Ira William McCollum Jr. (born July 12, 1944) is an American lawyer and

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa * Republican Party (Liberia) *Republican Party ...

politician. He was a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from 1981 to 2001, representing

Florida's 5th congressional district Florida's 5th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Florida. It extends along Florida's northern boundary from Jacksonville to Tallahassee. The district includes all of Baker, Gadsden, Hamilton and Madison co ...

, which was later redistricted to the 8th congressional district in 1993. As a member of the House, McCollum rose to become Vice Chairman of the House Republican Conference, the fifth-highest ranking position in the House Republican leadership. He voted to impeach President Bill Clinton and subsequently took a leadership role in managing Clinton's trial in the Senate, which ended in acquittal. McCollum was the Republican nominee for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from S ...

, hoping to replace the retiring Republican

Connie Mack III Cornelius Alexander McGillicuddy III (born October 29, 1940), also known as Connie Mack III, is an American retired Republican politician. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Florida from 1983 to 1989 and t ...

, losing to Democratic nominee

Bill Nelson Clarence William Nelson II (born September 29, 1942) is an American politician and attorney serving as the administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Nelson previously served as a United States Senator from Flo ...

. McCollum ran for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate again in 2004 but lost to Mel Martínez. In

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro votes to declare independence from Serbia; The 2006 ...

he was elected

Florida Attorney General The Florida attorney general is an elected cabinet official in the U.S. state of Florida. The attorney general serves as the chief legal officer of the state and is head of the Florida Department of Legal Affairs. The office is one of Florida's t ...

and in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

he was an unsuccessful candidate for the Republican nomination for

Governor of Florida A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, losing to businessman

Rick Scott Richard Lynn Scott ( Myers, born December 1, 1952) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from Florida since 2019. A member of the Republican Party (U ...

Early life

Born and raised in

Brooksville, Florida Brooksville is a city in western Florida and the county seat of Hernando County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 7,719, up from 7,264 at the 2000 census. Brooksville is home to historic buildings and residence ...

, McCollum graduated from Hernando High School and earned his bachelor's degree and J.D. degree from the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

. While at the

, he was inducted into the University of Florida Hall of Fame, the most prestigious honor a student leader could receive, was a member of The Board, and served as president of

Florida Blue Key Florida Blue Key is a student leadership honor society at the University of Florida which was founded in 1923. History Founding and early years "Florida Blue Key was founded on November 1, 1923, several days prior to the University's Homecom ...

. McCollum's professional career began in 1969 with the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

Judge Advocate General Corps The Judge Advocate General's Corps, also known as JAG or JAG Corps, is the military justice branch or specialty of the United States Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Navy. Officers serving in the JAG Corps are typically called jud ...

where he served on active duty until 1972. McCollum was an officer for more than 23 years before retiring from the

United States Naval Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Sel ...

as a

Commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countries this naval rank is termed frigate captain. ...

(O-5) in the JAG Corps in 1992. In 1973, he entered private practice in

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

and became involved in local politics, serving as Chairman of the Seminole County Republican Party from 1976 to 1980.

Congressional career

In 1980 McCollum was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from a district including

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, ...

and most of Orlando. He defeated incumbent Representative Richard Kelly in the Republican primary. While in Congress, McCollum founded the House Republican Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare, chairing it for six years. He also served three terms on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, two of which as Chairman of its Subcommittee on Human Intelligence, Analysis, and Counterintelligence. Additionally, McCollum served as Vice Chairman of the House Banking Committee and served on the Judiciary Committee, where he was Chairman of the Subcommittee on Crime. While serving the House, McCollum was also selected for a variety of Republican leadership positions, including three terms as Vice Chairman of the House Republican Conference. McCollum gained national attention as one of 15 members selected to serve on the House Committee to Investigate the Iran-Contra Affair, and, in 1998–1999, as one of the

House managers An impeachment manager is a legislator appointed to serve as a prosecutor in an impeachment trial. They are also often called "House managers" or "House impeachment manager" when appointed from a legislative chamber that is called a "House of Repr ...

(prosecutors) in the impeachment trial of President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and again ...

U.S. Senate elections

Rather than seek reelection to the House in 2000, McCollum ran unsuccessfully for an open United States Senate seat, bringing to an end his 20-year Congressional career. McCollum ran again in 2004, seeking the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Senator

Bob Graham Daniel Robert "Bob" Graham (born November 9, 1936) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 38th governor of Florida from 1979 to 1987 and a United States senator from Florida from 1987 to 2005. He is a member of the De ...

. He was defeated in the Republican primary by HUD Secretary

Mel Martinez Mel, Mels or MEL may refer to: Biology * Mouse erythroleukemia cell line (MEL) * National Herbarium of Victoria, a herbarium with the Index Herbariorum code MEL People * Mel (given name), the abbreviated version of several given names (includin ...

, who went on to win the seat. McCollum served as a partner with the Baker & Hostetler LLP law firm, practicing in the federal policy area. In addition to his duties as the state's

chief legal officer A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...

, he serves as President and Chairman of the Healthy Florida Foundation, chartered in 2002 to find consensus on long-term solutions to the nation's health care system. He is a member of the North Florida Committee on Foreign Relations. He is also a

board member A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organiz ...

of the

James Madison Institute The James Madison Institute (JMI) is a libertarian free market American think tank headquartered in Tallahassee, Florida in the United States. It is a member of the State Policy Network. The organization's stated mission is "to keep the citizens ...

Florida Attorney General

Attorney General Bill McCollum being sworn into office

, McCollum ran for Florida Attorney General, defeating State Senator Skip Campbell in the general election. McCollum led a group of Attorneys General in filing a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of

Obamacare The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Pres ...

. He also filed a brief in support of Arizona's immigration law. McCollum opposed the federal

Stimulus bill In economics, stimulus refers to attempts to use monetary policy or fiscal policy (or stabilization policy in general) to stimulate the economy. Stimulus can also refer to monetary policies such as lowering interest rates and quantitative eas ...

, as well as the $20 billion federal oil fund that limited his office's ability to pursue claims against BP, and requested additional authority from the federal government to address Medicaid fraud. While Attorney General, McCollum defended Florida's ban on adoptions by homosexuals from a lawsuit, '' In re: Gill'', that challenged the ban. McCollum hired Dr.

George Rekers George Alan Rekers (born July 11, 1948) is an American psychologist and ordained Southern Baptist minister. He is emeritus professor of Neuropsychiatry and Behavioral Science at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine. Rekers has a ...

, a controversial clinical psychologist, to testify during the trial that heterosexual parents provide a better environment for children. The trial resulted in the overturning of the ban. When an appellate court upheld the lower court ruling, McCollum declined to appeal the case to the Supreme Court. McCollum was also the Florida Chairman for the

Rudy Giuliani Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 19 ...

presidential campaign in 2008.

2010 gubernatorial candidacy

On May 18, 2009, McCollum announced his candidacy for

. The election determined the successor of

Charlie Crist Charles Joseph Crist Jr. (; born July 24, 1956) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 44th governor of Florida from 2007 to 2011 and as the U.S. representative for from 2017 to 2022. Crist has been a member of the Democratic ...

who later lost his bid for a seat in the U.S. Senate. McCollum opposed federal health care mandates in Florida, decrying them as an unconstitutional "tax on living," and joined with 13 other state attorneys general in filing a federal lawsuit. The majority of Florida voters opposed such a lawsuit according to polling in April 2010. He has advocated a state constitutional amendment that would opt Florida out of Washington mandates on health care, although questions about whether such an amendment would be constitutional have been raised. On September 8, 2009 McCollum said he supported Medicare and Medicaid programs but opposed a government-run '

public option The public health insurance option, also known as the public insurance option or the public option, is a proposal to create a government-run health insurance agency that would compete with other private health insurance companies within the United ...

' for health insurance. On August 24, 2010, McCollum lost the Republican primary election to

Private sector

In 2014, McCollum was named to the board of directors of AML Superconductivity & Magnetics, a privately held company that develops magnet-based and superconducting applications, located in Melbourne, Florida.

Personal life

McCollum is married to Ingrid Seebohm McCollum. They have three sons: Douglas, Justin, and Andrew.

References

External links

Bill McCollum, official profile
Office of the Attorney General of Florida
Bill McCollum
''official campaign site'' *
Campaign contributions
at OpenSecrets.org (2004 Senate race) * , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:McCollum, Bill 1944 births 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American naval officers 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century American politicians American Security Council Foundation Candidates in the 2000 United States elections Candidates in the 2004 United States elections Candidates in the 2010 United States elections Florida Attorneys General Fredric G. Levin College of Law alumni United States Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps Living people Military personnel from Florida People associated with BakerHostetler People from Brooksville, Florida Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Florida University of Florida alumni House managers for the impeachment trial of Bill Clinton