Jeff Merkley

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Jeff Merkley (2017)

Jeff Merkley (born October 24, 1956 in Myrtle Creek , Oregon ) is an American politician of the Democratic Party . He has represented Oregon in the United States Senate since 2009 . He was previously a member of the Oregon House of Representatives and its speaker .

Family, education and work

Merkley is the son of Darrell and Betty Merkley and grew up in Portland . During his time at David Douglas High School , he spent a summer in Ghana . As the first member of his family, he attended college and began studying at Stanford University , which he graduated in 1979 with a bachelor's degree in international relations . In 1982, he received his master's degree at the Woodrow Wilson School of Princeton University .

During his studies he interned with Republican Senator Mark Hatfield , followed by an internship with Carnegie Endowment for International Peace . He was then a fellow in the Office of the Secretary of Defense , the administrative machinery of the Department of Defense , and an analyst for the Congressional Budget Office . Merkley returned to Portland in 1991 and ran the state office of Habitat for Humanity .

Merkley is married to Mary Sorteberg. You have two children.

Political career

In November 1998, Merkley was elected to the Oregon House of Representatives, from January 1999 to January 2, 2009. From 2003 he was group leader of the Democrats, who were then in the minority (minority leader). From January 2007 to January 2009 he was Speaker of Parliament. There he campaigned for the legal equality of homosexuals and the concerns of the trade unions, which is why they became his strong allies.

Merkley ran against Republican elector Gordon H. Smith in the 2008 Senate election and won. Merkley has been a member of the United States Senate since January 3, 2009 and won re-election in 2014, despite the negative overall trend of the Democrats in the simultaneous mid-term election with about two-thirds of the votes cast against Republican Monica Wehby.

Merkley did not have a national profile for a long time, but during Donald Trump's presidency she was a sharp critic of Trump's restrictive immigration policy , especially the separation of illegally immigrated families . As a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee , Merkley often took a stand against Trump's foreign policy and temporarily represented the United States at the United Nations .

He was said to have ambitions to run for president in 2020 . In November 2018, he sought to change Oregon State Electoral Law to allow two positions to run at the same time. This would allow a presidential candidacy in the Democratic primary without giving up his Senate seat, which is due for re-election in 2020 .

Positions

Merkley is considered a progressive , rather left-wing Democrat who supported President Barack Obama in his policies, especially the Obamacare 2010 health care reform . He introduced laws in the Senate that advocate US independence from energy imports (energy independence) and discrimination sexual orientation in the workplace. Merkley campaigned for a reform of the filibuster and campaign finance (see Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ).

In November 2018, Merkley had voted with the position of President Trump in just 10.1 percent of the cases in the Senate, one of the lowest consensus of all Senators.

Web links

Commons : Jeff Merkley  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files

Remarks

  1. ^ Gregory Lewis McNamee: Jeff Merkley. In: Encyclopedia Britannica , August 6, 2015.
  2. ^ Gregory Lewis McNamee: Jeff Merkley. In: Encyclopedia Britannica , August 6, 2015.
  3. ↑ Jeff Mapes: Jeff Merkley defeats Monica Wehby in US Senate race: Oregon election results 2014. In: The Oregonian , November 4, 2014.
  4. ↑ Senator Jeff Merkley, a Quiet Stalwart of the Left, Has a Breakout Moment at the Border. In: The New York Times , June 22, 2018; Tessa Stuart: Sen. Jeff Merkley on Trump: 'He Has Chosen a Very, Very Dark Path'. In: Rolling Stone , July 5, 2018.
  5. ↑ Jeff Manning: 'Ambassador' Jeff Merkley headed to UN thanks to Trump. In: The Oregonian , September 15, 2018.
  6. ↑ Nigel Jaquiss: Jeff Merkley Seeks Oregon Law Change to Clear the Way For 2020 Presidential Bid. In: Willamette Week , November 13, 2018.
  7. ^ Gregory Lewis McNamee: Jeff Merkley. In: Encyclopedia Britannica , August 6, 2015.
  8. ↑ Tracking Congress In The Age Of Trump. In: FiveThirtyEight .
personal data
SURNAME Merkley, Jeff
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American Democratic Party politician
DATE OF BIRTH October 24, 1956
PLACE OF BIRTH Myrtle Creek , Oregon