Bob Goodlatte

Robert William Goodlatte (born September 22, 1952) is an American politician, attorney, and lobbyist who served in the United States House of Representatives representing VA's 6th congressional district for 13 terms.

A Republican, he was also the Chair of the House Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over legislation affecting the federal courts, administrative agencies, and federal law enforcement entities.

Goodlatte's district covered Roanoke and also included Lexington, Lynchburg, Harrisonburg, and Staunton.

Goodlatte received a B.A. in political science from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine in 1974.

He also holds a Juris Doctor from Washington and Lee University School of Law in Lexington, Virginia, received in 1977.

In his early professional career he served as a staff aide for 6th District U.S. Congressman M. Caldwell Butler from 1977 to 1979.

Goodlatte went on to work as a lawyer in private practice from 1980 to 1993.

Bob Goodlatte received the Republican nomination at the Republican District convention after Democratic Party candidate Jim Olin opted not to run for reelection in 1992.

In the 1992 November general election, Goodlatte defeated Democratic candidate Stephen Musselwhite, who had defeated Olin's preferred choice at the district Democratic convention, with 60% of the vote.

Goodlatte has been reelected ten times, often running unopposed.

His most substantive Democratic opposition was in 1996, when he faced Jeff Grey, and again in 1998, when Roanoke mayor David Bowers challenged him.

In an overwhelmingly conservative district, Goodlatte turned back these challenges, with 67% and 69% of the vote, respectively.

In 2008, he was challenged by Democratic candidate Sam Rasoul of Roanoke.

Goodlatte garnered 62% of the vote.

The Office was created in 2008 after numerous infractions involving Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff, resulting in the imprisonment of House member Bob Ney.

The proposed amendment to House Rules, spearheaded by Goodlatte, gave the House Ethics Committee - made up of partisan elected officials - oversight of what would be the renamed Office and power to stop inquiries that had the potential to lead to criminal charges.

It would have also blocked the Office's staff from speaking with reporters and other news media members.

The amendment passed during the secret meeting, but its fortunes were reversed once news of the measure leaked out.

The proposed changes immediately drew strong criticism from prominent figures on both sides of the aisle, including House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, President-elect Donald Trump, and even Abramoff himself.

Additionally, social media catalyzed a swift reaction from constituents, with Google reporting that searches for "Who is my representative" surged in the hours following the public unveiling of the mooted changes to the Office.

Representatives received thousands of calls demanding they cease their support for the amendment.

In less than 24 hours, Goodlatte and his fellow Republicans scrapped the proposal.

One of Goodlatte's legislative initiatives was his constitutional amendment to require a balanced federal budget.

In 2009, Goodlatte was appointed to serve as the co-lead impeachment manager (prosecutor) alongside Adam Schiff for the impeachment trial of Judge Samuel B. Kent.

The following year, Goodlatte was appointed and served as a House co-lead impeachment manager in the impeachment trial of Thomas Porteous, again alongside Schiff.

In 2010, Goodlatte was challenged by Independent Jeffrey Vanke and Libertarian Stuart Bain.

Goodlatte won with 76.26% of the vote.

During a secret meeting on the night before the start of the 115th Congress, Goodlatte led an attempt by House Republicans to reduce the reach of the independent Office of Congressional Ethics.

In 2011, Republican Karen Kwiatkowski of Mount Jackson, Virginia, announced that she would challenge Goodlatte in the Republican primary set for June 12, 2012.

This was Bob Goodlatte's first contested Republican primary.

Kwiatkowski earned 34% of the Republican primary vote, with Goodlatte winning 66%.

He faced Democratic nominee Andy Schmookler in the general election and defeated him with 66% of the vote.

The American Conservative Union gave him a 94% evaluation.

In 2017, Goodlatte presided over a GOP effort, conducted in a secret session, to weaken the independent Office of Congressional Ethics, a move widely criticized by House leaders and the opposition party.

The proposal passed by a 119 to 74 vote, but it was withdrawn the following day after widespread public criticism.

On November 9, 2017, Goodlatte announced that he would not seek reelection in 2018.

In February 2020, Goodlatte registered as a lobbyist representing the Project for Privacy & Surveillance Accountability, a nonprofit.

Goodlatte was born in Holyoke, Massachusetts, the son of Doris B. (née Mentzendorff) and Robert Swan Goodlatte.

His paternal ancestry includes English and Irish and his maternal grandfather was a Baltic German from Riga.

Goodlatte grew up in Springfield, Massachusetts.