Tom Donelson (R-TX)

[Abrams]

 

 

Name: Thomas Shearden Donelson
Seat: Texas I
Party: Republican
Avatar: Gary Palmer
Major Caucus: Republican Freedom Caucus

Gender: Male: 0 Points

Date of Birth: March 5th, 1949

Place of Birth: Shreveport, Louisiana

Race: White/Caucasian: 0 Points

Religion: Southern Baptist: 0 points

Educational History:

B.A. in Political Science, Princeton University (Class of 1971)

Juris Doctor in Law, Cornell University (Class of 1975)

 

Employment History:

Legislative Assistant, Congressman James M. Collins: 1976-1977

Attorney, Baker, Botts and Baker: 1977-1981

Candidate, United States Congress/Texas' 3rd: 1982

Attorney, ExxonMobil (Houston): 1984-1991

Energy Advisor, Bush-Quayle 1992 Campaign: 1992

Attorney, ExxonMobil: 1993-1995

Director of Legislative Affairs, Governor George W. Bush: 1995-2001

Counselor to the President: 2001-2003

Senior Vice President at ExxonMobil: 2003-2010

United States Senator from Texas, Class I: 2013-

 

Spouse(s) & Family History:

Parents:

William (B. 1925, D. 2009)

Edina (B. 1927, D. 2014)

 

Siblings: 

William Jr. (B. 1946, D. 1969)

Grace (B. 1951)

Lawrence (B. 1954)

 

Spouses:

Beth Landon (B. 1950, Married 1973, divorced 1985)

Deena Aniello (B. 1963, Married 1995)

 

Children: 

Lane (B. 1978)

Andy (B. 1981)

Natalie (B. 1997)

 

Biography:

Thomas Shearden Donelson was born March 5th, 1949 to William and Edina, in Shreveport, Louisiana. The Donelson family was a working class one; William had served in the Pacific Theater during World War II, returning to Louisiana (the family dating their roots in the state since 1872), struggling to find work for a time, before becoming a mechanic. Edina was a school teacher who had long valued education for Thomas and his siblings. The family would struggle to get by through Thomas' early years; the postwar boom did not find the Donelson family, and the family was forced to leave Louisiana as a result. One boom did resonate with the Donelson family: the Texas Oil Boom. While the initial boom of the 1900s ended in the 1940s, there were plenty of jobs to go around, and William would find work in East Texas, and the family would relocate to Wichita Falls. William himself would become something of a success story, becoming a regional manager and executive with the Southern Union Company, and a close advisor to Southern Union Company owner Clint Murchison, Sr.

 

Dedicated to school and success, Donelson would attend Princeton University, earning a Bachelor of the Arts in Political Science, starting in the fall of 1967. Donelson's family was classic Southern Democrats, and no matter how unpopular LBJ was, William Donelson thought it would serve his second eldest son well to get involved in the world, especially as Democrats in Texas still had a strong (if weakening) grip (William Sr., though, thought of Thomas as a backup plan, hoping that William Jr., a Harvard man, much more people oriented and charismatic would pick up the mantle). William had made contacts with Governor John Connally, and Donelson would intern with the Governor in the Summer of 1968. Only 19, Donelson would be one of a handful of aides with Governor Connally at that year's Democratic Convention in Chicago, and one of a few present in the infamous private meeting where it has been said Connally cost himself a possible bid at the Democratic Vice Presidential Nomination for loudly and forcefully accusing then Vice President hubert Humphrey of disloyalty to President Johnson. Donelson would go on to say that his experience with Connally, who would later switch parties and ally himself with future President Richard Nixon, as a key reason why he too would switch parties in the 1970s.

 

The first years of Donelson's Princeton experience were not the best; he was largely focused on the campus' social life and driving to New York most weekend's but his world was radically shocked in the spring of 1969, when his brother, William Jr., Private First Class in the Marines, was killed in the Battle of Hamburger Hill. William Jr., had always been a staunch advocate of facing communism and supporting U.S. influence abroad, even from a young age. Much to the chagrin and horror of his father, he would do what many in the upper class wouldn't have even dreamed of and decided to serve, his life being ended on a ridge in Central Vietnam. Thomas Donelson was now seen as the heir apparent to the Donelson name; his eldest brother's death had further endeared him to service, to action, and, in a way, to conservative ideals. He had believed communism was a total evil, and that aggressive action on the part of the U.S. was the only answer. After graduating from Princeton and attending law school at Cornell, Donelson would work a brief stint in 1972 as an intern in the campaign to re-elect Senator John Tower of Texas.

 

Donelson would graduate near the top echelon of his class from both Princeton and Cornell, and in 1976, work as a Legislative Assistant for Republican Congressman from Texas James Collins, making a nice name for himself as a hard, smart worker in the fields of Energy, Defense and Foreign Policy. After Jimmy Carter was elected president, Donelson would move back to Texas, setting up shop in Houston and working with one of the oldest, largest law firms in Houston, Baker, Botts and Baker. By the fall of 1979, Donelson had reconnected with former Governor Connally, now running as a Republican in the 1980 primaries. Donelson would work as an attorney by day and now advisor to the Connaly campaign by night. The campaign was a disaster, agenda and message-less as it dumped cash and cash as the prospects into a dwindling campaign that only received a handful of delegates. What did help Donelson, though, was Connally's new found connection to the Texas Republican Party, which he too would plunge into. Donelson would reconnect with Tower, who would connect him to James Baker and the Texas Reagan-Bush campaign. Donelson had learned that his former boss, James Collins, would be running for Senate in 1982 against Lloyd Bentsen, and decided to plunge into the race to succeed him. The 3rd, a seat north of Dallas, was long becoming a Republican stronghold and it was clear that the race would be decided in the primary. The primary race would come down to the young, upstart Donelson and Steve Bartlett, a local businessman. The race turned ugly quickly, Bartlett painting Donelson a spoiled political elitist who thought the seat shift be given to him, not earned. In return, Donelson would throw bags of cash against Bartlett in an effort to kill his reputation. The race would shockingly be turned on its head when Tower, once a mentor to Donelson, would back Bartlett. Donelson was enraged (It has been said that Donelson had been a big supporter from the private sector against Tower's nomination as Secretary of Defense). Donelson would lose the primary.

 

Donelson would now start work at ExxonMobil in Houston, starting a decades long relationship with the company. He would work at the company for 8 years, before taking a job with the Bush-Quayle '92 campaign as an Energy advisor, whose role and prominence had begun to rise as the campaign had gone on (especially as straits had gotten more dire). George H.W. Bush would obviously lose, but Donelson's dedication and hard work would have George W. Bush took notice of Donelson. In 1994, after Bush was elected Governor in that year's Republican Revolution, Donelson would, in a bit of an upset, be named Bush's Director of Legislative Affairs, a job given as Donelson had created a strong, expansive connections and relationships throughput the state through years of hard work and his tenure at Exxon. Donelson was considered one of the closest advisors to President Bush, and in the fall of 1999, as Bush was out of the state for long periods while campaigning for President, Donelson would be considered to have been "The Mirror Governor" by the Texas Monthly, in their November 1999 issue, writing "Donelson ... A man only really known to the state's Republican elite before 1994 has proven himself to be a loyal and effective operator of the Governor's, one who can be counted to completely act on the Governor's interest and do so in lockstep." Donelson was a key link and liaison between Bush and the Religious Right, and Matt Dowd would derogatorily refer to Donelson as the "Culture Warrior". When Bush would be elected President, Donelson would serve as a Counselor to the President. Donelson's tenure was rather short, event and drama filled. He would constantly clash with not only senior figures in the East Wing and the Cheney people, but also Karl Rove, who had thought him to be a possible threat. Once the September 11th Attacks occurred, it was evident to Donelson that the focus of the Bush White House had completely changed. After helping the White House coordinate efforts in the 2002 midterms, Donelson would step down from his role in January of 2003, transitioning to Senior Vice President at Exxon. 

 

Donelson's rise to prominence at Exxon would come in around 2007 and 2008, under his new C.E.O., Rex Tillerson. Donelson had carried over his effectiveness back to the private sector, where he gained the reputation as a no-nonsense (some might say cunning) deputy to Tillerson, and one whom was expected to succeed him. In a 2008 research piece, Greenpeace would label Donelson as "The Enforce of Exxon" for what they called callous de-regulatory pursuit, constant battles with environment forces, and coordinating an effective political and lobbying operation on behalf of Exxon. Soon, though, after the Great Recession, Donelson got tired with the private sector, and wanted to jump back into politics. It was clear Tillerson was going to stay C.E.O. in the long run, and he would likely be passed over as a successor. He possibly eyed challenging Governor Rick Perry for Governor in the Republican Primary, especially once Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison did so, but after reflection thought Hutchison's move was ill-fated, something he would be proven correct in. After Hutchinson lost, she soon would retire, and the race for Texas' Class I seat would interest Donelson.

 

Donelson had long loved D.C. and the federal branch of Government. The chance to run for Senate would be an amazing one. Funny enough, Donelson would begin to align himself with the Tea Party wing of the party from early on, even as a wealthy executive who had little, if anything, in common with the base. But, give loads of money he did, and his son, Lane, an intern for Congressman Virgil Goode of Virginia, was rising through the political ranks himself, and more so on the Tea Party wing, connections that would help his father down in Texas. Donelson would begin to challenge earlier political ties, too. When on a panel on Fox News in September of 2009, Donelson would say that "The senior leadership of the past administration had really challenged its goals and success of the President early on" (thought to be a direct shot at Karl Rove, enraged; After these remarks, Rove would promise that whatever Donelson do politically, he would challenge), and in December 2010, when asked if Jeb Bush was a suitable candidate in 2012 that, "No, certainly not. Not for where the country is today." Donelson, from his home in Tanglewood, Houston, in February of 2011 would announce he'd run for the seat after Hutchison bowed out. For the entirety of 2011, Donelson would struggle to gain traction, not breaking 7% in a single poll. However, Donelson was loaded and well connected to several big money groups in Texas, groups that would help him bury the former state Solicitor General in the first round, Ted Cruz, and advance to a runoff with Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurt. In the runoff, Donelson would use a boatload of cash, aggressive criss-crossing of the state and Tea Party connections to defeat Dewhurst in what was considered an upset. Donelson would easily win the General Election over Democrat Paul Sadler. He was sworn in on January 3rd, 2013.

 

There was some hope, initially, that Donelson would moderate his views once he got to the Senate. He had, after all, voted in favor of VAWA Ra-authorization, and would make minor headlines during an on the air interview with Conservative talk radio host Joe Pagliarulo, or "Joe Pags", referring to Paliarulo as a "fool" when Pagliarulo had attempted to say that supporting VAWA with new provisions over refugees and LGBTQ issues made him less of a conservative. "You're being foolish, a fool ... I am not supporting this legislation because I want to expand visas or codiy same sex marriage, I'm voting for it so we can get this thing apssed, continue to defend a vulnerable community, and amend this thing under a Republican Administration." Those hopes would be quickly dashed throughout 2013, as Donelson would hawk against the Bipartisan Budget Act and completely take to Fox News to blame Obama for the shutdown. Donelson would make somewhat of a name for himself as an avowed, complete and total critic of the Obama Administration. In December of 2014, after Republicans had retaken the Senate, Donelson would go onto say that the first criteria for supporting a Republican candidate in 2016 was "How much does this person understand and accept this President had damaged this country with most every maneuver he's made? The nominee [in 2016] must be someone who on day one completely cancels everything Obama did with either exeuctive order or strong legislative action." Donelson was a fierce critic and oppone to of the nuclear deal, accusing Secretary of State John Kerry of "Chamberlain-esque capitulation".

 

Donelson resides in Tanglewood, Houston, Texas, with his second wife of over twenty years, Deena; Deena works as an advisor to Exxon C.E.O. Rex Tillerson, and the two had met when Donelson was visiting the Houston office as Bush's Legislative Director in 1995. He has three children; two with his first wife Beth, who Donelson filed for divorce from due to "irrevocable differences" in 1985, and one with Deena. Son Lane was a leader of the College Republicans at Texas A&M University, a leader in the Texas Tea Party movement, and now works as a lobbyist in Washington, son Andy owns a contracting service and daughter Natalie is attending Rice University. Donelson, despite somewhat of a spat following the end of George W. Bush's term with the family, still largely keeps in touch with the Bush family. According to 2015 tax forms and federal disclosure documents, Donelson is worth roughly $92.5 million dollars, making him one of the Senate's wealthier members, and reportedly received somewhere between $7.5 and 10 million dollars in his ExxonMobil exit package.

 

Notable Votes:

13th Congress 2013-2015

Violence Against Women Act Reauthorization: Aye

Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013: Nay

114th Congress 2015-2017

Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act of 2015: Nay

 

 

Points:

Male: 0 Points

66-70: 5 Points

Straight, divorced, with or without children: 15 Points

White/Caucasian: 0 Points

Evangelical or Mainline Protestant: 0 Points 

College Degree at Top University: 10 Points

Master's Degree (JD): 20 Points

Super-Rich (Top 1%): 5 Points

Business Executive: 20 points

State Political Staffer: 5 points
Federal Political Staffer: 10 points

Sub-Cabinet: 10 points per Presidential term

Edited March 28 by Abrams

[jakeakins]

welcome back!

[SWMissourian]

Welcome

[DMH]

Approved!

[Abrams]

On 3/26/2024 at 2:34 PM, DMH said:

Approved!

 

Thank you, and thank everyone for the warm welcome. Just FYI, I have added in my caucus, notable votes, and some other little tidbits.

[Xiomara]

Welcome back! Much love to my fellow Texans and Houstonians!

[Abrams]

Sign out. Waive the 24.

[Abrams]

10 hours ago, Abrams said:

Sign out. Waive the 24.

Nevermind this. I'm staying in.