John M. McHugh

John M. McHugh
21st United States Secretary of the Army
Incumbent
Assumed office September 21, 2009
President	Barack Obama
Preceded by	Pete Geren
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 23rd district
In office January 3, 2003 – September 21, 2009
Preceded by	Sherwood Boehlert
Succeeded by	Bill Owens
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 24th district
In office January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2003
Preceded by	Gerald B. H. Solomon
Succeeded by	Sherwood Boehlert
New York State Senator from the 46th district
In office 1985–1992
Preceded by	H. Douglas Barclay
Succeeded by	James W. Wright
Personal details
Born	September 29, 1948 (1948-09-29) Watertown, New York
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Katherine Sullivan (divorced)
Residence	Pierrepont Manor, New York
Alma mater	Utica College (B.A.) SUNY, Albany (M.P.A)
Occupation	Insurance Broker Government Worker
Religion	Roman Catholic

John Michael McHugh (born September 29, 1948) is the 21st United States Secretary of the Army and a former Republican politician from the state of New York, who represented the state's 23rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives.

On June 2, 2009, President Barack Obama nominated him to the position of United States Secretary of the Army. The United States Senate confirmed McHugh in a voice vote on September 16, 2009. He was sworn in as the 21st Secretary of the Army at a Pentagon ceremony on September 21, 2009.

Early life and career

McHugh was born in Watertown, New York. He graduated from Watertown High School in 1966 and went on to Utica College where he graduated with a B.A. in political science in 1970. He later went on to receive a Master of Public Administration degree from the Nelson A. Rockefeller Graduate School of Public Affairs at the State University of New York at Albany in 1977.^{[citation needed]}

McHugh served as an assistant to Watertown's city manager from 1971 to 1977. He then served as an aide to State Senator H. Douglas Barclay from 1977 to 1984, when he was elected as his successor. He served as a member of the State Senate until his election to Congress.^{[citation needed]}

Congressional career

McHugh as a Congressman

He ran successfully for the U.S. House of Representatives in 1992 to replace Congressman David O'Brien Martin in the 24th district, which was renumbered as the 23rd district after the 2000 census. This part of Upstate New York has historically been very Republican at the congressional level, though it has recently become more competitive in presidential elections. The district (and its predecessors) has been in Republican hands continuously since 1871, and some parts of the district have not been represented by a Democrat since 1851. McHugh has been reelected eight times with no substantive opposition, even running unopposed in 2002.^{[citation needed]}

McHugh was the ranking Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, and is also a senior member of the Oversight and Government Reform Committee. He was chairman of the Oversight Committee's Post Office Subcommittee for six years, and worked to pass legislation to significantly reform the U.S. Postal Service for the first time since it was demoted from a Cabinet-rank department with passage of the Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act (P.L. 109-435) in 2006. He was a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence from 2005 to 2007.^{[citation needed]}

McHugh defeated his Democratic opponent, Dr. Robert J. Johnson, in 2004 and again in 2006. During the campaign, Dr. Johnson found himself unable to fly due to his name appearing on the No Fly List. At the time, Johnson speculated that he was added to the list because of his anti-war views and opposition to McHugh. McHugh's office denied any wrongdoing. A later CBS News investigation discovered that the name "Robert Johnson" appeared on the list due to its use as an alias by a man convicted of plotting bombings in Toronto. Several other men named Robert Johnson were affected by its inclusion.

McHugh was the only one of New York's eight Republican incumbents to win over 60% in 2006. The other seven were either defeated or were held below 60% by their Democratic challengers. McHugh defeated Democrat Mike Oot in 2008, garnering 65.3% of the vote.^{[citation needed]}

Political views

McHugh is a moderate Republican, which is typical for Republicans from New York. He has a lifetime rating of 71 from the American Conservative Union.^{[citation needed]}

McHugh voted "yes" along with only 7 other Republicans on the controversial American Clean Energy Act (also known as Cap and Trade) on June 26, 2009, only a few weeks after he was nominated by President Obama for the position of Secretary of the Army. The measure passed by only eight votes. McHugh never served in any branch of the military.^{[citation needed]}

Secretary of the Army

On 2 June 2009, McHugh was nominated to the position of Secretary of the Army, by President Barack Obama. He was sworn in as the 21st Secretary of the Army at a Pentagon ceremony on September 21, 2009. McHugh replaced the former Army Secretary, Pete Geren.

In March 2010 McHugh said that he would not pursue discharges against soldiers who tell him privately that they are gay. McHugh said he has talked to openly gay soldiers as part of assessing the force's opinion on the repeal of a controversial law that bans openly gay people from serving in the military. Under then current law, known as “Don't ask, don’t tell,” service members who declare that they are gay would have to be discharged, but McHugh indicated he would not pursue any discharges against soldiers who make those statements in private conversations with him.

In May 2010, McHugh was granted an honorary degree from the State University of New York Board of Trustees, to be presented during the commencement ceremonies at SUNY Oswego. When the decision to award McHugh the honorary degree was made public, the SUNY Oswego Pride Alliance, an LGBT student group, organized a protest to be held on campus during the ceremony. Following weeks of debate on campus, which included a Student Association Senate resolution condemning the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, McHugh withdrew from the ceremony, stating, "it is obvious that my presence at the ceremony might well have a disruptive effect."

Personal

McHugh is divorced from his wife, Katherine Sullivan. He has a home in the hamlet of Pierrepont Manor.

McHugh was voted one of the 50 most beautiful people on Capitol Hill by The Hill magazine.

See also

• List of U.S. political appointments that crossed party lines

External links

• Secretary of the Army, United States Army website

• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
• Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
• Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
• Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission

New York State Senate
Preceded by H. Douglas Barclay	New York State Senate, 46th District 1985–1992	Succeeded by James W. Wright
United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Gerald B. H. Solomon	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 24th congressional district 1993–2003	Succeeded by Sherwood Boehlert
Preceded by Sherwood Boehlert	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 23rd congressional district 2003–2009	Succeeded by Bill Owens
Government offices
Preceded by Pete Geren	United States Secretary of the Army September 21, 2009–present	Succeeded by Incumbent