Jeffrey Joseph Trandahl (born September 15, 1964) served as the thirty-third Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives. He was elected Clerk on January 6, 1999, and held office until November 18, 2005. After leaving office, he was appointed CEO and executive director of the

National Fish and Wildlife Foundation The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) is an American foundation that was chartered by Congress in 1984 to increase the resources available for the conservation of the nation's fish, wildlife, plants and habitats. Authority The Natio ...

, a non-profit conservation organization created by Congress in 1984.

Personal

Trandahl is a native of

Spearfish Spearfish may refer to: Places *Spearfish, South Dakota, United States * North Spearfish, South Dakota, United States * Spearfish Formation, a geologic formation in the United States Biology * ''Tetrapturus'', a genus of marlin containing spe ...

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota people, Lakota and Dakota peo ...

, and graduated from Spearfish High School in 1983. He received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

from the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

in 1987 and a Certificate in Management from

Harvard Kennedy School The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

Career

Trandahl began his congressional career in 1983 as an aide to Senator

James Abdnor Ellis James Abdnor (February 13, 1923 – May 16, 2012) was an American politician who served as a member of the United States Senate from South Dakota. He was also the 15th Administrator of the Small Business Administration under presidents Rona ...

(R-SD). From 1987 to 1990 and from 1990 to 1995, he was affiliated with the offices of Congresswoman Virginia Smith (R-NE) and Congressman

Pat Roberts Charles Patrick Roberts (born April 20, 1936) is a retired American politician and journalist who served as a United States senator from Kansas from 1997 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Roberts served 8 terms in the U.S. House of Re ...

(R-KS) and with the Committees on Appropriations and House Administration, respectively. In 1995, he joined the Office of the Clerk and served in various capacities. He was also the Acting Chief Administrative Officer of the House of Representatives from 1996 to 1997. On November 18, 2005, Trandahl resigned as Clerk to accept a position as the

executive director Executive director is commonly the title of the chief executive officer of a non-profit organization, government agency or international organization. The title is widely used in North American and European not-for-profit organizations, though ...

of the

. He was succeeded by Karen L. Haas. Trandahl was a

board member A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organi ...

Human Rights Campaign The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is an American LGBTQ advocacy group. It is the largest LGBTQ political lobbying organization within the United States. Based in Washington, D.C., the organization focuses on protecting and expanding rights for LGB ...

. HRC is a national LGBT rights group.

Mark Foley scandal

Trandahl was the Clerk of the House during the time in which

allegations In law, an allegation is a claim of an unproven fact by a party in a pleading, charge, or defense. Until they can be proved, allegations remain merely assertions.

against then-Representative

Mark Foley Mark Adam Foley (born September 8, 1954) is an American former politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives. He served from 1995 until 2006, representing the 16th District of Florida as a member of the Republic ...

by former House pages are said to have occurred. Trandahl confronted Foley at that time since it is the Clerk of the House's responsibility to effectively administer the House page system. He took great care to assure the safety of the pages. Later, he testified before 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 E ...

that he had warned the Speaker's office several times of his concerns about Congressman Foley's behavior toward them.

Miscellaneous

In 2015, Trandahl signed an

amicus brief An ''amicus curiae'' (; ) is an individual or organization who is not a party to a legal case, but who is permitted to assist a court by offering information, expertise, or insight that has a bearing on the issues in the case. The decision on ...

to the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

in favor of nationally legalizing

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Trandahl, Jeff 1964 births Clerks of the United States House of Representatives Living people People from Spearfish, South Dakota University of Maryland, College Park alumni Harvard Kennedy School alumni South Dakota Republicans LGBT appointed officials in the United States LGBT conservatism in the United States