Rob Portman

Robert Jones “Rob” Portman (born December 19, 1955) is an American lawyer and the junior United States Senator from Ohio. He served as the 14th United States Trade Representative and 35th Director of the Office of Management and Budget.

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Portman graduated from Dartmouth College and the University of Michigan Law School before becoming an associate and partner with several of the nation's leading law firms. He worked briefly in the White House during the first Bush Administration before entering the U.S. House of Representatives, representing the eastern half of Greater Cincinnati and neighboring counties along the Ohio River, and serving six consecutive terms.

A small business entrepreneur, Portman and his brother and sister own the Golden Lamb Inn, Ohio's oldest continually operating restaurant and inn. Throughout his legislative career, Portman has authored or co-authored over a dozen bills that became law, including legislation to reform the Internal Revenue Service, curb unfunded mandates, and preserve tropical rainforests. Portman resigned from Congress to serve as U.S. Trade Representative from May 2005 to May 2006. He later served in the Bush Administration from May 2006 to June 2007 as Director of the Office of Management and Budget. Portman is married and has three children.

Portman has been considered a potential contender for national office since at least 2008. A centre-right member of the Republican Party, Portman founded a political action committee and is a regular speaker at Republican events and fundraisers, occasionally addressing audiences at Tea Party rallies. Portman was elected U.S. Senator in 2010, and gained national attention in 2012 for assisting Mitt Romney's presidential campaign.

In the Senate, Portman was a member of the bipartisan Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, and belongs to the Committee on the Budget, Armed Services Committee, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, and Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.

Portman has never lost an election.

Heritage and early life
Portman was born in 1955 in Cincinnati, Ohio, the son of Joan (née Jones) and entrepreneur William C. "Bill" Portman II. Portman was raised in a Presbyterian family. His patrilineal great-grandfather, surnamed "Portmann", immigrated from Switzerland; Portman also has Scottish, Northern Irish, English, and German ancestry. When he was young, his father borrowed money to start the Portman Equipment Company, a forklift dealership where he and his siblings all worked growing up. The company grew from a small business with five employees and Joan Portman as bookkeeper to one that employed over 300 people. In 1926, the Golden Lamb Inn was purchased by Robert Jones, grandfather of Portman and husband of Virginia Kunkle Jones, who refurbished the inn and decorated it with Shaker furniture. In 1969, Mr. and Mrs. Jones leased the Golden Lamb to the Comisar family, who owned and operated the now defunct five-star Maisonette restaurant. Because of the inn's location on a highway between Cincinnati and Columbus, it has hosted many historical figures: Presidents William Henry Harrison, Benjamin Harrison, John Quincy Adams, Martin Van Buren, Ulysses S. Grant, Rutherford B. Hayes, James A. Garfield, William McKinley, Warren G. Harding, William Howard Taft, Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush, as well as Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Daniel Webster, Bill McIntire, Thomas Corwin, Clement Vallandigham, Cordell Hull (who went to school near the inn), Robert A. Taft, Dewitt Clinton, and Lord Stanley (who later became prime minister of the United Kingdom), have visited the establishment.

According to a 2010 Weekly Standard profile, Portman "developed a political philosophy grounded in entrepreneurship," having grown up "[hearing] talk about regulations, and taxes, and government getting in the way of small business" because of his early experiences with his family business.

Education and early career
Portman graduated from Cincinnati Country Day School in 1974, where he had served as treasurer of his class, and went on to attend Dartmouth College, where he majored in anthropology and earned a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in 1979. Portman then entered the University of Michigan Law School, earning his Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree in 1984 and serving as vice president of the student senate. During law school, Portman embarked on a kayaking and hiking trip across China, and, not long before, blind dated a young Democratic volunteer, Jane Dudley. Dudley's aunt and uncle lived in Cincinnati and were friends with Portman's parents. Dudley embarked on a hiking trip with her aunt in the Himalayas, and took part in the date with Portman following her aunt’s advice. Dudley had become interested in politics by working for a family friend who was running for the state legislature in North Carolina. She majored in political science at Vanderbilt University, and wanted to work on Capitol Hill. She then worked in a U.S. Senate campaign in 1984 for Jim Hunt who was governor of North Carolina. After graduating from law school, Portman moved to Washington, D.C., where he became a trade law expert and lobbyist for the firm Patton Boggs; fifteen percent of his work involved advising lobbyists for the duty free retailing industry. Portman next became an associate at Graydon Head & Ritchie law firm in Cincinnati.

Marriage and family life
Portman married Jane Dudley in July 1986. Dudley, who previously worked for Democratic Congressman Tom Daschle, "agreed to become a Republican when her husband agreed to become a Methodist." The Portmans attend church services at Hyde Park Community United Methodist Church. Dudley Portman has served on the board of the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center for 7 years and has driven a route for Meals on Wheels for 12 years. The Portmans have three children: Joseph Dudley “Jed” Portman, William Claudius “Will” Portman, and Lisbet H. “Sally” Portman. The family lives in a 12-room, 3,901-sq. ft. home, built in 2009, on 3.293 acres in Terrace Park, Ohio. Portman still owns the Gold Lamb Inn with his brother Wym Portman and sister Ginna Portman Amis. A July 2012 article about Portman stated that in 40 years, his only citation has been a traffic ticket for an improper turn while driving.

Early appointments and return to Ohio
In 1989, Portman began his career in government as an associate White House Counsel under President George H. W. Bush. From 1989 to 1991, Portman served as George H. W. Bush's deputy assistant and director of the White House Office of Legislative Affairs. While serving as White House counsel under George H.W. Bush, Portman visited China, Egypt, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Portman founded the Coalition for a Drug-Free Greater Cincinnati when he returned to Ohio. The organization advances “a comprehensive effort to address youth substance abuse.” Portman gradually became a confidante of Cincinnati’s spotlighted elite, and has remained an associate of several of Ohio’s widely-known residents, including Bob Taft, Carl Lindner, and Anthony Munoz.

Congressional elections
In 1993, Portman entered a special election to fill the seat of Congressman Willis D. Gradison Jr. of Ohio's second congressional district, who had stepped down to become president of the Health Insurance Association of America. In the 1993 Republican primary, Portman faced six-term Congressman Bob McEwen, who had lost his Sixth District seat to Ted Strickland in November 1992; real estate developer Jay Buchert, president of the National Association of Home Builders; and several lesser known candidates.

Prince Rob criticism
Portman was criticized by Jay Buchert during the special election primary campaign for his previous law firm's work for Haitian dictator Baby Doc Duvalier, while McEwen was questioned about bounced checks he had written on the House bank. Buchert ran campaign commercials citing McEwen's checks, the expenses of his Congressional office, and his campaign finance disclosures, while calling Portman "the handpicked choice of the downtown money crowd" and "a registered foreign agent for the biggest Democrat lobbying firm in Washington," labeling Portman and McEwen "Prince Rob and Bouncing Bob." In the primary, Portman won only Hamilton County, taking 17,531 votes (35.61%) overall, making him the overall winner.

General elections
In the general election, Portman defeated his Democratic opponent, attorney Lee Hornberger by 53,020 (70.1%) to 22,652 (29.1%). Portman was re-elected in 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, and 2004, defeating Democrats Les Mann, Thomas R. Chandler, and Waynesville mayor Charles W. Sanders, respectively.

House legislative career
Among Portman's first and most deciding votes in Congress was his support of the North American Free Trade Agreement on November 17, 1993, for which he has been criticized throughout his career. NAFTA gave the president and the U.S. trade representative more power in trade negotiations, and kept Congress from amending the trade agreement, as they were faced with an up- or down-vote. Portman would later utilize the perameters set by NAFTA as U.S. trade representative.

During his tenure in Congress, Portman authored or co-authored over a dozen bills that became law, including legislation to reform the Internal Revenue Service, curb unfunded mandates, and expand pensions. Portman also co-authored legislation to swap Costa Rica's debt for the preservation of tropical forests. He published an article called “Addicted to Failure” in the congressional Policy Review in autumn 1996.

Of Portman's work on the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998, Pete Sepp of the National Taxpayers Union said, "He set a professional work environment that rose above partisanship and ultimately gave taxpayers more rights." Democratic Representative Stephanie Tubbs Jones from Cleveland said Portman, "compared to other Republicans, is pleasant and good to work with." Additionally, during the first four years of the Bush Administration, Portman served as a liaison between Congressional Republicans and the White House. Portman voted for the Iraq War Resolution in 2002. Portman was known for his willingness to work with Democrats to ensure that important legislation was enacted. In December 2004, Portman and Cheryl Bauer published a book on the 19th century Shaker community at Union Village, in Turtlecreek Township, Warren County, Ohio. The book was titled Wisdom's Paradise: The Forgotten Shakers of Union Village.

Portman has said that his proudest moments as a U.S. Representative were "when we passed the balanced budget agreement and the welfare reform bill." As a congressman, Portman traveled to Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, the Czech Republic, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait and Mexico. During his time in the House, Portman began assisting prominent Republican candidates prepare for debates by standing in for their opponents in practice debates. He has taken on the role of Lamar Alexander (for Bob Dole in 1996), Al Gore (for George W. Bush in 2000), Hillary Rodham Clinton (for Rick Lazio in 2000), Joe Lieberman (for Dick Cheney in 2000), John Edwards (for Cheney in 2004), and Barack Obama (for John McCain in 2008 and Mitt Romney in 2012). His portrayals mimic not only the person's point of view but also their mannerisms, noting for instance that he listened to Obama's audiobook reading to study his pattern of speech.

United States Trade Representative


On March 17, 2005, President George W. Bush nominated Portman to be United States Trade Representative, and Portman was confirmed on April 29. Portman was sworn in on May 17, 2005.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the organization that tracks foreign trade statistics on a month-to-month basis, during Portman’s 13-month tenure as U.S. Trade Representative, America’s trade deficit to China rose by almost $228 billion. In the 13 months prior, it rose by only $189 million, showing a 20 percent increase under Portman.

Portman spent significant time out of the United States negotiating trade agreements with roughly 30 countries, visiting Brazil, Burkina Faso, China, France, Hong Kong, India, Mexico, South Korea, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. During his tenure, Portman also helped to win passage of the Central American Free Trade Agreement.

Hong Kong and trade suit
Portman was an attendant of the World Trade Organization's Hong Kong conference in 2005. He addressed the conference with a speech on development in Doha, and advocated a 60% cut in targeted worldwide agricultural subsidies by 2010. Later, he filed the first successful trade suit against China in the World Trade Organization, claiming that China had improperly favored domestic auto parts. As USTR, Portman had vowed to “hold [China’s] feet to the fire” and provide a “top-to-bottom review” of the U.S.-China trade relationship.

Director of the Office of Management and Budget
On April 18, 2006, President Bush nominated Portman to be the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, replacing Joshua Bolten, who was appointed White House Chief of Staff. Portman said at the time that he looked forward to the responsibility, "It's a big job. The Office of Management and Budget touches every spending and policy decision in the federal government," while President Bush expressed his confidence in the nominee, "The job of OMB director is a really important post and Rob Portman is the right man to take it on. Rob's talent, expertise and record of success are well known within my administration and on Capitol Hill." He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate unanimously by voice vote on May 26, 2006.

As OMB director from May 2006 to August 2007, Portman was involved in the Bush administration’s FY 2008 budget process, proposing a highly contentious but balanced budget over a five-year period. According to historical data tables from the OMB, the FY 2008 budget yielded a deficit of $459 billion, more than twice the FY 2007 budget deficit of $161 billion. Portman is said to have been “frustrated” with the post, calling the budget that President Bush’s office sent to Congress, “not my budget, his budget,” and saying, “it was a fight, internally.” Former Bush administration officials said that Portman was the leading advocate for fiscal discipline within the administration.

On June 19, 2007, Portman resigned his position of OMB director, citing a desire to spend more time with his family and three children. Democratic Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee Kent Conrad expressed regret at Portman's resignation, saying, "He is a person of credibility and decency that commanded respect on both sides of the aisle."

Post White House career
On November 8, 2007, Portman joined the law firm of Squire Sanders as part of the firms transactional and international trade practice in Cincinnati, Ohio. His longtime chief of staff, Rob Lehman, also joined the firm as a lobbyist in their Washington, D.C. office. In 2007, Portman founded Ohio's Future P.A.C., a political action committee dedicated to ensuring "the critical policy issues important to Ohioans remain at the forefront of Ohio's political agenda." In 2008, Portman was cited as a potential running mate for Republican presidential candidate John McCain. On September 8, 2008, McCain and Alaska governor Sarah Palin dined and spoke at the Golden Lamb Inn. Portman remained critical of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, passed while he was out of office.

2010 election
On January 14, 2009, two days after George Voinovich announced he would not be running for re-election, Portman publicly declared his candidacy for the open U.S. Senate seat. Running unopposed in the Republican primary, Portman benefitted substantially from Tea Party support, and by July 2010 had raised more campaign funds than Democrat Lee Fisher by a 9 to 1 margin. Of all candidates for public office in the U.S., Portman was the top recipient of corporate money from insurance industries and commercial banks in 2010. Portman possessed the most campaign funds of any Republican during 2010, at $5.1 million, raising $1.3 million in his third quarter of fundraising. Portman won the election with a margin of 57 to 39 percent, winning 82 of Ohio's 88 counties. In his campaign, he was a vocal supporter of the "Blunt Amendment," which would have allowed employers to deny coverage of contraception or birth control measures on religious grounds.

Tenure
In August 2011, Portman was selected by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to participate in the United States Congress Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction. During the committee's work, Portman developed strong relationships with the other members, especially Sen. John Kerry and Rep. Chris Van Hollen. The committee was ultimately unsuccessful, with Portman left disappointed, saying "I am very sad about this process not succeeding because it was a unique opportunity to both address the fiscal crisis and give the economy a shot in the arm." Portman spoke at the May 7, 2011 Michigan Law School commencement ceremonies, which was the subject of criticism by some who opposed his stance on same-sex marriage.

Portman has sided with his party's majority in 90% of his House and Senate votes; only four Republican Senators vote more consistently. While in the Senate, Portman has visited Afghanistan twice, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, Jordan, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates; additionally, he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Portman delivered the eulogy at the August 2012 funeral of Neil Armstrong.

2012 presidential election
Portman was considered a possible pick for Vice President on the Republican presidential ticket in 2012.

Many national publications speculated on Portman becoming the vice presidential nominee soon after Romney became the presumptive nominee. In “Why Rob Portman Will Be Romney’s Vice Presidential Nominee,” an article in The Atlantic, acclaimed syndicated journalist Major Garrett authored “In the frenzied environment that will accompany the prelude to Romney's pick, the Portman choice may land with a thud on the charisma meter, but it won't set in motion a wave of "guess what" stories and will allow Romney to focus on the campaign, not thorny revelations that must be ritualistically turned into an us-against-them media meme. In fact, Portman might actually talk Boston out of its hypertensive and allergic reactions to reporters.”

Closer to the time of a selection, news agencies began highlighting Portman’s perceived strengths and weaknesses. Chris Cillizza of The Washington Post wrote “[Portman]’s spent time in both the executive and legislative branches and everywhere he’s served he’s won kudos for his abilities. It’s hard to imagine that even his staunchest Democratic opponents would be able to argue that Portman wouldn’t be up to the task of being vice president or even president.”

After the selection of Paul Ryan, Portman spoke at the 2012 Republican National Convention about trade and his family business. On trade agreements, Portman stated: "President Obama is the first president in 75 years-Democrat or Republican-who hasn't even sought the ability to negotiate export agreements and open markets overseas. Now why is this important? Because 95 percent of the world's consumers live outside our borders. And to create jobs, our workers and our farmers need to sell more of what we make to those people." On October 13, 2012 Mitt Romney spoke at and toured the Golden Lamb Inn.

Budget and deficit
Portman is a leading advocate for a balanced budget amendment. Portman has proposed “a balanced approach to the deficit” by reforming entitlement programs, writing “[r]eforms should not merely squeeze health beneficiaries or providers but should rather reshape key aspects of these programs to make them more efficient, flexible and consumer-oriented.”

Committee assignments

 * United States Senate Committee on the Budget
 * United States Senate Armed Services Committee
 * Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities (Ranking Member)
 * Subcommittee on Readiness and Management Support
 * Subcommittee on Strategic Forces
 * United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
 * Subcommittee on Energy
 * Subcommittee on National Parks
 * Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests
 * United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
 * Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information and International Security
 * Ad Hoc Subcommittee on Contracting Oversight (Ranking Member)

Caucus memberships
Portman belongs to the following caucuses in the United States Senate:
 * Congressional Serbian American Caucus
 * International Conservation Caucus (Co-Chair)
 * Sportsmen's Caucus

Electoral history
{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em ; font-size:95%" !|Year ! !|Democrat !|Votes !|Pct ! !|Republican !|Votes !|Pct ! !|3rd Party !|Party !|Votes !|Pct !
 * + Ohio's 2nd congressional district: Results 1994–2004
 * 1994
 * |Les Mann
 * align="right" |43,730
 * |23%
 * |Rob Portman
 * align="right" |150,128
 * |77%
 * 1996
 * |Thomas R. Chandler
 * align="right" |58,715
 * |23%
 * |Rob Portman
 * align="right" |186,853
 * |72%
 * |Kathleen M. McKnight
 * |Natural Law
 * align="right" |13,905
 * align="right" |5%
 * 1998
 * |Charles W. Sanders
 * align="right" |49,293
 * |24%
 * |Rob Portman
 * align="right" |154,344
 * |76%
 * 2000
 * |Charles W. Sanders
 * align="right" |64,091
 * |23%
 * |Rob Portman
 * align="right" |204,184
 * |74%
 * |Robert E. Bidwell
 * |Libertarian
 * align="right" |9,266
 * align="right" |3%
 * 2002
 * |Charles W. Sanders
 * align="right" |48,785
 * |26%
 * |Rob Portman
 * align="right" |139,218
 * |74%
 * 2004
 * |Charles W. Sanders
 * align="right" |89,598
 * |28%
 * |Rob Portman **
 * align="right" |227,102
 * |72%
 * |Charles W. Sanders
 * align="right" |64,091
 * |23%
 * |Rob Portman
 * align="right" |204,184
 * |74%
 * |Robert E. Bidwell
 * |Libertarian
 * align="right" |9,266
 * align="right" |3%
 * 2002
 * |Charles W. Sanders
 * align="right" |48,785
 * |26%
 * |Rob Portman
 * align="right" |139,218
 * |74%
 * 2004
 * |Charles W. Sanders
 * align="right" |89,598
 * |28%
 * |Rob Portman **
 * align="right" |227,102
 * |72%
 * 2004
 * |Charles W. Sanders
 * align="right" |89,598
 * |28%
 * |Rob Portman **
 * align="right" |227,102
 * |72%
 * 2004
 * |Charles W. Sanders
 * align="right" |89,598
 * |28%
 * |Rob Portman **
 * align="right" |227,102
 * |72%
 * align="right" |227,102
 * |72%

* Write-in and minor candidate notes: In 2002, James Condit, Jr. received 13 votes. In 2004, James Condit, Jr. received 60 votes.

** Portman resigned his term early to serve as U.S. Trade Representative.

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:0.5em ; font-size:95%" !|Year ! !|Democrat !|Votes !|Pct ! !|Republican !|Votes !|Pct !
 * + U.S. Senate (Class III) elections in Ohio: Results 2010
 * 2010
 * |Lee Fisher
 * align="right" |1,448,092
 * |39.00%
 * |Rob Portman
 * align="right" |2,125,810
 * |57.25%
 * |Rob Portman
 * align="right" |2,125,810
 * |57.25%

= Resources =