Changes

|residence=[[Long Island]]

|residence=[[Long Island]]

|party=[[Republican Party|Republican]]​

|party=[[Republican Party|Republican]]​

|spouse=(1) Penelope D'Amato (married 1960-1995, divorced)<br>

|spouse=(1) Penelope D'Amato (married 1960–1995, divorced)<br>

Katuria Smith (married 2004-2018, separated)

Katuria Smith (married 2004–2018, separated)

|children=Six children​:<br>Four from first marriage<br>Two from second marriage<br>

|children=Six children​:<br>Four from first marriage<br>Two from second marriage<br>

'''Parents''':<br>

'''Parents''':<br>

In 1989, President [[George Herbert Walker Bush]] named D'Amato to the Commission on Aviation Security and Terrorism.​ He chaired the Senate Banking Committee and was a member of the Senate Finance Committee.<ref name=bioguide/> He became a leading critic of President [[Bill Clinton]] in the  [[Whitewater scandal]] and chaired the hearings of the special committee conducting the investigation into the matter. He supported efforts to assist [[Holocaust]] survivors in obtain their relatives' mony in Swiss bank accounts.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/society/dormant-accounts_how-switzerland-coped-with-holocaust-funds/44319054|title=How the Holocaust-Swiss banks deal was brokered|publisher=Swissinfo.ch|date=August 13, 2018|accessdate=May 27, 2020}}</ref>

In 1989, President [[George Herbert Walker Bush]] named D'Amato to the Commission on Aviation Security and Terrorism.​ He chaired the Senate Banking Committee and was a member of the Senate Finance Committee.<ref name=bioguide/> He became a leading critic of President [[Bill Clinton]] in the  [[Whitewater scandal]] and chaired the hearings of the special committee conducting the investigation into the matter. He supported efforts to assist [[Holocaust]] survivors in obtain their relatives' mony in Swiss bank accounts.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/society/dormant-accounts_how-switzerland-coped-with-holocaust-funds/44319054|title=How the Holocaust-Swiss banks deal was brokered|publisher=Swissinfo.ch|date=August 13, 2018|accessdate=May 27, 2020}}</ref>

Like [[Governor]] [[Thomas Dewey]], D'Amato was viewed as the "boss" of the New York Republican Party. He was instrumental in securing the 1994 gubernatorial nomination for [[George Pataki]], who unseated Democratic Governor [[Mario Cuomo]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30C12F93D5A0C768CDDA80994D0494D81 |publisher=''The New York Times''|author=Richard Perez-Pena |title=The 1998 Elections: New York State – The Parties – New Order for New York's G.O.P. and Democrats |date=November 5, 1998|accessdate=May 27, 2020}}</ref>​

Like [[Governor]] [[Thomas Dewey]], D'Amato was viewed as the "boss" of the New York Republican Party. He was instrumental in securing the 1994 gubernatorial nomination for [[George Pataki]], who unseated Democratic Governor [[Mario Cuomo]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30C12F93D5A0C768CDDA80994D0494D81 |publisher=''The New York Times''|author=Richard Perez-Pena |title=The 1998 Elections: New York State – The Parties – New Order for New York's G.O.P. and Democrats |date=November 5, 1998|accessdate=May 27, 2020}}</ref>​

D'Amato was mostly [[conservative]] in his early career. He backed  [[capital punishment]] and heavy sentences for [[narcotics]] offenses. In time he became more of a [[Moderate Republican]] and was one of only three senators of his party to vote to allow [[homosexual]]s  to serve openly in the U. S. military. In 1996, D'Amato voted for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, pushed by the Democrats. In his failed 1998 reelection bid, in which George Pataki nevertheless won a second term as governor, D'Amato was endorsed by the homosexual Human Rights Campaign.<ref>{{cite web|author=Adam Nagourney|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/21/nyregion/d-amato-wins-endorsement-of-gay-group.html|title=D'Amato Wins Endorsement Of Gay Group|publisher=''The New York Times''|date=October 21, 1998|accessdate=May 27, 2020}}</ref> In 1996, D'Amato,  voted for the [[Defense of Marriage Act]], which drew the opposition of liberals.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/104-1996/s280|title=H.R. 3396 (104th): Defense of Marriage Act -- Senate Vote #280 -- Sep 10, 1996|publisher=GovTrack.us|accessdate=May 27, 2020}}</ref>

D'Amato was mostly [[conservative]] in his early career. He backed  [[capital punishment]] and heavy sentences for [[narcotics]] offenses. In time he became more of a [[Moderate Republican]] and was one of only three senators of his party to vote to allow [[homosexual]]s  to serve openly in the U. S. military. In 1996, D'Amato voted for the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, pushed by the Democrats. In his failed 1998 reelection bid, in which George Pataki nevertheless won a second term as governor, D'Amato was endorsed by the homosexual Human Rights Campaign.<ref>{{cite web|author=Adam Nagourney|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/21/nyregion/d-amato-wins-endorsement-of-gay-group.html|title=D'Amato Wins Endorsement Of Gay Group|publisher=''The New York Times''|date=October 21, 1998|accessdate=May 27, 2020}}</ref> In 1996, D'Amato,  voted for the [[Defense of Marriage Act]], which drew the opposition of liberals.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/104-1996/s280|title=H.R. 3396 (104th): Defense of Marriage Act -- Senate Vote #280 -- Sep 10, 1996|publisher=GovTrack.us|accessdate=May 27, 2020}}</ref>