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David Vitter
United States Senator
from Louisiana
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2005Serving with Mary Landrieu
Preceded byJohn Breaux
Succeeded byIncumbent (2011)
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Louisiana's 1st district
In office
May 29, 1999 – January 3, 2005
Preceded byBob Livingston
Succeeded byBobby Jindal
Personal details
Political partyRepublican
SpouseWendy Baldwin Vitter
Alma materHarvard University

David Bruce Vitter (born May 3, 1961) is an American Republican politician, currently serving as the junior U.S. Senator from Louisiana. He was formerly a member of the United States House of Representatives, first elected in 1999, to represent the suburban First Congressional District of Louisiana. In July 2007, Vitter was identified as a client of "D.C. Madam" Deborah Jeane Palfrey's escort service in Washington, D.C.

Early life, career, and family

Vitter was born in New Orleans to Audrey Malvina St. Raymond and Albert Leopold Vitter. He received a B.A. from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1983; a B.A. from Oxford University in 1985, as a Rhodes Scholar; and a Juris Doctor from the law school of Tulane University in New Orleans in 1988. He was a lawyer and a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1992 to 1999, when he entered the U.S. House.

Vitter and his wife Wendy, a former prosecutor, have three daughters, Sophie, Lise, and Airey, and a son, Jack.

House of Representatives

Elections

Vitter won a special election to Louisiana's 1st Congressional District in 1999, succeeding Republican Congressman Bob Livingston, who resigned after an adultery scandal. In the initial vote on May 1, 1999, former Congressman and Governor David Treen finished first with 36,719 votes (25 percent). Vitter was second, with 31,741 (22 percent), and self-styled "white nationalist" David Duke finished third with 28,055 votes (19 percent). Monica L. Monica, a Republican ophthalmologist, had 16 percent; State Representative Bill Strain, a conservative Democrat, finished fifth with 11 percent; and Rob Couhig, a Republican lawyer and the owner of New Orleans's minor league baseball team, had 6 percent. In the special election runoff on May 29, Vitter defeated Treen, 61,661 votes (51 percent) to 59,849 (49 percent).

In 2000 and 2002, Vitter won re-election with over 80 percent of the vote in what has become a safe Republican district.

2002 gubernatorial race

In 2002, Vitter was preparing to run for governor in 2003, with the incumbent, Republican Mike Foster prevented by term limits from running again. But in June 2002, shortly before the Louisiana Weekly ran a story about Vitter's alleged relationship with a prostitute, Vitter dropped out of the governor's race, saying he and his wife were dealing with marital problems.

United States Senate

2004 election

In 2004, Vitter ran to replace Democrat John Breaux in the U.S. Senate. Former state Senator Daniel Wesley Richey, a Baton Rouge political consultant, directed Vitter's grassroots organization in the race, with assistance from Richey's longtime ally, former state Representative Louis E. "Woody" Jenkins of Baton Rouge, himself a defeated U.S. Senate candidate in 1978, 1980, and 1996.

During the campaign, Vitter was accused by a member of the Louisiana Republican State Central Committee of having had a lengthy affair with a prostitute in New Orleans. Vitter responded that the allegation was "absolutely and completely untrue" and that it as "just crass Louisiana politics."

On November 2, 2004, Vitter won the Louisiana senatorial jungle primary with 51.0 percent of the vote. The field of opponents including two major Democrats, then Seventh Congressional District Congressman Christopher John, who got 29.4 percent of the vote, and state Treasurer John N. Kennedy (no relation to the Massachusetts Kennedys), who got 15.1 percent.

Vitter was the first Republican in Louisiana to be popularly elected as a U.S. Senator. The previous Republican Senator, John S. Harris, who took office in 1868, was chosen by the state legislature, in accordance with the process used before the Seventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution went into effect in 1914.

Committees

Currently, David Vitter is a member of the Senate Committees on Foreign Relations; Commerce, Science and Transportation; Environment and Public Works; and Small Business and Entrepreneurship. He is also the Ranking Minority member of the Commerce Subcommittee on Space, Aeronautics, and Related Sciences which oversees NASA.

Political actions and positions

Pro-life stance

Vitter has won praise from pro-life groups for his stance against abortion. In 2001, he co-authored legislation to restrict the number of physicians allowed to prescribe RU-486, the controversial "morning after pill." Vitter said, "The legislation is about protecting women's health" and criticized the FDA for "hurriedly" approving the drug. Several Democratic politicians and pro-choice groups condemned the bill, characterizing Vitter as an "antichoice extremist". The bill died in committee.

Military recruitment in high schools

In May 2001, Vitter authored an amendment to the No Child Left Behind Act, a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, which required all secondary schools receiving federal funding to permit US military recruitment on school grounds and to provide the name, home phone number and address of every student enrolled to military recruiters, unless the student (or the student's parent) specifically opts out.

In February, 2007, Democratic Representative Michael M. Honda proposed the Student Privacy Protection Act of 2007 to change Vitter's amendment from requiring high schools to provide military recruiters with students' personal information unless they explictly opt-out to requiring the student's explicit consent first. According to the Congressional Quarterly, Vitter stands behind the current provision. He stated that if this was changed, then families who supported military recuriting may miss out if required to opt-in.

School board prayers

In 2005 Vitter introduced a resolution supporting prayer at school board meetings in response to an earlier district court decision that the Louisiana's Tangipahoa Parish practice of opening meetings with Christian prayers was unconstitutional. The bill died in committee. Vitter later reintroduced the resolution in January 2007 after a panel of the Fifth Circuit Court concluded that Christian prayers were unconstitutional but was undecided whether nonsectarian prayers were allowed. In July 2007, the full Fifth Circuit dismissed the case because of a lack of standing. The school board subsequently resumed prayer evocations but opened it to diverse community religions. As of January 2008, Vitter's bill has been referred to committee with no scheduled action.

Hurricane Katrina

On August 30, 2005, immediately after Hurricane Katrina, while New Orleans' flood levels were still rising in all areas, Vitter made an inaccurate statement that received notable media attention:

In the metropolitan area in general, in the huge majority of areas, it's not rising at all. It's the same or it may be lowering slightly. In some parts of New Orleans, because of the 17th Street breach, it may be rising and that seemed to be the case in parts of downtown. I don't want to alarm everybody that, you know, New Orleans is filling up like a bowl. That's just not happening," said Vitter on August 30.

In early September, Vitter said that he would give "the entire big government organized relief effort a failing grade, across the board." He said that state and local governments shared in the blame as well. Vitter's actions during Hurricane Katrina are described in historian Douglas Brinkley's May 2006 book, The Great Deluge.

In September 2007, Vitter announced that he got "a critical concession" from the White House that decreased Louisiana's obligations for hurricane recovery by $1 billion. However, the White House said that was false.

Gun politics

In April, 2006, in response to firearm confiscations in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Vitter was the Senate sponsor of the Disaster Recovery Personal Protection Act, to prohibit federal funding for the confiscation of legally held firearms during a disaster. Later, Vitter included the provisions of the act in an amendment to an appropriation bill for the Department Of Homeland Security. The bill became law in September, 2006 with the amendment modified to allow for the temporary surrender of a firearm as a condition for entering a rescue or evacuation vehicle.

Abstinence education

Vitter advocated abstinence-only sex education, emphasizing abstinence while excluding issues involving birth control and safe sex. He said, "Abstinence education is a public health strategy focused on risk avoidance that aims to help young people avoid exposure to harm...by teaching teenagers that saving sex until marriage and remaining faithful afterwards is the best choice for health and happiness." According to Focus on the Family, Vitter was one of three conservative senators that convinced Democratic Senator Frank Lautenberg to withdraw an amendment that would have restricted abstinence education to programs deemed to be "medically accurate".

Same-sex marriage

Vitter believes strongly that marriage is a sacred vow between a man and a woman. In 2003, Vitter proposed to amend the U.S. Constitution to ban same sex marriages. In 2004, he said, "This is a real outrage. The Hollywood left is redefining the most basic institution in human history...We need a U.S. Senator who will stand up for Louisiana values, not Massachusetts’s values." In June 2006, he said "I don't believe there's any issue that's more important than this one ... I think this debate is very healthy, and it's winning a lot of hearts and minds. I think we're going to show real progress." In 2006, he told The Times-Picayune, “I’m a conservative who opposes radically redefining marriage, the most important social institution in human history.”

In October 2005, at a Lafayette Parish Republican Executive Committee luncheon, Vitter compared gay marriage to hurricanes Katrina and Rita, which came through the same geographical areas. Vitter said "It's the crossroads where Katrina meets Rita. I always knew I was against same-sex unions."

New Orleans public housing

In September 2007, The Times-Picayune reported that Vitter and the Bush administration opposed a provision of The Gulf Coast Housing Recovery bill which required that every public housing apartment torn down be replaced with another form of low-income housing on a one-for-one basis. The administration testified that there was not sufficient demand for public housing units, a position contested by several senators. Vitter stated it would recreate "housing projects exactly as they were", isolated and riddled with crime. However, Mary Landrieu, the Louisiana Democratic Senator, said the intent was to make certain there were affordable places for working class people who returned. The bill requires that demolished housing projects be replaced with mixed income communities which local housing advocates say is different from the massive public housing developments that Vitter is referring to. However, the bill does not include a ban on large-scale projects. The city housing authority is planning on replacing 4,000 low-income units with mixed-income projects providing a smaller inventory of low-income units. In November, 2007, more than two dozen political action, faith-based and human rights organizations delivered a petition with more than 130,000 signatures asking that Vitter reconsider his position. In December 2007, Vitter killed the bill in committee. Some housing advocates charge that Vitter is stalling the bill in order to keep Landrieu from claiming a legislative victor one year in advance of her reelection, a charge Vitter denies, saying Landrieu was refusing to negotiate.

Federal water bill

Vitter helped write the Water Resources and Development Act for flood-control, hurricane-protection and coastal-restoration projects including $3.6 billion for Louisiana. He called it the "single most important" legislation for assisting Louisiana with its recovery from hurricane Katrina. President Bush vetoed the act, objecting to its cost. Congress overrode his veto, enacting the bill.

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea

In September 2007, during hearings of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Vitter expressed serious doubts about the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea treaty concerning issues of U.S. sovereignty echoing an array of anti-UN conservative groups against the treaty including The National Center for Public Policy Research, The Heritage Foundation and the Center for Security Policy. The treaty, which sets up countries' jurisdiction over their coasts and ocean including exploration and navigation rights, is supported by the Bush administration, a majority of the United States Senate, the Pentagon, the State Department and Navy as do a coalition of business and environmental groups. The committee approved the treaty 17-4, with Vitter voting no.

Louisiana Family Forum earmark

In September, 2007, Vitter earmarked $100,000 in federal money for a Christian group, the Louisiana Family Forum, known for challenging evolution by means of "teaching the controversy" which promotes intelligent design while discrediting evolution. According to Vitter, the earmark was "to develop a plan to promote better science education". Though the Louisiana Family Forum is largely forbidden from political activity due to its non-profit status, The Times-Picayune alleged the group had close ties with Vitter. However, they have criticized Vitter for his support of Rudy Giuliani.

On October 17, 2007, the liberal organization People For the American Way, along with several other groups asked the Senate to remove the earmark. Vitter later withdrew it.

Children's health insurance program

In September 2007, Vitter opposed an increase of $35 billion for the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), the national program to provide health care for children from families who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but cannot afford private health insurance. He said he preferred that private health insurance provide the needed care and deemed the bill as "Hillarycare", a reference to the 1993 Clinton health care plan created by Hillary Clinton which proposed universal health care. The increase passed the Senate, 67 to 29 but was later vetoed by President Bush.

Immigration

Vitter has been a staunch opponent of amnesty for illegal immigrants. In June 2007, he led a group of conservative Senators in blocking the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 that would have granted legal status to 12 million undocumented workers. The bill's defeat won Vitter national attention as it was supported by President George W. Bush, John McCain, and Ted Kennedy, among others. Vitter characterized the bill as amnesty which the bill's supporters denied with Bush accusing the opponents of fear mongering.

In October 2007, Vitter introduced an amendment withholding Community Oriented Policing Services funds from any sanctuary city which bans city employees and police officers from asking people about their immigration status in violation of the Illegal Immigration Act. Democratic Senator Dick Durbin, in opposition to the amendment, said these cities do not want to inquire about someone's immigration status if they report a crime, are a victim of domestic violence or get vaccinations for their children. According to Fox News, one senator remarked that the amendment would withhold funds for prostitution enforcement which was a problem for Vitter because of the D.C. Madam controversy. The amendment failed to pass.

In November 2007, Vitter introduced a bill requiring banks to confirm that customers were not illegal immigrants before providing them with banking or credit cards.

Family planning funding

In October 2007, Vitter introduced an amendment barring all funds to health care providers and Planned Parenthood that provide health services (such as contraceptives, Pap smears, breast exams and tests for STDs) in addition to abortions. Federal law bars any funding to directly finance abortions. Vitter argued that the funds are used for overhead costs that benefit the abortion services. The amendment failed to pass. Following the rejection, Vitter and others urged the Senate to pass a similar bill introduced by Vitter in January 2007.

2008 presidential endorsement

In March 2007, Vitter announced his support for Rudy Giuliani's presidential bid. Vitter has served as the southern regional chair of Giuliani's campaign. On July 11, 2007, the New York Times reported that the chairmanship is in doubt due to the so-called D.C. Madam scandal. A spokesman for Giuliani said Vitter's job is secure. However, a New Orleans City Business reporter wrote that Vitter has been "quietly marginalized" in the campaign. As of September 2007, the two have not been seen in public together since the "D.C. Madam" story broke.

In announcing the endorsement, Vitter said "I believe the Republican Party needs to always be the party of free market economics and reform. Rudy implemented those principles as Mayor of New York by cutting taxes twenty-three times, making government more efficient and moving welfare recipients into jobs. It’s exactly the kind of conservative reform the federal government needs".

"Obviously, I disagree with Rudy on some significant social issues, and these are very important to me and to many of the people I represent," Vitter said. However, after numerous meetings with Giuliani, Vitter said that "it's very clear to me that he's not running for president to advance any liberal social agenda."

D.C. Madam controversy

In early July 2007, Vitter's phone number was included in a published list of phone records of Pamela Martin and Associates, a company owned and run by Deborah Jeane Palfrey, also known as the "D.C. Madam", which is accused by the U.S. government of being a prostitution service. Hustler magazine identified the phone number and contacted Vitter's office to ask about his connection to Palfrey. The following day, Vitter issued a written statement:

This was a very serious sin in my past for which I am, of course, completely responsible. Several years ago, I asked for and received forgiveness from God and my wife in confession and marriage counseling. Out of respect for my family, I will keep my discussion of the matter there - with God and them. But I certainly offer my deep and sincere apologies to all I have disappointed and let down in any way.

The statement containing Vitter's apology said his telephone number was included on phone records dating from his days as a member of the House of Representatives. Phone records show that Vitter's number was called by Palfrey's service five times, the first on October 12, 1999, and the last on February 27, 2001. Two calls were placed while House roll call votes were in progress.

As background, several news outlets reported that in May 1999, Vitter replaced Congressman Bob Livingston after Livingston resigned due to an adultery scandal. Vitter said about Livingston's decision to resign, "It's obviously a tremendous loss for the state .... I think Livingston's stepping down makes a very powerful argument that Clinton should resign as well and move beyond this mess," referring to the Monica Lewinsky scandal of President Bill Clinton. In 2000, his wife, Wendy Vitter, commenting on the same scandal, said, "I'm a lot more like Lorena Bobbitt than Hillary. If he does something like that, I'm walking away with one thing, and it's not alimony, trust me," referring to the incident of Lorena Bobbitt severing the penis of her husband and to Clinton's wife, Hillary Clinton.

On July 10, 2007, Jeanette Maier, the "Canal Street Madam", alleged that Vitter was a customer on more than one occasion in the 1990s, when Maier was identified by federal prosecutors as operating a $300 per hour brothel. The Times-Picayune reported that "Maier offered no evidence or documents to support her claim." Maier said that Vitter "was not a freak. He was not into anything unusual or kinky or weird," and that he favored one prostitute in particular, Wendy Cortez,, the name of the prostitute with whom Vitter had been accused, during his 2004 campaign, of having had a lengthy affair. Vitter denied that allegation during the campaign. On July 12, Cortez told The Times-Picayune that Vitter was "a regular customer" during his time in the state legislature, but that they "did not have a romantic relationship." On September 12, 2007, The Times-Picayune reported that the woman, whose real name was Wendy Ellis, had passed a lie detector exam.

Vitter is unlikely to face criminal charges due to statutes of limitations. Vitter apologized to GOP senate colleagues but avoided the press who repeatedly attempted to talk to him.

On November 13, 2007, the attorney for Palfrey served Vitter with a subpoena to force him to testify at a November 28, 2007 hearing about whether an act of prostitution occurred when with a Palfrey escort. The following week, the judge in the case canceled the hearing. Palfry's attorney indicated he planned to subpoena Vitter to testify at her 2008 criminal trial.

Reaction

Even though Vitter has admitted to having broken the law, the Louisiana state Republican Party offered guarded support, national Republicans offered forgiveness. The liberal magazine, The Nation, predicted that the Republican Party would be in a "forgiving mood" pointing out if Vitter did step down, Democratic Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco would likely appoint a Democrat to take Vitter's place until a special election took place, thus increasing Democratic control over the Senate. Margaret Carlson of Bloomberg News agreed, saying that since there is a Democratic governor in Louisana, "they were afraid if they slapped around Vitter too much, that seat would go Democratic."

Marianne Means, a syndicated columnist for Hearst Newspapers, reported that Republican senators gave Vitter a "loud standing ovation" which she characterized as hypocritical by contrasting this with the Republican attitude toward President Clinton's marital infidelity. The applause came after Vitter privately apologized to his colleagues.

Republican Senator Sam Brownback told Bloomberg Television on October 5, 2007 that Vitter should be censured by the Senate. He said, "I think you could see something like that taking place. If you look at the actual crime itself and the discussion across the country -- and as a Republican -- this is bad."

Vitter was also criticized by the University of New Orleans College Republicans for holding a second press conference about the scandal at the same time that fellow Republican Bobby Jindal formally kicked off his campaign for governor. They called on Vitter to resign after that action, accusing him of putting himself before the good of the party.

In December, 2007, a Baton Rouge The Advocate editorial claimed the Vitter had lost influence due to the controversy. In the same month, Time Magazine listed the controversy as on of the top ten awkward moments of 2007.

Footnotes

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  8. Schor, Elana and Sam Youngman, "Vitter hides as the Senate GOP circles its wagons", The Hill, July 11, 2007
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  63. Walsh, Bill (October 19, 2007). "Vitter shifts $100,000 from religious group". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved 2007-11-02. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  64. "Vitter earmark withdrawn". National Center for Science Education. October 18, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-18. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  65. Walsh, Bill (September 28, 2007). "Senate OKs child health expansion". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved 2007-09-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  66. Pear, Robert (October 6, 2007). "A Battle Foreshadowing a Larger Health Care War". New York Times. Retrieved 2007-10-24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  67. "Vitter leads opposition to immigration bill". The Times-Picayune. June 22, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  68. "Are Rational Immigration Laws a 'Job American Politicians Won't Do'?". Human Events. June 18, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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  70. "Plan to Crack Down on 'Sanctuary Cities' Killed in Senate". FOX News. October 16, 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  71. Shields, Gerald (November 26, 2007). "Washington Watch for November 26, 2007". The Advocate (Baton Rouge) and WBRZ-TV. Retrieved 2007-11-26. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  72. "S. 2393: A bill to close the loophole that allowed the 9/11 hijackers to obtain credit cards..." GovTrack.us. Retrieved 2008-01-15.
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  74. Alpert, Bruce (October 19, 2007). "Abortion plan is defeated in Senate". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved 2007-10-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  75. Taylor, Andrew (October 28, 2007). "No Cut in Money for Abortion Providers". Associated Press. Retrieved 2007-10-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  76. "S. 351: Title X Family Planning Act". GovTrack. Retrieved 2007-11-17.
  77. Ertelt, Steven (November 12, 2007). "Senators Ask Democrats for Amendment Revoking Abortion Center Funding". LifeNews.com. Retrieved 2007-11-17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  78. "Vitter gets behind Giuliani", CNN, March 12, 2007
  79. Radelat, Ana (July 11, 2007). "Flynt says New Orleans prostitutes told on senator". Gannett News Service. Retrieved 2007-07-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  80. Crouere, Jeff (July 23, 2007). "Sex scandal dissipates Vitter's political power". New Orleans City Business. Retrieved 2007-07-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  81. "Senator David Vitter Announces Support for Rudy Giuliani", Blogs for Rudy, March 12, 2007, accessed July 10, 2007
  82. Joe Stinebaker, "Paul joins race for 2008 GOP nomination", Associated Press, March 12, 2007
  83. Rood, Justin (July 10, 2007). "'Hustler' Call May Have Prompted Vitter Admission". ABC News. Retrieved 2007-07-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  84. Douglass K. Daniel, "Senator's number on escort service list", Associated Press, July 10, 2007
  85. Keith I. Marszalek, "Vitter had five calls with D.C. Madam", New Orleans Times-Picayune, July 11, 2007
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  88. Konigsmark, Anne Rochell (December 20, 1998). "A Week Of Crisis Impeachment: The Speakership Livingston's Constituents Decision to resign jolts home district". The Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution. pp. D4. Retrieved 2007-07-10. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
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  92. Alpert, Bruce (July 12, 2007). "Legal trouble unlikely for Vitter". Times-Picayune. Retrieved 2007-07-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  93. "Madam links Sen. Vitter to brothel". LA Times. July 12, 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  94. Burdeau, Cain (July 11, 2007). "Vitter was client of a New Orleans brothel, madam claims". The Shreveport Times. Retrieved 2007-07-13. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  95. Tidmore, Christopher (March 29, 2004). "Congressman Denies Affair With Prostitute". The Louisiana Weekly. Retrieved 2007-07-12. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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  97. Moran, Kate (September 12, 2007). "Ex-call girl, Flynt keep pressure on Vitter". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved 2007-09-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  98. Alpert, Bruce (July 11, 2007). "Vitter unlikely to face criminal charges". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved 2007-07-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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  101. Shields, Gerald (November 15, 2007). "Attorney doesn't answer queries on Vitter plans". The Advocate (Baton Rouge). Retrieved 2007-11-15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  102. "Senator Spared Testimony in Escort Case". The Associated Press. November 22, 2007. Retrieved 2007-11-22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  103. Alpert, Bruce and Walsh, Bill (December 2, 2007). "Vitter avoids talking about escort for now". New Orleans Times-Picayune. Retrieved 2007-12-03. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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  105. Radelat, Ana (July 19, 2007). "Vitter tries to move forward". Gannett News Service. Retrieved 2007-07-22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  106. Nichols, John (July 17, 2007). "A "Family Values" Headache for Senate GOP". The Nation. Retrieved 2007-07-22. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  107. Lipman, Larry (September 30, 2007). "A year later, Foley fallout lingers". Palm Beach Post. Retrieved 2007-09-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  108. Blumner, Robyn (September 30, 2007). "Republicans and their big Greenspan gap". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 2007-09-30. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  109. Kuraitis, Jill (October 7, 2007). "Novak: Senate R's Knew Craig "Had This Problem"". New West. Retrieved 2007-10-08. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  110. Means, Marianne (July 23, 2007). "Republicans celebrate hypocrisy". Times Herald-Record. Retrieved 2007-07-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  111. Goldman, Julianna (October 5, 2007). "Craig Faces U.S. Senate Censure, Not Expulsion, Brownback Says". Bloomberg Television. Retrieved 2007-10-06. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  112. "College Republicans Demand Vitter Resignation". UNO College Republicans.
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  114. Salamme, Elisabeth (December, 2007). "Top 10 Awkward Moments". Time Magazine. Retrieved 2007-12-17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

External links

Preceded byBob Livingston Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Louisiana's 1st congressional district
1999 – 2005 		Succeeded byBobby Jindal
Preceded byJohn Breaux U.S. senator (Class 3) from Louisiana
2005–present
Served alongside: Mary Landrieu 		Incumbent
United States senators from Louisiana
Class 2 United States Senate
Class 3
Louisiana's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators
Representatives
(ordered by district)
Current United States senators
President: ▌ Kamala Harris (D) ‧ President pro tempore: ▌ Chuck Grassley (R)

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