Chris Dodd

Christopher John Dodd (born May 27, 1944) is an American lobbyist, lawyer, and Democratic Party politician who served as a United States senator from Connecticut from 1981 to 2011. Dodd is the longest-serving senator in Connecticut's history. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 1981.

Dodd is a Connecticut native and a graduate of Georgetown Preparatory School in Bethesda, Maryland, and Providence College. His father, Thomas J. Dodd, was also a United States Senator from 1959 to 1971. Chris Dodd served in the Peace Corps for two years prior to entering the University of Louisville School of Law, and during law school concurrently served in the United States Army Reserve.

Dodd returned to Connecticut, winning election in 1974 to the U.S. House of Representatives from Connecticut's 2nd congressional district and was reelected in 1976 and 1978. He was elected to the United States Senate in 1980. Dodd served as general chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1995 to 1997. He served as Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee from 2007 until his retirement from politics. In 2006, Dodd decided to run for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States, but eventually withdrew after running behind several other competitors.

In January 2010, Dodd announced that he would not run for re-election.Abrupt Dem retirements show tough landscape
Associated Press; January 6, 2010 Dodd was succeeded by fellow Democrat Richard Blumenthal. Dodd then served as chairman and chief lobbyist for the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) from 2011 to 2017. In 2018, Dodd returned to the practice of law, joining the firm Arnold & Porter. In addition to being a member of the ReFormers Caucus of Issue One, Dodd is a close advisor to President Joe Biden and served on his vice presidential selection committee.

Early life, education, and early political career

Dodd was born in Willimantic, Connecticut. His parents were Grace Mary Dodd (née Murphy) and U.S. Senator Thomas Joseph Dodd; all eight of his great-grandparents were born in Ireland. He is the fifth of six children; his eldest brother, Thomas J. Dodd Jr., is a professor emeritus of the School of Foreign Service of Georgetown University, and served as the U.S. ambassador to Uruguay and Costa Rica under President Bill Clinton.

Dodd attended Georgetown Preparatory School, a Jesuit boys' school in Bethesda, Maryland. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in English literature from Providence College in 1966. He served as a Peace Corps volunteer in a small rural town called Moncion, in the Dominican Republic from 1966 to 1968. While there, he became fluent in Spanish. (Later, while in Congress, his support for language study resulted in his being awarded the Northeast Conference on the Teaching of Foreign Languages Advocacy Award in 1986.) Dodd was awarded his Juris Doctor from the University of Louisville in 1972. He also joined the United States Army Reserve, serving until 1975.

U.S. House of Representatives (1975–1981)

Dodd was part of the " Watergate class of '74," which CNN pundit David Gergen credited with bringing "a fresh burst of liberal energy to the Capitol." Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Connecticut's 2nd congressional district and reelected twice, he served from January 4, 1975 to January 3, 1981. During his tenure in the House, he served on the United States House Select Committee on Assassinations.

U.S. Senate (1981–2011)

Elections

Dodd was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1980, and was subsequently reelected in 1986, 1992, 1998, and 2004. He is the first senator from Connecticut to serve five consecutive terms.

Facing a competitive reelection bid for his Senate seat in 2010 and trailing against both of his likely Republican challengers in public opinion polling, Dodd announced in January 2010 that he would not seek re-election for a sixth term in the Senate. Polls of Connecticut voters in 2008 and 2009 had consistently suggested Dodd would have difficulty winning re-election, with 46% viewing his job performance as fair or poor and a majority stating they would vote to replace Dodd in the 2010 election.

Tenure

During the 1994 elections, the Republicans won the majority in both houses of Congress. Dodd therefore entered the minority for the second time in his Senate career. He ran for the now vacant position of Senate Minority Leader, but was defeated by South Dakota Senator Tom Daschle by one vote. The vote was tied 23–23, and it was Colorado Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell who cast the deciding vote by absentee ballot in favor of Daschle.

From 1995 to 1997, he served as General Chairman of the Democratic National Committee. As General Chairman, Dodd was the DNC's spokesman. Donald Fowler served as National Chairman, running the party's day-to-day operations.
Dodd has also involved himself in children's and family issues, founding the first Senate Children's Caucus and authoring the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), which requires larger employers to provide employees unpaid leave in the event of illness, a sick family member, or the birth or adoption of a child. To date, more than 50 million employees have taken advantage of FMLA mandates. He is working to support a bill that would require employers to provide paid family and medical leave. For his work on behalf of children and families, the National Head Start association named him "Senator of the Decade" in 1990.

Dodd briefly considered running for President in 2004, but ultimately decided against such a campaign and endorsed fellow Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman. He then was considered as a likely running mate for his friend, eventual Democratic nominee John Kerry. He was also considered a possible candidate for replacing Daschle as Senate Minority Leader in the 109th Congress, but he declined, and that position was instead filled by Harry Reid.

Dodd maintained an office in Hartford, Connecticut, which was burglarized in 2007 by a man stealing property for subsequent sale to support his drug habit.

Committee assignments

* Committee on Foreign Relations
** Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere, Peace Corps and Narcotics Affairs (Chairman)
** Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs
** Subcommittee on East Asian and Pacific Affairs
** Subcommittee on European Affairs
* Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs (Chairman)
** As Chairman of the committee, Dodd may serve an ''ex officio'' member of all subcommittees of which he is not already a full member.
** Subcommittee on Economic Policy
** Subcommittee on Security and International Trade and Finance
** Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment
* Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions
** Subcommittee on Children and Families (Chairman)
** Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety
* Committee on Rules and Administration
* Joint Committee on the Library
* Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe

2008 Presidential campaign

On January 11, 2007, Dodd announced his candidacy for the office of President of the United States on the ''Imus in the Morning'' show. On January 19, 2007, Dodd made a formal announcement with supporters at the Old State House in Hartford.

OpenSecrets noted that the Dodd campaign was heavily funded by the financial services industry, which is regulated by committees Dodd chairs in the Senate.

In an unusual move, Dodd shared a plane with one of his rivals for the 2008 nomination. Dodd's friend and fellow US Senator Joe Biden was running his own long-shot campaign, and the two saved money by sharing a campaign plane.

In May, Dodd trailed in state and national polls and acknowledged he was not keeping pace with rival campaigns' fund raising. However, he said that as more voters became aware of his opposition to the Iraq War, they would support his campaign. However, his prospects did not improve; a November 7, 2007 Gallup poll placed him at 1%.

Dodd dropped out of the primary race on the night of the January 3, 2008 Iowa caucuses after placing seventh with almost all precincts reporting, even though he had recently moved from his home state to Iowa for the campaign.

Among eight major candidates for the nomination Dodd, even with later states where he was on the ballot after withdrawal, won last place by popular vote in primary (after Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, Bill Richardson, Dennis Kucinich, Joe Biden and Mike Gravel, also including uncommitted delegates and scattering votes). He won a total of 25,252 votes in delegates primaries and 9,940 in penalized contests.

Dodd later said he was not interested in running for Vice President or Senate Majority Leader, and endorsed former rival Barack Obama on February 26, 2008.

Post-Senate career

Motion Picture Association of America

In February 2011, despite "repeatedly and categorically insisting that he would not work as a lobbyist," Dodd replaced Dan Glickman as chairman of and chief lobbyist for the MPAA.

On January 17, 2012, Dodd released a statement criticizing "the so-called ' Blackout Day' protesting anti-piracy legislation." Referring to the websites participating in the blackout, Dodd said, "It is an irresponsible response and a disservice to people who rely on them for information and use their services. It is also an abuse of power... when the platforms that serve as gateways to information intentionally skew the facts to incite their users in order to further their corporate interests." In further comments, Dodd threatened to cut off campaign contributions to politicians who did not support the Preventing Real Online Threats to Economic Creativity and Theft of Intellectual Property Act and the Stop Online Piracy Act, legislation supported by the MPAA.

On September 4, 2017, Dodd stepped down as MPAA CEO, and was replaced by former U.S. Ambassador to France and Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs Charles Rivkin.

Law practice

Following his tenure at MPAA, Dodd joined law firm Arnold & Porter in Washington, D.C.

2020 U.S. presidential election and Biden administration

During the 2020 Democratic primary, Dodd was an advisor and surrogate for the campaign of his friend and colleague Joe Biden. Dodd was a member of Biden's vice presidential search committee. He was reported to have spoken against picking California Senator Kamala Harris—saying that "she had no remorse" for "her ambush on Biden in the first Democratic rimarydebate"—and to have advocated for California Congresswoman Karen Bass to be selected instead because "she’s a loyal No. 2."

On March 1, 2021, the public relations and advisory company Teneo announced that it was hiring Dodd, while he was a top advisor to President Biden, as a senior advisor at the company, and that Teneo had acquired a significant minority stake in the consulting firm WestExec Advisors, which had very close ties to the new Biden administration.

Controversies

Countrywide Financial loan controversy

In his role as chairman of the Senate Banking Committee Dodd proposed a program in June 2008 that would assist troubled sub-prime mortgage lenders such as Countrywide Financial in the wake of the United States housing bubble's collapse. ''Condé Nast Portfolio'' reported allegations that in 2003 Dodd had refinanced the mortgages on his homes in Washington, D.C. and Connecticut through Countrywide Financial and had received favorable terms due to being placed in the " Friends of Angelo" VIP program, so named for Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo. Dodd received mortgages from Countrywide at allegedly below-market rates on his Washington, D.C. and Connecticut homes. Dodd had not disclosed the below-market mortgages in any of six financial disclosure statements he filed with the Senate or Office of Government Ethics since obtaining the mortgages in 2003.

Dodd's press secretary said "The Dodds received a competitive rate on their loans," and that they "did not seek or anticipate any special treatment, and they were not aware of any," then declined further comment. The '' Hartford Courant'' reported Dodd had taken "a major credibility hit" from the scandal. At the same time, the Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee Kent Conrad and the head of Fannie Mae Jim Johnson received mortgages on favorable terms due to their association with Countrywide CEO Angelo Mozilo. ''The Wall Street Journal'', ''The Washington Post'', and two Connecticut papers have demanded further disclosure from Dodd regarding the Mozilo loans.

On June 17, 2008, Dodd met twice with reporters and gave accounts of his mortgages with Countrywide. He admitted to reporters in Washington, D.C. that he knew as of 2003 that he was in a VIP program, but claimed it was due to being a longtime Countrywide customer, not due to his political position. He omitted this detail in a press availability to Connecticut media.

On July 30, 2009, Dodd responded to news reports about his mortgages by releasing information from ''The Wall Street Journal'' showing that both mortgages he received were in line with those being offered to general public in fall 2003 in terms of points and interest rate.

On August 7, 2009, a Senate ethics panel issued its decision on the controversy. The Select Committee on Ethics said it found "no credible evidence" that Dodd knowingly sought out a special loan or treatment because of his position, but the panel also said in an open letter to Dodd that the lawmaker should have questioned why he was being put in the " Friends of Angelo" VIP program at Countrywide: "Once you became aware that your loans were in fact being handled through a program with the name 'V.I.P.,' that should have raised red flags for you."

Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac controversies

Dodd was involved in issues related to the federal takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac

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