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Robert D. Lenhard is a senior attorney in the Election and Political Law Practice Group of Covington & Burling. He formerly served as Chairman of the Federal Election Commission, the United States government agency that administers and enforces the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA), the statute that governs the financing of federal elections. Lenhard was appointed to his FEC position via a recess appointment by George W. Bush on January 4, 2006. [1]
Lenhard is a 1981 graduate of the Johns Hopkins University where he earned a B.A. with Honors, and a 1984 graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles School of Law.
Lenhard was an associate general counsel with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) from 1991 until he became a member of the Federal Election Commission. At AFSCME, he was responsible for legal issues related to federal and state election laws. His work included counseling the union on federal and state campaign finance issues, litigating enforcement actions before the FEC and state agencies, and providing training to field staff on federal and state election law issues. Prior to becoming an Associate General Counsel at AFSCME, Lenhard was an associate at the law firm of Kirschner, Weinberg & Dempsey, where he represented AFSCME and other labor unions. Prior to that, Mr. Lenhard worked for the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) and the Amalgamated Clothing and Textile Workers Union (ACTWU). After graduating from law school, Lenhard worked as an associate at the Los Angeles law firm of Grace, Neumeyer & Otto.
Lenhard is co-leading legal offensives on behalf of the Democratic Party against third-party candidates in the 2024 United States presidential election, alongside former White House Counsel Dana Remus. [2]
In the United States, a political action committee (PAC) is a tax-exempt 527 organization that pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaigns for or against candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation. The legal term PAC was created in pursuit of campaign finance reform in the United States. Democracies of other countries use different terms for the units of campaign spending or spending on political competition. At the U.S. federal level, an organization becomes a PAC when it receives or spends more than $1,000 for the purpose of influencing a federal election, and registers with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), according to the Federal Election Campaign Act as amended by the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002. At the state level, an organization becomes a PAC according to the state's election laws.
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is an independent agency of the federal government of the United States that enforces U.S. labor law in relation to collective bargaining and unfair labor practices. Under the National Labor Relations Act of 1935, the NLRB has the authority to supervise elections for labor union representation and to investigate and remedy unfair labor practices. Unfair labor practices may involve union-related situations or instances of protected concerted activity.
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose purpose is to enforce campaign finance law in United States federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Campaign Act, the commission describes its duties as "to disclose campaign finance information, to enforce the provisions of the law such as the limits and prohibitions on contributions, and to oversee the public funding of Presidential elections."
The Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002, commonly known as the McCain–Feingold Act or BCRA, is a United States federal law that amended the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, which regulates the financing of political campaigns. Its chief sponsors were senators Russ Feingold (D-WI) and John McCain (R-AZ). The law became effective on 6 November 2002, and the new legal limits became effective on January 1, 2003.
An independent expenditure, in elections in the United States, is a political campaign communication that expressly advocates for the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate that is not made in cooperation, consultation or concert with; or at the request or suggestion of a candidate, candidate's authorized committee, or political party. If a candidates agent, authorized committee, party, or an "agent" for one of these groups becomes "materially involved", the expenditure is not independent.
Michael Chertoff is an American-Israeli attorney who was the second United States Secretary of Homeland Security to serve under President George W. Bush. Chertoff also served for one additional day under President Barack Obama. He was the co-author of the USA PATRIOT Act. Chertoff previously served as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, as a federal prosecutor, and as Assistant U.S. Attorney General. He succeeded Tom Ridge as U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security on February 15, 2005.
Donald Hiss, also known as "Donie" and "Donnie", was the younger brother of Alger Hiss. Donald Hiss's name was mentioned during the 1948 hearings wherein his more famous and older brother, Alger, was accused of spying for the Soviet Union, and two years later convicted of perjury before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC).
The financing of electoral campaigns in the United States happens at the federal, state, and local levels by contributions from individuals, corporations, political action committees, and sometimes the government. Campaign spending has risen steadily at least since 1990. For example, a candidate who won an election to the House of Representatives in 1990 spent on average $407,600, while the winner in 2022 spent on average $2.79 million; in the Senate, average spending for winning candidates went from $3.87 million to $26.53 million.
The United States Office of Special Counsel (OSC) is a permanent independent federal investigative and prosecutorial agency whose basic legislative authority comes from four federal statutes: the Civil Service Reform Act, the Whistleblower Protection Act, the Hatch Act, and the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act (USERRA). OSC's primary mission is the safeguarding of the merit system in federal employment by protecting employees and applicants from prohibited personnel practices (PPPs), especially reprisal for "whistleblowing." The agency also operates a secure channel for federal whistleblower disclosures of violations of law, rule, or regulation; gross mismanagement; gross waste of funds; abuse of authority; and substantial and specific danger to public health and safety. In addition, OSC issues advice on the Hatch Act and enforces its restrictions on partisan political activity by government employees. Finally, OSC protects the civilian employment and reemployment rights of military service members under USERRA. OSC has around 140 staff, and the Special Counsel is an ex officio member of Council of Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency (CIGIE), an association of inspectors general charged with the regulation of good governance within the federal government.
Bernard William Nussbaum was an American attorney, best known for having served as White House Counsel under President Bill Clinton.
James Harry Covington was a United States representative from Maryland and chief justice of the Supreme Court of the District of Columbia. He founded the major law firm of Covington & Burling.
Covington & Burling LLP is an American multinational law firm. Known as a white-shoe law firm, it is headquartered in Washington, D.C., and advises clients on transactional, litigation, regulatory, and public policy matters. The firm has additional offices in Beijing, Brussels, Frankfurt, Dubai, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, New York, Palo Alto, San Francisco, Seoul, Shanghai, and Boston.
David J. Leland is a judge of the Ohio District Court of Appeals for the 10th District, elected in 2022. He was formerly a member of the Ohio House of Representatives representing the 22nd House district, and a partner at litigation law firm Carpenter Lipps & Leland LLP in Columbus, Ohio. Leland is the former Ohio Democratic Party Chair, a position he held from 1995 until 2002. Leland also served as the finance chair and senior advisor to the successful 2006 gubernatorial campaign of Ted Strickland, for which he helped raise a record $17 million.
Matthew Spencer Petersen is an American attorney who served as a member of the United States Federal Election Commission. In 2017, he was nominated by President Donald Trump to be a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Petersen withdrew his nomination following a confrontational exchange with Senator John Kennedy during his confirmation hearing. On August 26, 2019, Petersen announced his resignation from the FEC, effective August 31. In September 2019, Petersen joined the law firm Holtzman Vogel Josefiak Torchinsky as a partner where he practices political law.
David Marchick is an American attorney, businessman, academic, and diplomat who serves as dean of the Kogod School of Business at American University. He previously served as chief operating officer of the United States International Development Finance Corporation during the first year of the Biden administration. He previously served as director of the Center for Presidential Transition, as a senior executive at The Carlyle Group and in four departments in the Clinton administration. He is the co-author of the book, "The Peaceful Transfer of Power: An Oral History of America's Presidential Transitions", published by UVA press.
Ann Miller Ravel is an American attorney who was a Democratic Commissioner on the Federal Election Commission (FEC), an independent regulatory agency created by Congress to administer and enforce campaign finance law.
Lee E. Goodman was a member and former chair of the Federal Election Commission (FEC), an independent regulatory agency created by Congress to administer and enforce campaign finance law.
John Lord O'Brian was an American lawyer who held public offices in the administrations of five U.S. presidents between 1909 and 1945. O'Brian has been recognized by scholars for his commitment to civil liberties. At the time of O'Brian's death at the age of 98, Chief Justice Warren Burger described him as the "dean" of the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Robert Emmet Lighthizer is an American attorney and government official who was the United States Trade Representative in the Donald Trump administration from 2017 to 2021.
Sean Joseph Cooksey is a Commissioner and the current Chairman of the Federal Election Commission.
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