leahy had been considering running for governor of Vermont. Since his initial election victory, he's won another seven times. According to the Associated Press, four of Leahy's current Senate colleagues weren't born yet when he first took office.
He would succeed the retiring longtime incumbent, Republican George Aiken, who had chaired multiple Senate committees.
Other offices Aiken held include governor and lieutenant governor of Vermont and speaker of the state's House of Representatives.
U.S. Representative Peter Welch is expected to enter the Democratic primary in the race to succeed Leahy. Other potential candidates for the nomination include Lieutenant Governor Molly Gray. On the Republican side, Governor Phil Scott had been thought to be a top contender.
However, he has declined to run for the U.S. Senate, per CNN.
Is a grandson of immigrants
Patrick Leahy's maternal grandparents immigrated to the United States from Italy. Since he was born, he's had significant visual impairment in his left eye. Despite this, Leahy became an avid comic book fan and has remained so for decades. His fandom for Batman has been well-documented.
Leahy graduated from high school in Vermont's capital, Montpelier. Afterward, he received a bachelor's degree in political science from Saint Michael's College in Colchester. Later, he obtained a law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center. Eventually, he became an associate with a law firm headed by Governor Philip H. Hoff.
In 1962. Leahy married Marcelle Pomerleau, daughter of Canadian immigrants. They would have three children.
