Judd Gregg

Judd Alan Gregg (born February 14, 1947) is an American politician, businessman and attorney who served as the 76th governor of New Hampshire from 1989 to 1993 and a United States senator from New Hampshire from 1993 to 2011 where he was Chairman of the Health Committee and the Budget Committee. He also served in the United States House of Representatives from 1981 to 1989 and the New Hampshire Executive Council from 1979 to 1981.

A member of the Republican Party, he was a businessman and attorney in Nashua before entering politics. Gregg currently serves as the Chair of the Public Advisory Board at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College.

Gregg was nominated for Secretary of Commerce in the Cabinet by President Barack Obama, but withdrew his name on February 12, 2009. He chose not to run for reelection to the Senate in 2010; former State Attorney General Kelly Ayotte, also a Republican, was elected to succeed him.

On May 27, 2011, Goldman Sachs announced that Gregg had been named an international advisor to the firm. In May 2013, Gregg was named the CEO of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, a Wall Street lobbying group. He later stepped down as CEO in December 2013 and became a senior adviser.

Born in Nashua, New Hampshire, he is the son of Catherine Gregg (née Warner) and Hugh Gregg, who was Governor from 1953 to 1955. Gregg graduated from Phillips Exeter Academy in 1965. Gregg received his baccalaureate from Columbia University in 1969 and, from Boston University School of Law, a Juris Doctor in 1972 and a Master of Laws in 1975. In 1969, during the Vietnam War, Gregg received a 1-Y draft deferment due to having bad knees.

The first elective office held by Gregg was a seat on the Executive Council of New Hampshire, a post which he held from 1979 to 1981. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1980, and was reelected in 1982, 1984 and 1986.

He declined to run for re-election in 1988, and ran for Governor of New Hampshire instead. He won that election and was re-elected in 1990, New Hampshire being one of two states (Vermont is the other) that continues to elect its governors to two-year, rather than four-year, terms. As Governor, he balanced the budget, leaving the office in 1993 with a $21 million surplus. However, his political opponents in the 1990s attacked Judd for the state's weak economy and his Vietnam War deferments.

In 1992, Gregg decided to run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by two-term Republican Warren Rudman. He defeated Democrat John Rauh, and took his seat as a United States Senator in 1993. He was re-elected to a second term in 1998 after defeating George Condodemetraky. He ran for a third term in 2004 and defeated campaign finance activist Doris "Granny D" Haddock, the then 94-year-old Democratic nominee, by 66% to 34%.

After withdrawing from his nomination to become United States Secretary of Commerce in the presidential administration of Democrat Barack Obama on February 12, 2009, Gregg said he would "probably not" seek reelection in 2010, when his term of office was set to expire.

In January 2005, Gregg was elected to chair the U.S. Senate Committee on Budget by the Senate Republican Conference, and steadfastly supported lower spending.

On November 14, 2008, Gregg was appointed by United States Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to serve on the five-member Congressional Oversight Panel created to oversee the implementation of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act. Gregg "stepped aside" on December 1, citing his Senate workload:

I regret that due to the impending Senate schedule involving the potential of dealing with an extremely large stimulus package, coupled with the ongoing issues of developing fiscal policy relative to the budget and the continuing economic downturn and my responsibility for foreign operations appropriations, it has become difficult to continue service on the TARP oversight board. I have advised Senator McConnell I will need to step aside from this effort.

On February 2, 2009, Politico and CNN reported that Gregg accepted President Obama's offer to be the next United States Secretary of Commerce. If Gregg had been confirmed by the Senate, he would have had to resign his Senate seat and be replaced with an appointment by Democratic Governor John Lynch. Sources from both parties confirmed that Gregg's former chief of staff, Republican Bonnie Newman, would have been chosen to replace him. The Washington Post had alleged that Gregg would not accept the appointment unless Governor Lynch agreed to appoint a Republican to fill his seat until 2010. In February 2009, many news outlets noted that Gregg had in 1995 voted to abolish the United States Department of Commerce. Although Gregg stated that he supported the stimulus package promoted by President Obama, he clarified that he would recuse himself from voting on the package.

With reports that the Obama Administration would move the United States Census Bureau, typically run by the Commerce Department, out of Gregg's jurisdiction, Republican leaders urged Obama to allow Gregg to run the census or withdraw Gregg's nomination. On February 12, 2009, Gregg withdrew his name from consideration for the position of United States Commerce Secretary, citing disagreements with issues surrounding the census and the stimulus bill. White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs issued a statement regarding Gregg's withdrawal in which he accused the senator of not following through on his alleged statements of support for Obama's economic agenda made during the vetting process:

Senator Gregg reached out to the President and offered his name for Secretary of Commerce. He was very clear throughout the interviewing process that despite past disagreements about policies, he would support, embrace, and move forward with the President's agenda. Once it became clear after his nomination that Senator Gregg was not going to be supporting some of President Obama's key economic priorities, it became necessary for Senator Gregg and the Obama administration to part ways. We regret that he has had a change of heart.

While speaking to press afterward, Gregg acknowledged responsibility for his decision and accepted the blame for accepting and then rejecting the Commerce Secretary nomination.

In an interview response to the AP, Gregg was quoted as saying,

Gregg belongs to the Congregationalist Church. He is married to Kathleen MacLellan Gregg. They have two daughters, Molly and Sarah, and a son, Joshua.

Gregg won more than $850,000 in 2005 from the D.C. Lottery after buying $20 worth of Powerball tickets at a Washington, D.C. convenience store.