Patrick Leahy

Patrick Leahy
Official portrait, c. 2021
United States Senator from Vermont
In office January 3, 1975 – January 3, 2023
Preceded by	George Aiken
Succeeded by	Peter Welch
President pro tempore of the United States Senate
In office January 20, 2021 – January 3, 2023
Preceded by	Chuck Grassley
Succeeded by	Patty Murray
In office December 17, 2012 – January 3, 2015
Preceded by	Daniel Inouye
Succeeded by	Orrin Hatch
President pro tempore emeritus of the United States Senate
In office January 3, 2015 – January 20, 2021
Preceded by	Ted Stevens (2009)
Succeeded by	Chuck Grassley
State's Attorney of Chittenden County, Vermont
In office May 10, 1966 – January 2, 1975
Preceded by	John Fitzpatrick
Succeeded by	Francis Murray
Personal details
Born	(1940-03-31) March 31, 1940 (age 84) Montpelier, Vermont, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Marcelle Pomerleau ​ (m. 1962)​
Children	3
Education	Saint Michael's College (BA) Georgetown University (JD)
Signature
Patrick Leahy's voice Patrick Leahy on issues with making English the country's sole national language Recorded May 18, 2006

Patrick Joseph Leahy, OBE (/ˈleɪhi/ LAY-hee; born March 31, 1940) is an American politician and attorney who represented Vermont in the United States Senate from 1975 to 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, he also was the president pro tempore of the United States Senate from 2012 to 2015 and from 2021 to 2023.

Leahy was the third-longest-serving U.S. senator in history at 48 years, and was the longest-serving member of the United States Congress to serve solely as a senator. During his tenure he chaired the Senate Appropriations Committee, the Senate Judiciary Committee and the Senate Agriculture Committee. In March 2022, he became the most senior member of Congress. At the time of his retirement, Leahy was the dean of Vermont's congressional delegation, Vermont's longest-serving U.S. senator, and the first Democrat ever elected to the U.S. Senate from Vermont. Leahy was succeeded by Peter Welch, who became the second Democrat to represent Vermont in the Senate.

Leahy's signature piece of legislation is the Leahy Law forbidding the United States from funding foreign military units which violate human rights. Leahy was the presiding officer at Donald Trump's second impeachment trial, becoming the first senator to preside over a former president's impeachment trial. In 2023, Patrick Leahy Burlington International Airport was renamed after him.