Rob Portman | |
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![]() Official portrait, 2018 | |
United States Senator from Ohio | |
In office January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2023 | |
Preceded by | George Voinovich |
Succeeded by | JD Vance |
Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee | |
In office February 3, 2021 – January 3, 2023 | |
Preceded by | Gary Peters |
Succeeded by | Rand Paul |
35th Director of the Office of Management and Budget | |
In office May 29, 2006 – June 19, 2007 | |
President | George W. Bush |
Deputy | Steve McMillin |
Preceded by | Joshua Bolten |
Succeeded by | Jim Nussle |
14th United States Trade Representative | |
In office May 17, 2005 – May 29, 2006 | |
President | George W. Bush |
Preceded by | Robert Zoellick |
Succeeded by | Susan Schwab |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Ohio's 2nd district | |
In office May 4, 1993 – April 29, 2005 | |
Preceded by | Bill Gradison |
Succeeded by | Jean Schmidt |
White House Director of Legislative Affairs | |
In office September 25, 1989 – April 12, 1991 | |
President | George H. W. Bush |
Preceded by | Gordon Wheeler |
Succeeded by | Stephen Hart |
Personal details | |
Born | Robert Jones Portman December 19, 1955 Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse |
Jane Dudley (m. 1986) |
Children | 3 |
Education | Dartmouth College (BA) University of Michigan (JD) |
Signature | ![]() |
Robert Jones Portman (born December 19, 1955) is an American attorney and politician who served as a United States senator from Ohio from 2011 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Portman was the 35th director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) from 2006 to 2007, the 14th United States trade representative from 2005 to 2006, and a U.S. representative from 1993 to 2005, representing Ohio's 2nd district.
In 1993, Portman won a special election to represent Ohio's 2nd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives. He was reelected six times before resigning upon his appointment by President George W. Bush as the U.S. trade representative in May 2005. As trade representative, Portman initiated trade agreements with other countries and pursued claims at the World Trade Organization. In May 2006, Bush appointed Portman the director of the Office of Management and Budget.
In 2010, Portman announced his candidacy for the United States Senate seat being vacated by George Voinovich. He easily defeated then-Lieutenant Governor Lee Fisher and was reelected in 2016. On January 25, 2021, he announced that he would not seek a third term in 2022.[1]
After leaving office in 2023, Portman founded The Portman Center for Policy Solutions at the University of Cincinnati.[2] He currently serves as a Distinguished Visiting Fellow in the Practice of Public Policy at the American Enterprise Institute.[3]