Patrick Joseph Leahy (; born March 31, 1940) is an American politician serving as the senior United States Senator from Vermont, in office since 1975. A member of the Democratic Party, Leahy held the position of President pro tempore of the United States Senate from December 17, 2012, to January 6, 2015, and was thus during that time third in the presidential line of succession. He is currently the most senior member of the Senate and took office at the age of 34 years, younger than any other current U.S. Senator. Leahy received the title of President pro tempore emeritus upon the commencement of the 114th Congress. He is the last remaining member of the Senate to have served prior to the 1976 election of President Jimmy Carter.
Leahy is currently the longest-serving Democratic Senator as well as the longest-serving U.S. Senator in the history of Vermont, and the current dean of his state's congressional delegation. Having been in Congress since January 1975, he is also the longest serving incumbent Senator following the death of Hawaii's Daniel Inouye, who served from 1963 until his death in 2012. He is the former chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, and currently serves as the ranking member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. Leahy was also one of the two U.S. Senators targeted by the 2001 anthrax attacks that killed five people. After the resignation of John Conyers in 2017, he became the longest-serving Democrat in Congress.
Also known as
Lawyer, State'S Attorney
