The Gang of Seven refers to a group of freshmen Republican U.S. Representatives, elected to serve in the 102nd Congress in 1990. The group loudly condemned the House banking scandal and the Congressional Post Office scandal, forcing the congressional leadership to address the issues by ensuring the incidents stayed in the media and public eye. The group also criticized other Congressional perks, such as congressional subsidies for the Capitol Barbershop and Senate Restaurant.A Rabble-Rouser, Then and Now
New York Times,

Carl Hulse Carl E. Hulse (born October 19, 1954) is the chief Washington correspondent for ''The New York Times'' and managing editor of First Draft, a political news stream and morning email newsletter. His regular ''New York Times'' column "On Washingt ...

, 4 July 2009 Two members of this group, Jim Nussle and

John Boehner John Andrew Boehner ( ; born , 1949) is an American retired politician who served as the 53rd speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2011 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served 13 terms as the U.S. represe ...

, were also key drafters of the

Contract with America The Contract with America was a legislative agenda advocated for by the Republican Party during the 1994 congressional election campaign. Written by Newt Gingrich and Dick Armey, and in part using text from former President Ronald Reagan's 19 ...

, which along with the banking and post office scandals helped the Republicans take control of the House in the 1994 elections.

Primary activities

The House banking scandal broke in early 1992, when it was revealed that the United States House of Representatives allowed members to overdraw their House checking accounts without risk of being penalized by the House bank (actually a clearinghouse). The House banking scandal ultimately involved more than 450 representatives, most of whom did not break any laws. Twenty-two congressmen and -women were singled out by the

House Ethics Committee The Committee on Ethics, often known simply as the Ethics Committee, is one of the committees of the United States House of Representatives. Prior to the 112th Congress it was known as the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct. The House Et ...

for leaving their checking accounts overdrawn for at least eight months out of a sample of 39 months. The Congressional Post Office scandal refers to the discovery of corruption among various Congressional Post Office employees and members of the United States House of Representatives, investigated from 1991–1995, climaxing in the conviction of House Ways and Means Committee chairman Dan Rostenkowski (D-IL). The

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

charges were largely ignored until July 1993, when Congressional

Postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

Robert Rota pleaded guilty to three criminal charges, implicating Representatives

Dan Rostenkowski Daniel David Rostenkowski (January 2, 1928 – August 11, 2010) was a United States Representative from Chicago, serving for 36 years, from 1959 to 1995. He became one of the most powerful legislators in Congress, especially in matters of ta ...

(D-IL) and

Joe Kolter Joseph Paul "Joe" Kolter (September 3, 1926 – September 8, 2019) was an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives for Pennsylvania from 1983 to 1993. Early life and career Kolter was ...

(D- PA). They were accused of heading a

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agr ...

to launder Post Office money through stamps and postal vouchers. Rostenkowski was convicted and sentenced to 18 months in prison, in 1995.Rostenkowski's Last Stand
, ''U.S. News & World Report'', May 22, 1994.

Members

The seven Representatives were: *

( OH-08) *

Rick Santorum Richard John Santorum ( ; born May 10, 1958) is an American politician, attorney, and political commentator. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a United States Senator from Pennsylvania from 1995 to 2007 and was the Senate's third ...

(

PA-18 PA18 may refer to: * Pennsylvania Route 18 * Pennsylvania's 18th congressional district * Pitcairn PA-18, an autogyro produced in 1932 * Piper PA-18 The Piper PA-18 Super Cub is a two-seat, single-engine monoplane. Introduced in 1949 by Piper ...

) * Charles H. Taylor (

NC-11 North Carolina's 11th congressional district encompasses most of Western North Carolina, Western North Carolina. Since January 3, 2021, the congressional district, district has been represented by Madison Cawthorn. Redistricting The 11th di ...

) *

Frank Riggs Frank Duncan Riggs (born September 5, 1950) is an American army veteran, former law enforcement officer, charter school executive, and politician from the states of California and Arizona. Early life Frank Riggs was born in Louisville, Kentuck ...

( CA-01) * Jim Nussle ( IA-02) * Scott Klug ( WI-02) *

John Doolittle John Taylor Doolittle (born October 30, 1950), is an attorney and an American politician. Elected to Congress in 1990, he served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1991 to 2009, representing (numbered as ...

(

CA-04 California's 4th congressional district is a U.S. congressional district in California. Tom McClintock, a Republican, has represented the district since January 2009. Currently, the 4th district encompasses the Sierras from Truckee to the ...

)

Subsequent careers

By 2015, none of the 'Gang' remained in Congress, following the retirement of Boehner. One of the seven successfully ran for higher office, one was defeated for re-election, and five retired. Rick Santorum was once considered a rising star in the Republican Party. He was the first of the Gang of Seven to run for higher office, and the only one who was successful, becoming the junior U.S. senator from Pennsylvania in the Republican landslide of 1994. Santorum served two terms in the Senate and rose to the level of

Senate Republican Conference The Senate Republican Conference is the formal organization of the Republican Senators in the United States Senate, who currently number 50. Over the last century, the mission of the conference has expanded and been shaped as a means of informi ...

chairman before being defeated by State Treasurer Bob Casey in 2006. He ran for the Republican nomination for president in 2012, where he did not win the nomination, and later ran in the

2016 Republican primary Presidential primaries and caucuses of the Republican Party took place within all 50 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, and five U.S. territories between February 1 and June 7, 2016. These elections selected the 2,472 delegates that were s ...

. Charles Taylor remained in the House for eight terms. He was defeated in 2006, losing to former NFL quarterback

Heath Shuler Joseph Heath Shuler (born December 31, 1971) is an American businessman, former NFL quarterback, and former U.S. Representative for from 2007 to 2013. He is a member of the Democratic Party and was a member of the Blue Dog Coalition during ...

. Two retired from the House to run for higher office. Frank Riggs left his House seat after three terms in 1998 to run unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate seat held by

Barbara Boxer Barbara Sue Boxer (née Levy; born November 11, 1940) is an American politician and lobbyist who served in the United States Senate, representing California from 1993 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as the U.S ...

. Jim Nussle retired in 2006 after eight terms to run for the open Iowa governor's seat but lost to Democratic candidate

Chet Culver Chester John Culver (born January 25, 1966) is an American politician who served one term as the 41st governor of Iowa, from 2007 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he had previously served as the 29th secretary of state of Iowa from 199 ...

. Nussle had served previously as chairman of the

House Budget Committee The United States House Committee on the Budget, commonly known as the House Budget Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. Its responsibilities include legislative oversight of the federal budget process, ...

and was then selected to serve as director of the

Office of Management and Budget The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is the largest office within the Executive Office of the President of the United States (EOP). OMB's most prominent function is to produce the president's budget, but it also examines agency programs, pol ...

(OMB) under President George W. Bush. Klug, Doolittle, and Boehner have returned to private life. Scott Klug chose to keep his initial campaign promise of only serving four terms and to refocus on his business. John Doolittle's reputation was tainted by involvement in the Jack Abramoff scandal and retired at the end of his ninth term in 2008. John Boehner became the

House Majority Leader Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives, also known as floor leaders, are congresspeople who coordinate legislative initiatives and serve as the chief spokespersons for their parties on the House floor. These leaders are e ...

in 2006, then

House Minority Leader Party leaders of the United States House of Representatives, also known as floor leaders, are congresspeople who coordinate legislative initiatives and serve as the chief spokespersons for their parties on the House floor. These leaders are el ...

in 2007 and then

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** In ...

in 2011 when Republicans won back majority control. He resigned from the position of Speaker October 31, 2015.

References

{{Reflist

External links

*Rick Hendersen
"The House Republican freshmen: always aggressive, sometimes obnoxious, hardly mono lithic"
''Reason Online''. *William McGurn
"Rubber congressmen - check bouncing scandal"
''National Review'', April 13, 1992. Republican Party (United States) 102nd United States Congress 1990 in American politics 1991 in American politics

Primary activities

Members

Subsequent careers

See also

References

External links