Phil Gramm

William Philip “Phil” Gramm
United States Senator from Texas
In office January 3, 1985 – November 30, 2002
Preceded by	John Tower
Succeeded by	John Cornyn
United States Representative for Texas' 6th Congressional District
In office February 12, 1983 – January 3, 1985
Preceded by	(himself)
Succeeded by	Joe Barton
In office January 3, 1979 – January 5, 1983
Preceded by	Olin "Tiger" Teague
Succeeded by	(himself)
Born	July 8, 1942 Fort Benning, Georgia, USA
Political party	Democrat-turned-Republican (switched in 1983)
Spouse(s)	Wendy Lee Gramm
Children	Marshall Gramm Jeff Gramm
Occupation	Economics professor Economics consultant
Religion	Episcopalian

William Philip Gramm (born July 8, 1942), known as Phil Gramm, is an American politician from San Antonio, Texas. Born in Georgia and a three-degree graduate of the University of Georgia at Athens, Gramm was elected in 1978 as a Democrat to the Ninety-sixth Congress for the district including Bryan and College Station, at which he was a member of the economics faculty at Texas A&M University.

Political career

U.S. House of Representatives

After being re-elected in 1982, Gramm was tossed out of the House Budget Committee. In retaliation, he resigned from his post on January 5, 1983 to run for the same seat as a Republican. The resulting special election triggered by his resignation was won by him on February 12, 1983.

U.S. Senate

He was elected as a Republican to the United States Senate in 1984; reelected in 1990 and again in 1996 and served from January 3, 1985, to November 30, 2002, when he resigned. He held the seat filled by Republican John Tower from 1961 to 1985.

Post-congressional

He was campaign co-chair and a senior economic adviser to John McCain's presidential campaign from the summer of 2007 until July 18, 2008. He stepped down after he publicly stated that "We have sort of become a nation of whiners, you just hear this constant whining, complaining about a loss of competitiveness, America in decline." McCain's opponent, then Senator Barack H. Obama, stated, "America already has one Dr. Phil. We don't need another one when it comes to the economy. ... This economic downturn is not in your head."