Newton Leroy "Newt" Gingrich (born 17 June 1943) was the Speaker of the US House of Representatives from 4 January 1995 to 3 January 1999, succeeding Tom Foley and preceding Dennis Hastert, having previously served as House Minority Whip from 20 March 1989 to 3 January 1995 (succeeding Dick Cheney and preceding David E. Bonior). Gingrich, a Republican congressman from Georgia, was one of the leaders of the "Republican Revolution" of the 1990s, making the Republican Party the largest party in the US Congress.
Biography[]
Rise to power[]
Gingrich as a young teacher
Newton Leroy McPherson was born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on 17 June 1943, and his divorced mother remarried to US Army officer Robert Gingrich in 1946, with Gingrich adopting the young boy. The family lived in Orleans, France and Stuttgart, West Germany during the father's military service, and Gingrich went to high school in Columbus, Georgia. He graduated from Atlanta's Emory University with a bachelor's degree in history in 1965, and he went on to earn his Master of Arts and Ph.D. in European History from Tulane University. While he was in school, Gingrich became involved in Republican Party politics, serving as southern regional director for Nelson Rockefeller in the 1968 primaries. Gingrich became an assistant professor at West Georgia College in 1970, but he later decided to enter politics, running for a seat in the US House of Representatives from Georgia's 6th congressional district in 1974. He lost to the Democratic Party incumbent Jack Flynt, but he managed to win Flynt's seat after Flynt chose not to run for re-election in 1978. Gingrich was re-elected six times, and he founded the Conservative Opportunity Society in 1983, which allowed for young conservative politicians to meet and exchange ideas.
House Minority Whip[]
Gingrich after being elected as House Minority Whip in 1989
In March 1989, Gingrich was elected House Minority Whip, as he had made a reputation for himself as a charismatic Republican leader. The population increases recorded by the 1990 US Census led to a new congressional district being created in Georgia, and the fiercely partisan Georgia Speaker of the House Tom Murphy eliminated Gingrich's district and divided it between three neighboring districts through gerrymandering. Gingrich responded by moving to Marietta and winning election to the 6th congressional district in the wealthy suburbs of northern Atlanta, and he helped Dick Armey with writing the 1994 "Contract with America", a list of ten promises that the Republicans would seek to fulfill if they won control of the US Congress in that year's elections. In 1994, the Republicans gained 54 seats, taking control of the House of Representatives for the first time since 1954.
Speaker of the House[]
Gingrich and Bill Clinton talking before the 1995 government shutdown
Gingrich was elected Speaker of the House on 4 January 1995, and he proposed legislation to implement term limits on representatives, tax cuts, welfare reform, a balanced budget amendment, independent auditing of the House's finances, and the elimination of the House barbershop and shoe-shine concessions. In 1996, the Republicans passed new welfare reform legislation, giving state governments more control over welfare delivery, weakening the central government's responsibilities, placing time limits on welfare assistance, placing stricter conditions on food stamp eligibility, reducing immigrant welfare assistance, and introducing work requirements for recipients; the reform was signed into law by President Bill Clinton on 22 August 1996. In August 1997, Gingrich worked with Clinton to carry out bipartisan tax cuts, save money by restructuring Medicare, set aside $24,000,000,000 to extend health insurance to the children of the working poor, give tax credits for college tuition, and start a $2,000,000,000 welfare-to-work jobs initiative. By 1999, the budget had been balanced for the first time since 1969.
However, Gingrich's rivalry with the president caused government shutdowns in 1995 and 1996, as the Republicans promised to slow down government spending, while Clinton had a conflicting agenda for Medicare, education, the environment, and public health. Eighty-four ethics charges were filed against Gingrich, and he was reprimanded for claiming tax-exempt status for a political college course. The party lost five house seats in 1998, the worst midterm performance by an opposition party in 64 years, and he was forced to resign the speakership due to opposition within his own party.
Political activism[]
Gingrich campaigning for Trump, 2016
Even after leaving the speakership, Gingrich remained a major Republican political activist, and he started a number of for-profit companies after 1999. In 2012, Gingrich sought the Republican nomination for President of the United States, and he was the frontrunner for a while. After Rick Santorum suspended his campaign, Gingrich branded himself as the "last conservative standing", as his opponent was Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, who was known for his liberal economic policies during his time in office. On 24 April 2012, with a campaign debt of over $4,000,000, Gingrich dropped out of the race, letting Romney secure the GOP nomination. Gingrich would endorse Donald Trump as president in 2016, and he was originally considered as his running mate, but Trump instead chose Mike Pence.