David Dreier

In 1978, Dreier ran for the United States House of Representatives at the age of 25. He challenged incumbent Democrat James Fredrick Lloyd, who had first won in a Republican-leaning district in 1974. Though unknown and living in Phillips Hall at Claremont McKenna College,[4] Dreier ran a spirited campaign. Lloyd won that race 54% to 46%, less than expected.

In 1980, Dreier ran again and defeated Lloyd 52% to 45%, winning on the coattails of former California Governor Ronald Reagan's presidential election.[5] Dreier was sworn into office as one of the youngest members of the House of Representatives in U.S. history.[1]

After the 1980 United States Census, his district was renumbered to the 33rd. Dreier defeated Congressman Wayne Grisham 57% to 43% in the Republican primary of 1982.[6] Dreier became the first person ever to defeat two incumbent members of Congress in back to back elections. He won the 1982 general election with 65% of the vote.[7] He won re-election every two years after that with at least 57% of the vote until his 2004 re-election. His district was renumbered to the 28th after the 1990 United States Census and to the 26th district after the 2000 United States Census.[8]

In 2004, Dreier faced strong criticism for his position on illegal immigration from opponent Cynthia Matthews and several talk radio hosts who felt he was not tough enough on illegal immigrants.[9]

Dreier won with 54% of the vote.[10][11]

In 2006, he won reelection in a rematch against Matthews 57% to 38%, despite the fact that Republicans lost the majority that year.[12]

In 2008, Dreier won reelection against Democrat Russ Warner with 53% of the vote.[13][14]

In 2010, he defeated Warner in a rematch with 54% of the vote.[15] Dreier ceased all campaign fundraising for more than a year, leading many to believe that he was planning to leave Congress.[16]

After the 2010 United States Census, the voter-created California Citizens Redistricting Commission renumbered Dreier's district as the 31st district, and reconfigured it as a Democratic-leaning, majority-Latino district.[17] Dreier chose not to run for reelection in 2012 and encouraged his Republican colleague Gary Miller to move into the 31st after Miller's old district was merged with the district of another Republican, Ed Royce.[16]

Dreier (center), President Ronald Reagan (left), and Hazrat Khan (right)—an Afghan boy who was shot by a Soviet helicopter—meet in the Oval Office on January 28, 1988

Dreier is the youngest chairman of the House Rules Committee in U.S. history.[18][2] As well as being the only Californian to hold that position, he is the third-longest-serving chairman of the Rules Committee (1999 to 2007 and 2011 to 2013) and the longest-serving chairman since 1967. When the Democrats gained control of the House in the 2006 midterm elections, Dreier served as ranking member for the 110th and 111th Congresses. With the Republicans regaining control of the House in the 2010 midterm elections, Dreier again assumed the chairmanship during the 112th Congress.[19]

Beginning with Dreier's chairmanship in 1999, the Speaker of the House of Representatives appoints the chairman of the Rules Committee to the elected House leadership.

Following the indictment of Tom DeLay on September 28, 2005, Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert asked Dreier to assume temporarily the position of House Majority Leader, as Dreier had consistently adhered to the views of the Republican leadership on many issues and would have been willing to relinquish the title immediately should DeLay have been able to return to the Majority Leader position. However, a conference of rank-and-file Republican representatives disapproved of the choice of Dreier largely because many conservative members believed that Dreier was too politically moderate. According to Dreier spokeswoman Jo Maney, Dreier did not seek the temporary Majority Leader position because he "would have had to give up his chairmanship of the Rules Committee to move to another position, and that's not something that he wanted to do".[20]

The House Majority Leader position instead went to then-Majority Whip Roy Blunt of Missouri, though both Dreier and then-Deputy Majority Whip Eric Cantor of Virginia shared in some duties.[21]

Dreier at the Walnut Family Festival Parade in Walnut, California on October 14, 2006

Along with House colleagues Jim Kolbe and Jerry Lewis, Dreier was the first member of Congress to propose a North American free trade agreement in 1987.[22] He was instrumental in the creation and passage of what became NAFTA in 1993.[23][24] During the signing ceremony for NAFTA, President Bill Clinton recognized Dreier's contribution to the ultimate success of the legislation.[25]

Dreier opposed President Donald Trump's threats to abandon NAFTA, instead advocating for an updated NAFTA, which would include digital trade, among other subjects.[26]

He has been a longstanding supporter of closer ties between the United States and countries of Latin America and has met frequently with executive and legislative branch leaders throughout the region. He has received the nation's highest honors from the presidents of Colombia, Mexico, and Nicaragua.[27] On August 28, 2007, while building support for the United States–Colombia Free Trade Agreement, Dreier addressed the Colombian parliament.[28] Dreier drew criticism from some opposition lawmakers when he sat on the edge of a podium during informal remarks to the legislators. Dreier later apologized and insisted he intended no disrespect. In comments released on August 30, 2007, Dreier said, "I meant absolutely no offense. I simply wanted to demonstrate my warm feeling and affection."[29]

Dreier was founder and first chairman of the House Democracy Partnership (HDP), which works to strengthen parliaments in new and re-emerging democracies on six continents.[30] Dreier also founded the bipartisan House Trade Working Group, working closely with five U.S. presidents of both parties on every free trade agreement into which the United States has entered.[31] Dreier was a member of the Republican Main Street Partnership.[32]

Dreier initially supported the bipartisan Defense of Marriage Act, signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 1996.[33] Joining columnists like William Raspberry in opposing "thought police,"[34] Dreier voted against the Matthew Shepard Act that expanded federal hate-crimes law to include crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.[35] Dreier initially supported the Don't ask, don't tell policy, which prevented LGBT members of the armed forces from serving openly.[36] However, in December 2010, Dreier voted in favor of legislation that repealed the policy.[37][38] Dreier opposed a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.[39]

Dreier served as the co-chair of Arnold Schwarzenegger's 2003 California gubernatorial campaign. He also was the chairman of Governor-elect Schwarzenegger's transition team following the 2003 California gubernatorial recall election. Dreier was a national co-chair of Mayor Rudy Giuliani's 2008 presidential bid.[40]

Members of a congressional delegation that met with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in Islamabad in 2007. From left to right: Rep. Joe Wilson (R-South Carolina), Rep. Darrell Issa (R-California), President Musharraf, Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tennessee), and Dreier.

He served as parliamentarian for four Republican National Conventions.[41]

Chairman of the Committee on Rules (1999-2007, 2011–2013)

• Committee on Rules (1991-2013)
  • Subcommittee on Legislative and Budget Process
  • Subcommittee on Rules and the Organization of the House
• Committee on Banking, Finance and Urban Affairs (July 1981 – 1991)
• Committee on Government Operations (January 1981-July 1981)
• Committee on Small Business (1981-1991)

• International Conservation Caucus
• Sportsmen's Caucus
• U.S.-Mexico Congressional Caucus (co-chair)
• Zero Capital Gains Tax Caucus

As of January 2019, Dreier was named chairman of the board of Tribune Publishing Company,[49][50] succeeding former Tribune Publishing CEO Justin Dearborn. Dreier has served on the Tribune Publishing board since 2016.

In February 2020, Dreier stepped down as chairman of the company. He left the board in June 2020.[51]

On June 26, 2019, Dreier founded the Fallen Journalists Memorial Foundation (FJM Foundation), the main objective of which is to build a permanent memorial near the National Mall in Washington, D.C. to commemorate journalists who have been killed.[52] One year earlier on June 28, 2018, the offices of Capital Gazette Communications, home to The Capital newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland, became the site of the deadliest attack against journalists in United States history when five were gunned down in their office. This mass shooting at The Capital, owned by Tribune Publishing Company, inspired Dreier to launch the FJM project.[53] He serves as the chairman of the FJM Foundation.