Robert E. Lighthizer
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Robert Emmet Lighthizer (; born October 11, 1947) is an American attorney and government official who served as the
United States Trade Representative The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is an agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government responsible for developing and promoting Trade policy of the United States, American trade ...
from 2017 to 2021. After he graduated from Georgetown University Law Center in 1973, Lighthizer joined the firm of Covington and Burling in Washington, D.C. He left the firm in 1978 to serve as chief minority counsel and later staff director and chief of staff of the
Senate Committee on Finance The United States Senate Committee on Finance (or, less formally, Senate Finance Committee) is a standing committee of the United States Senate. The Committee concerns itself with matters relating to taxation and other revenue measures generall ...
under Chairman
Bob Dole Robert Joseph Dole (July 22, 1923 – December 5, 2021) was an American politician and attorney who represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996. He was the Republican Leader of the Senate during the final 11 years of his te ...
. In 1983, Robert Lighthizer was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve as Deputy U.S. Trade Representative for President
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
. In 1985, Lighthizer joined the Washington office of
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates is an American multinational law firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1948, the firm consistently ranks among the top U.S. law firms by revenue. The company is known for its wor ...
as a partner and led the firm's international trade group. On January 3, 2017, President-elect Donald Trump announced that he intended to nominate Lighthizer as his U.S. Trade Representative. Lighthizer was confirmed by the Senate on May 11, 2017, by a vote of 82–14. Along with other Cabinet-level officials in the Trump Administration, he left office on January 20, 2021, following the inauguration of President Joe Biden.


Early life and education

Lighthizer was born in 1947 to Orville James and Michaelene Lighthizer in Ashtabula, Ohio, where his father practiced medicine. He attended Gilmour Academy in Gates Mills, Ohio, and later graduated from Georgetown University with a Bachelor of Arts in 1969 and a
Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...
in 1973.


Career

After graduating from law school, Lighthizer joined
Covington & Burling Covington & Burling LLP is an American multinational law firm. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the firm advises clients on transactional, litigation, regulatory, and public policy matters. In 2021, Vault.com ranked Covington & Burling as th ...
in Washington D.C. as an associate attorney. In 1978, Lighthizer left Covington & Burling to work for Senator
Bob Dole Robert Joseph Dole (July 22, 1923 – December 5, 2021) was an American politician and attorney who represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996. He was the Republican Leader of the Senate during the final 11 years of his te ...
(R- Kan.), who at the time was the Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee. When Dole became Chairman of the Finance Committee in 1981, Lighthizer became the committee's staff director and chief of staff. In the 1980s, Lighthizer hired fellow Georgetown Hoya Patrick Ewing as an intern. In 1983, during the administration of President
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
, Lighthizer was nominated and confirmed to serve as Deputy U.S. Trade Representative under William Brock. During his tenure, Lighthizer negotiated over two dozen bilateral international agreements, including agreements on steel, automobiles, and agricultural products. As Deputy USTR, Lighthizer also served as Vice Chairman of the Board of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. In 1985, Lighthizer joined the law firm
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates is an American multinational law firm headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1948, the firm consistently ranks among the top U.S. law firms by revenue. The company is known for its wor ...
(Skadden) as a partner. He practiced international trade law at Skadden for over 30 years, representing American workers and businesses ranging from manufacturing to financial services, agriculture, and technology. While at Skadden, Lighthizer worked to expand markets to U.S. exports and defended U.S. industries from unfair trading practices. He defended the steel industry in particular. Lighthizer served in a senior position in the 1988 presidential campaign of U.S. Senator Bob Dole. In 1996, he served as the treasurer of the Dole campaign.


18th United States Trade Representative

On January 3, 2017, Donald Trump announced that he planned to nominate Lighthizer as U.S. Trade Representative, a cabinet-level position. On January 23, press reports speculated that Lighthizer's nomination might require a waiver of section 141(b)(4) of the
Trade Act of 1974 The Trade Act of 1974 (, codified at ) was passed to help industry in the United States become more competitive or phase workers into other industries or occupations. Fast track authority The Trade Act of 1974 created fast track authority for ...
, as amended, due to his brief representation of a foreign government in litigation 25 years prior. In March, White House Counsel
Donald McGahn Donald Francis McGahn II (; born June 16, 1968) is an American lawyer who served as White House Counsel for U.S. President Donald Trump, from the day of Trump's inauguration through October 17, 2018, when McGahn resigned. Previously, McGahn serv ...
sent a letter to Senate leadership citing a Clinton-era opinion by the White House Counsel arguing that the statute was an unconstitutional limit on the president's ability to appoint his cabinet. At his confirmation hearing, Lighthizer was introduced by former Senator Bob Dole and U.S. senators from Ohio Sherrod Brown and
Rob Portman Robert Jones Portman (born December 19, 1955) is an American attorney and politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from Ohio since 2011. A member of the Republican Party ...
. In introducing Lighthizer, Brown said, "Mr. Lighthizer is eminently qualified, as Senator Dole said, for this job. He has a long history of fighting on behalf of American manufacturers, and I would add, American workers." On April 25, the Senate Finance Committee unanimously approved Lighthizer's nomination to serve as the U.S. Trade Representative as well as a waiver of section 141(b)(4) of the Trade Act of 1974. Lighthizer was confirmed as the 18th U.S. Trade Representative on May 11, 2017, by a margin of 82–14. He was sworn in by
Vice President Mike Pence Michael Richard Pence (born June 7, 1959) is an American politician who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 50th ...
on May 15, 2017. Three days later, on May 18, Lighthizer notified Congress that President Trump intended to renegotiate the
North American Free Trade Agreement The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA ; es, Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte, TLCAN; french: Accord de libre-échange nord-américain, ALÉNA) was an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States that crea ...
(NAFTA), which would make him the first USTR to renegotiate a major U.S. free trade agreement. According to multiple reports, Lightizer became one of the most influential Trump Administration officials and the lead figure in formulating the administration's trade policy. The reports noted his agreement with Trump on trade issues. In April 2018, it was reported that Lightizer had spent $917,000 on new furnishings for two offices. Lighthizer said the upgrades had been initiated under former President Barack Obama to replace decades-old furniture, an assertion supported by vendors who supplied the new items.


Policy views


Tariffs

Lighthizer has stated that using tariffs to promote American industry was a Republican tenet dating back to the pro-business politicians who established the party. In a 2008 op-ed, he defended protectionism.


Trade agreements

Speaking at a July 2020 event at Chatham House, Lighthizer stated that bilateral trade agreements and a multilateral system conflict with each other, and that one of those two options should be chosen over the other.


Trade with China

Politico describes Lighthizer as "a decades-long skeptic of Beijing". Lighthizer has accused the country of China of unfair trade practices, and he believes China needs to make substantive and structural changes to its trade policies, as opposed to only minor changes it has offered in the past. He wrote: "The icon of modern conservatism, Ronald Reagan, imposed quotas on imported steel, protected Harley-Davidson from Japanese competition, restrained import of semiconductors and automobiles, and took myriad similar steps to keep American industry strong. How does allowing China to constantly rig trade in its favor advance the core conservative goal of making markets more efficient? Markets do not run better when manufacturing shifts to China largely because of the actions of its government." In a 1997 op-ed in '' The New York Times'', Lighthizer advocated against allowing China to join the World Trade Organization. He suggested that the U.S. should bring more cases against China for failure to comply with the regulations of the World Trade Organization. In testimony before the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission in 2010, Lighthizer said that "USTR (U.S. Trade Representative) should pursue WTO litigation with respect to all such examples of non-compliance. If necessary, Congress should give USTR additional resources to increase its ability." Lighthizer called for reforming the WTO during a testimony to Congress on June 17, 2020.


Domestic manufacturing

In March 2020, Lighthizer stated that the COVID-19 pandemic had shown that the U.S. must promote domestic manufacturing of medical supplies and reduce its reliance on foreign countries.


Personal life

Lighthizer lives in Florida. He has two children, Robert and Claire, and three grandchildren. Lighthizer is known for paying close attention to his health. Lighthizer's brother, O. James Lighthizer, is an American Civil War expert. James Lighthizer is the president of the
American Battlefield Trust The American Battlefield Trust is a charitable organization ( 501(c)(3)) whose primary focus is in the preservation of battlefields of the American Civil War, the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 through acquisition of battlefield land. Th ...
, a battlefield preservation organization, and a former member of the Maryland House of Delegates.


References


External links


Official USTR Biography
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lighthizer, Robert 1947 births 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers Georgetown University alumni Georgetown University Law Center alumni Living people Ohio lawyers Ohio Republicans Politicians from Ashtabula, Ohio Reagan administration personnel Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom people Trump administration cabinet members United States Trade Representatives People associated with Covington & Burling