Donald Lee Nickles (born December 6, 1948) is an American politician and lobbyist who was a
Republican United States Senator
The United States Senate consists of 100 members, two from each of the 50 U.S. state, states. This list includes all senators serving in the 119th United States Congress.
Party affiliation
Independent Senators Angus King of Maine and Berni ...
from
Oklahoma
Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
from 1981 to 2005. He was considered both a
fiscal and
social conservative. After retiring from the Senate as the longest-serving senator from
Oklahoma
Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...
up until that point, he founded the Nickles Group, a lobbying firm.
Early life
Nickles was born and raised in
Ponca City, Oklahoma, the son of Coeweene (Bryan) and Robert C. Nickles. He attended Ponca City public schools graduating from
Ponca City High School in 1967. To help pay for their education at
Oklahoma State University
Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...
, he and his wife, the former Linda Lou Morrison, operated Don Nickles Professional Cleaning Service in
Stillwater. He was a member of
Beta Theta Pi
Beta Theta Pi (), commonly known as Beta, is a North American social Fraternities and sororities in North America, fraternity that was founded in 1839 at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. One of North America's oldest fraternities, , it consist ...
fraternity at
Oklahoma State University
Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...
, and earned a
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...
in
business administration
Business administration is the administration of a commercial enterprise. It includes all aspects of overseeing and supervising the business operations of an organization.
Overview
The administration of a business includes the performance o ...
in 1971.
After college, he went to work for Nickles Machine Corporation in Ponca City, a business started in 1918 by his grandfather, Clair Nickles. He became the company's vice president and general manager. He also served in the
Kansas Army National Guard and the
Oklahoma Army National Guard
The Oklahoma Army National Guard is the Army National Guard component of the Oklahoma National Guard. The Commander-in-Chief of the Oklahoma National Guard is the Governor of Oklahoma. He appoints the State Adjutant General (TAG) who is a Major G ...
from 1970 until 1976.
A formative experience was the distress his family suffered following the death of his father, Robert, in 1961, when Nickles was twelve years old. The family had to sell off part of the family business to raise cash to pay the required
estate tax
International tax law distinguishes between an estate tax and an inheritance tax. An inheritance tax is a tax paid by a person who inherits money or property of a person who has died, whereas an estate tax is a levy on the estate (money and pr ...
.
[
In 1978, aged 29, his election to the Oklahoma State Senate was the beginning of his career in public office. Two years later, at the age of 31, he became and remains the youngest Republican ever elected to the U.S. Senate.]
U.S. Senate
Tenure
He sponsored legislation to cut taxes, reduce government spending, promote national defense, and reduce what he believed to be official hostility to religion. He sponsored the Defense of Marriage Act
The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was a United States federal law passed by the 104th United States Congress and signed into law by President Bill Clinton on September 21, 1996. It banned federal recognition of same-sex marriage by limitin ...
which allowed states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages conducted in other states.
As Republican Whip, Nickles called for the resignation of fellow Republican Trent Lott
Chester Trent Lott Sr. (born October 9, 1941) is an American lobbyist, lawyer, author, and politician who represented Mississippi in the United States House of Representatives from 1973 to 1989 and in the United States Senate from 1989 to 2007. ...
as majority leader after Lott made remarks praising Strom Thurmond
James Strom Thurmond Sr. (December 5, 1902 – June 26, 2003) was an American politician who represented South Carolina in the United States Senate from 1954 to 2003. Before his 49 years as a senator, he served as the 103rd governor of South ...
that seemed insensitive to the issue of racial segregation. The National Federation of Independent Business praised Nickles for including in the Senate's 2005 budget a provision that would accelerate by one year a complete repeal of the federal estate tax
Nickles was one of many Republican senators who in 1981 called the White House to express his discontent over the nomination of Sandra Day O'Connor
Sandra Day O'Connor (March 26, 1930 – December 1, 2023) was an American attorney, politician, and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1981 to 2006. Nominated by President Ronald Reagan, O' ...
of Arizona
Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...
to the United States Supreme Court
The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...
. Nickles said that he and other socially conservative Republican senators would not support O'Connor because of her "presumed unwillingness" to overturn the abortion
Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...
decision ''Roe v. Wade
''Roe v. Wade'', 410 U.S. 113 (1973),. was a List of landmark court decisions in the United States, landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court in which the Court ruled that the Constitution of the United States protected the right to have an ...
''.
During a 1986 campaign rally at the University of Oklahoma
The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...
in Norman, President Reagan accidentally called him Don Rickles
Donald Jay Rickles (May 8, 1926 – April 6, 2017) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He was known primarily for his insult comedy. His film roles include ''Run Silent, Run Deep (film), Run Silent, Run Deep'' (1958), ''Enter Laughing ...
, the American comedian. The president was later told about his mistake and found it very amusing.
Nickles was one of three Senators to vote against the confirmation of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg ( ; Bader; March 15, 1933 – September 18, 2020) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until Death and state funeral of Ruth Bader ...
and one of nine to vote against the confirmation of Stephen Breyer
Stephen Gerald Breyer ( ; born August 15, 1938) is an American lawyer and retired jurist who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1994 until his retirement in 2022. He was nominated by President Bill Clinton, and r ...
to the Supreme Court.
Leadership
Nickles quickly rose in the Senate Republican leadership, serving as chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee
The National Republican Senate Committee (NRSC) is the Republican Hill committee for the United States Senate, working to elect Republicans to the Senate. The NRSC was founded in 1916 as the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee. It was reor ...
in the 101st Congress; Chairman of the Republican Policy Committee in the 102nd, 103rd, and 104th Congresses; and Assistant Republican Leader from 1996 to 2003. After being term-limited out of the Assistant Leader position, Nickles served in the 108th Congress as chairman of the Senate Budget Committee
The United States Senate Committee on the Budget was established by the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974. It is responsible for drafting Congress's annual budget plan and monitoring action on the budget for the Federal ...
. Nickles was also on Bob Dole
Robert Joseph Dole (July 22, 1923 – December 5, 2021) was an American politician and attorney who represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996. He was the Party leaders of the United States Senate, Republican Leader of th ...
's short list of vice presidential choices, before Dole finally decided on former Congressman Jack Kemp
Jack French Kemp (July 13, 1935 – May 2, 2009) was an American politician, professional Gridiron football, football player, and U.S. Army veteran. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party from New York, he served a ...
of New York.
In December 2002, Nickles became embroiled in the controversy surrounding Republican Leader Trent Lott
Chester Trent Lott Sr. (born October 9, 1941) is an American lobbyist, lawyer, author, and politician who represented Mississippi in the United States House of Representatives from 1973 to 1989 and in the United States Senate from 1989 to 2007. ...
. At Senator Strom Thurmond
James Strom Thurmond Sr. (December 5, 1902 – June 26, 2003) was an American politician who represented South Carolina in the United States Senate from 1954 to 2003. Before his 49 years as a senator, he served as the 103rd governor of South ...
's 100th birthday party, Lott had made comments that some took to be racially insensitive. As the controversy grew, Nickles went on national television and became the first senator in the Republican leadership to say that Lott should step down. Nickles believed that the controversy over Lott's remarks would distract from the Republican legislative agenda, and as he served as Lott's deputy in the Senate this statement was seen as the proverbial "straw that broke the camel's back." Despite many apologies for his remarks, Lott stepped down shortly thereafter. Declining to run for the position of Senate Majority Leader
The positions of majority leader and minority leader are held by two United States senators and people of the party leadership of the United States Senate. They serve as chief spokespersons for their respective political parties, holding the ...
himself, Lott was succeeded by Bill Frist
William Harrison Frist (born February 22, 1952) is an American physician, businessman, conservationist and policymaker who served as a United States Senator from Tennessee from 1995 to 2007. A member of the Republican Party, he also served as ...
of Tennessee
Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...
.
Nickles was re-elected in 1986, 1992 and 1998 and was the senior senator from Oklahoma from 1994 to 2005.
Post-Senate career
On October 7, 2003, he announced that he would not run in the 2004 election. Republican Tom Coburn was elected to succeed Nickles.
Nickles went on to found the Nickles Group, a government consulting group in Washington, D.C. He also serves on the boards of directors of a number of public companies, such as Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...
-based Chesapeake Energy
Expand Energy Corporation, headquartered in Oklahoma City, is the largest independent natural gas producer in the U.S. based on net daily production. The company operates in the Appalachian Basin of the Marcellus Formation in Pennsylvania and ...
.
Nickles was one of the politicians featured in the film ''Traffic
Traffic is the movement of vehicles and pedestrians along land routes.
Traffic laws govern and regulate traffic, while rules of the road include traffic laws and informal rules that may have developed over time to facilitate the orderly an ...
'', giving his opinion on the war on drugs.
Family
Nickles and his wife, Linda, have four children.
See also
* HIV Prevention Act of 1997
References
Other sources
"Nickles, McCaleb Try to Sabotage Oklahoma Amtrak Service, Opt for Yugo Rather Than Cadillac."
Oklahoma State Senate. Communications Division, State Capitol. May 24, 1999.
* ''Biographical Directory of the American Congress, 1774–1996.'' Alexandria, Va.: CQ Staff Directories, 1997.
* "Donald Nickles." Research Division, Oklahoma Historical Society, Oklahoma City, Okla.
* ''Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774–1989.'' Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1989.
* ''Congressional Directory, 106th Congress, 1999–2000.'' Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1999.
* ''Congressional Quarterly's Politics in America 2000, The 106th Congress.'' Philip D. Duncan and Brian Nutting, eds. Washington, D.C.: Congressional Quarterly, Inc., 1999.
* ''Who's Who in American Politics, 1997–1998.'' Marquis Who's Who, 1997.
External links
*
*
*
The Nickles Group
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Nickles, Don
1948 births
Living people
Republican Party Oklahoma state senators
20th-century members of the Oklahoma Legislature
Oklahoma State University alumni
People from Ponca City, Oklahoma
Ponca City High School alumni
Republican Party United States senators from Oklahoma
Kansas National Guard personnel
Oklahoma National Guard personnel
Members of Congress who became lobbyists
United States Army soldiers
21st-century United States senators
20th-century United States senators