Steven David Daines ( ; born August 20, 1962) is an American politician and former corporate executive
serving as the
junior
Junior or Juniors may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Music
* ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959
* ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009
* ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010
* ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019
Films
* ''Junior'' (1994 ...
United States senator
The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...
for
Montana
Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...
since 2015. A
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 ...
, he served as the
U.S. representative
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...
for
Montana's at-large congressional district
Montana is represented in the United States House of Representatives by one at-large congressional district, among the 435 in the United States Congress. The district was the most populous U.S. congressional district, with just over 1 million c ...
from 2013 to 2015. In
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
, Daines won Montana's open U.S. Senate seat. He was reelected in
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
, defeating the Democratic nominee,
Governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
Steve Bullock. Before entering politics, Daines worked for
Procter & Gamble
The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer hea ...
and
RightNow Technologies
Oracle RightNow is a customer relationship management (CRM) software service for enterprise organizations which is part of Oracle Service. It was originally developed by RightNow Technologies, Inc., which was acquired by Oracle Corporation in 20 ...
.
Early life and education
Daines was born in the
Van Nuys
Van Nuys () is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley.
History
In 1909, t ...
neighborhood of Los Angeles to Sharon R. and Clair W. Daines. The family moved to Montana in 1964. He was raised in
Bozeman, where he attended school from kindergarten through college.
Daines graduated from
Bozeman High School
Bozeman High School (or BHS) is a public high school for grades 9 through 12 located in Bozeman, Montana. It is the second-oldest high school in the state of Montana.Burlingame, p. 321. In 2011, it had an enrollment of roughly 1,844 students, an ...
, where he served as student body president.
He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in
chemical engineering
Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials int ...
from
Montana State University
Montana State University (MSU) is a Public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Bozeman, Montana. It is the state's largest university. MSU offers baccalaureate degrees in 60 fields, master's degrees in 6 ...
. At Montana State, he became a brother of the
Sigma Nu
Sigma Nu () is an undergraduate Fraternities and sororities in North America, college fraternity founded at the Virginia Military Institute on January 1, 1869. The fraternity was founded by James Frank Hopkins, Greenfield Quarles and James McIlva ...
fraternity.
Early career
Daines was one of the youngest delegates at the
1984 Republican National Convention. "I was a big fan of
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 ...
. He was the first president I got to vote for," he has said. Daines was also the president of MSU College Republicans. In 2007, he and his wife started a website, GiveItBack.com, which urged governor
Brian Schweitzer
Brian David Schweitzer (born September 4, 1955) is an American farmer and politician who served as the 23rd Governor of Montana from 2005 to 2013. Schweitzer served for a time as chair of the Western Governors Association as well as the Democrat ...
to return the state's $1 billion surplus to taxpayers. From 2007 to 2008, he was Montana state chairman for the
Mike Huckabee 2008 presidential campaign
The Mike Huckabee 2008 presidential campaign began on January 28, 2007, when former Governor of Arkansas Mike Huckabee announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for President of the United States for the 2008 election. Huckabee ulti ...
and a national surrogate for Huckabee.
Daines spent 13 years with
Procter & Gamble
The Procter & Gamble Company (P&G) is an American multinational consumer goods corporation headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio, founded in 1837 by William Procter and James Gamble. It specializes in a wide range of personal health/consumer hea ...
.
After seven years managing operations in the United States, he and his family moved to
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
and
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
for six years, opening factories to expand Procter & Gamble's Asian business.
During his 2014 Senate campaign, Democratic opponents alleged that Daines had outsourced U.S. jobs to China. He stated that he created hundreds of jobs in Montana when he worked for
RightNow Technologies
Oracle RightNow is a customer relationship management (CRM) software service for enterprise organizations which is part of Oracle Service. It was originally developed by RightNow Technologies, Inc., which was acquired by Oracle Corporation in 20 ...
.
In 1997, Daines left Procter & Gamble to join the family construction business in Bozeman. Three years later, he met
Greg Gianforte
Gregory Richard Gianforte (born April 17, 1961) is an American businessman, politician, software engineer, and writer serving as the 25th governor of Montana since 2021. A member of the Republican Party, Gianforte served as the U.S. representa ...
, founder of RightNow Technologies, and was put in charge of running RightNow's customer care division.
Daines went on to become vice president of North America Sales and vice president of the
Asia-Pacific
Asia-Pacific (APAC) is the part of the world near the western Pacific Ocean. The Asia-Pacific region varies in area depending on context, but it generally includes East Asia, Russian Far East, South Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia and Pacific Isla ...
division. During his tenure, the
cloud
In meteorology, a cloud is an aerosol consisting of a visible mass of miniature liquid droplets, frozen crystals, or other particles suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body or similar space. Water or various other chemicals may co ...
-based
software company
A software company is a company whose primary products are various forms of software, software technology, distribution, and software product development. They make up the software industry.
Types
There are a number of different types of softw ...
became publicly traded and Bozeman's largest commercial employer. Daines remained with the company until March 2012, when he left to campaign for Congress full-time.
2008 gubernatorial election
Daines ran for
lieutenant governor of Montana
The lieutenant governor of Montana is an elected official in the State of Montana that ranks just below the governor of Montana.
List of lieutenant governors
;Parties
Living former lieutenant governors
, there are six former lieutenant gov ...
in 2008 with
Roy Brown, the Republican nominee for
governor
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
. They challenged incumbent Democratic Governor
Brian Schweitzer
Brian David Schweitzer (born September 4, 1955) is an American farmer and politician who served as the 23rd Governor of Montana from 2005 to 2013. Schweitzer served for a time as chair of the Western Governors Association as well as the Democrat ...
and his running mate
John Bohlinger
John Bohlinger, Jr. (born April 21, 1936) is an American businessman and politician who served as the 33rd Lieutenant Governor of Montana from 2005 to 2013. He ran for the office as a Republican on a bipartisan ticket headed by Democratic guber ...
. Brown and Daines lost the election 65%–33%, winning only seven of Montana's
56 counties.
U.S. House of Representatives
2012 election
On November 13, 2010, Daines announced he would run for the U.S. Senate seat held by
Jon Tester
Raymond Jon Tester (born August 21, 1956) is an American farmer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Montana, a seat he has held since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, Tester is the dean of Montana's congressio ...
in 2012.
When U.S. Representative
Denny Rehberg
Dennis Ray Rehberg (born October 5, 1955) is an American politician and member of the Republican Party. He served as the Lieutenant Governor of Montana from 1991 to 1997 and as the U.S. representative for from 2001 to 2013. Rehberg was the Repu ...
announced his intention to challenge Tester, Daines dropped out of the Senate race and announced his
candidacy for the House seat Rehberg was vacating. He won the three-way Republican primary with 71% of the vote. In the general election, Daines defeated Democratic state senator
Kim Gillan
Kim J. Gillan is an American politician and former Democratic Party member of the Montana Senate. She represented District 24 from 2004 to 2012. She was unable to run for reelection in 2012 due to Montana's term limits. Earlier she was a membe ...
, 53%–43%. He won 48 of the state's 56 counties.
Committee assignments
*
Committee on Homeland Security
**
Subcommittee on Cybersecurity, Infrastructure Protection, and Security Technologies
**
Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Management
*
Committee on Natural Resources
**
Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources
**
Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs
**
Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation
*
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
The U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives.
History
The Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure was formerly known as the Committee on Public Works a ...
**
Subcommittee on Aviation
**
Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
Caucus memberships
* Congressional Western Caucus
* Congressional Rural Caucus
* Republican Study Committee
* NW Energy Caucus
* Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus
* Daines is the founder and a member of the Senate's Pro-Life Caucus
U.S. Senate
2014 election
In July 2013, Daines attended a NRSC fundraiser in Washington, prompting speculation that he would run for
Max Baucus
Maxwell Sieben Baucus ( Enke; born December 11, 1941) is an American politician who served as a United States senator from Montana from 1978 to 2014. A member of the Democratic Party, he was a U.S. senator for over 35 years, making him the longe ...
's soon to be vacant U.S. Senate seat. In the second quarter of 2013, he disclosed raising $415,000 in campaign funds, fueling more speculation. On November 6, 2013, Daines announced his candidacy.
In February 2014, Baucus resigned from the Senate to accept a post as U.S. ambassador to China. Governor
Steve Bullock, a Democrat, appointed lieutenant governor
John Walsh to the vacant Senate seat for the remainder of Baucus's term. Walsh had already declared his intention to run for the Senate in 2014, and it was suggested that his appointment might give him the advantage of incumbency, improving Democratic chances of holding the seat.
Daines won the Republican primary on June 3, 2014, with 83.4% of the vote against Missoula state representative
Champ Edmunds and political newcomer Susan Cundiff. Walsh won the Democratic primary with 64% of the vote.
In August 2014, Walsh withdrew from the race following the publication of a ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' article that accused him of plagiarism in a paper written as part of his master's degree work at the
U.S. Army War College
The United States Army War College (USAWC) is a U.S. Army educational institution in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on the 500-acre (2 km2) campus of the historic Carlisle Barracks. It provides graduate-level instruction to senior military officer ...
. With only 50 days until the election, a special convention called by the Montana Democratic party nominated Butte legislator
Amanda Curtis
Amanda Gayle Curtis ( née Morse, born September 10, 1979) is an American politician who serves as the president of the Montana Federation of Public Employees (MFPE), Montana's largest labor union.
Curtis served in the Montana House of Represe ...
.
Daines won the general election with 57.8% of the vote to Curtis's 40.1%.
2020 election
Daines was reelected in 2020, defeating Bullock with 55% of the vote. Democrats outspent Republicans by $19 million on the race, $82–63 million; it was one of the most expensive Senate races in the 2020 cycle.
Tenure
117th Congress (2021–present)
Before the
2021 United States Electoral College vote count
The count of the Electoral College ballots during a joint session of the 117th United States Congress, pursuant to the Electoral Count Act, on January 6–7, 2021, was the final step to confirm President-elect Joe Biden's victory in the 20 ...
, Daines said he would object to certifying the electoral count over unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud. He was participating in the certification when Trump supporters
stormed the U.S. Capitol. During the attack, he tweeted "I condemn any kind of violence and intimidation. This is unacceptable." Daines changed his mind on objecting to the certification during the attack. He also called the attack "a sad day for our country" and said, "destruction and violence we saw at our Capitol today is an assault on our democracy, our Constitution and the rule of law, and must not be tolerated." He called for a
peaceful transfer of power
A peaceful transition or transfer of power is a concept important to democratic governments in which the leadership of a government peacefully hands over control of government to a newly-elected leadership. This may be after elections or during t ...
. The ''
Billings Gazette
The ''Billings Gazette'' is a daily newspaper based in Billings, Montana that primarily covers issues in southeast Montana and parts of northern Wyoming. Historically it has been known as the largest newspaper in Montana and is geographically one ...
'' electoral board called for Daines to apologize to
Joe Biden for his role in opposing the certification. Daines rejected calls for Trump to resign or be impeached in the wake of the attack.
During the Biden administration, Daines sought to block Deb Haaland's nomination as Interior Secretary.
Committee assignments
Current
*
Committee on Appropriations
The United States House Committee on Appropriations is a committee of the United States House of Representatives that is responsible for passing appropriation bills along with its Senate counterpart. The bills passed by the Appropriations Commi ...
**
Subcommittee on Defense
**
Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies
**
Subcommittee on State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs
**
United States Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies
**
*
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
The United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources is a standing committee of the United States Senate. It has jurisdiction over matters related to energy and mineral resources, including nuclear development; irrigation and recla ...
**
Subcommittee on Energy
**
Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests and Mining
*
Committee on Finance
**
Subcommittee on Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure
**
Subcommittee on Health Care
**
Subcommittee on International Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness
*
Committee on Indian Affairs
The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs is a committee of the United States Senate charged with oversight in matters related to the American Indian, Native Hawaiian, and Alaska Native peoples. A Committee on Indian Affairs existed from 1820 to 1 ...
Previous
*
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
The United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation is a standing committee of the United States Senate. Besides having broad jurisdiction over all matters concerning interstate commerce, science and technology policy, a ...
(2015–2017)
*
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry (2017–2019)
*
Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
The United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs is the chief oversight committee of the United States Senate. It has jurisdiction over matters related to the Department of Homeland Security and other homeland s ...
(2017–2019)
Political positions
Daines is considered politically conservative. The American Conservative Union's Center for Legislative Accountability gives him a lifetime rating of 84.79. The politically liberal Americans for Democratic Action gave him a score of 5% for 2019.
Abortion
Daines opposes legalized abortion except to protect the life of the mother.
Budget and taxes
Daines introduced his first bill, the Balanced Budget Accountability Act in February 2013. The bill would have required members of Congress to pass a budget that would balance in ten years or have their pay terminated. Daines supported the
No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013
The No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013 (; ) is a law passed during the 113th United States Congress. The Act temporarily suspended the US debt ceiling from February 4 to May 18, 2013. It also placed temporary restrictions on Congressional salaries.
B ...
, which would put members of Congress's salaries in an escrow account unless they passed a budget by April 15, 2013.
Daines has opposed an internet sales tax, which would allow states to collect taxes on online sales. He has called legislation to provide the authority "a job-killing tax hike that hurts American small businesses".
D.C. statehood
In June 2020, Daines argued against statehood for the
District of Columbia
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, saying that most Americans oppose statehood for the U.S. capital and suggesting that members of Congress "get out of this city, go out to where the real people are at across our country and ask them what they think."
Critics objected to his implication that D.C., a city of more than 705,000, nearly half of whom are Black, are not "real people". Further pressed, Daines explained that people outside the D.C. "bubble" oppose statehood, while those in D.C. support it.
Donald Trump
According to the ''
Helena Independent Record
The ''Independent Record'' (often abbreviated to ''IR'') is a daily newspaper printed and distributed in Helena, Montana. The newspaper is part of the Lee Enterprises group.
History
The roots of the ''IR'' lie in two newspapers that were fou ...
'', Daines had by 2020 "aggressively tied himself to Trump, both backing and defending the president over the last three years".
During Trump's presidency, Daines voted with Trump's stated public policy positions 86% of the time.
In the
2018–2019 United States federal government shutdown
The United States federal government shutdown from midnight EST on December 22, 2018, until January 25, 2019 (35 days) was the longest U.S. government shutdown in history and the second and final federal government shutdown involving furlough ...
, when Congress would not meet Trump's demand for $5.7 billion in federal funds for a
U.S.–Mexico border wall, Daines voted for a bill that put $5.7 billion towards the border wall and against a bill that would have funded the government without putting resources toward a wall.
Daines voted to acquit Trump in his impeachment trial on charges of
abuse of power
Abuse is the improper usage or treatment of a thing, often to unfairly or improperly gain benefit. Abuse can come in many forms, such as: physical or verbal maltreatment, injury, assault, violation, rape, unjust practices, crimes, or other t ...
and
obstruction of Congress
Contempt of Congress is the act of obstructing the work of the United States Congress or one of its committees. Historically, the bribery of a U.S. senator or U.S. representative was considered contempt of Congress. In modern times, contempt of C ...
related to his request that Ukraine announce an investigation into
Joe Biden. He said Trump had not committed a crime, that Democrats had "not done their complete homework", and that it was the most partisan impeachment trial in history.
Daines said the purpose of the impeachment was to "
verturnthe election of 2016 and
ryto define the election of 2020".
During the trial, he voted not to hear witnesses and to block the Senate from subpoenaing documents from the White House.
Daines was supportive of Trump's response to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
.
In June 2020, amid
protests
A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration or remonstrance) is a public expression of objection, disapproval or dissent towards an idea or action, typically a political one.
Protests can be thought of as acts of coopera ...
against racism and police brutality in the wake of the
murder of George Floyd
On , George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was murdered in the U.S. city of Minneapolis by Derek Chauvin, a 44-year-old white police officer. Floyd had been arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit $20 bill. Chauvin knelt on Floyd's n ...
, Daines defended Trump's decision to disperse protestors with a chemical irritant so that he could stage a
photo op in front of St. John's Church, saying he was "grateful for the president's leadership".
In October 2020, during the lead-up to his reelection bid, Daines began to shift his rhetoric about Trump.
On January 2, 2021, Daines joined 11 other Republican senators in an attempt to
overturn the presidential election results in Arizona and Pennsylvania. Trump and his allies made false claims of fraud in the election. Daines later withdrew his objection to counting the two states' electoral votes.
On May 28, 2021, Daines voted against creating an independent commission to investigate the
2021 United States Capitol attack
On January 6, 2021, following the defeat of then-U.S. President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election, a mob of his supporters attacked the United States Capitol Building in Washington, D.C. The mob was seeking to keep Trump in pow ...
.
Education
Daines has proposed abolishing the
United States Department of Education
The United States Department of Education is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government. It began operating on May 4, 1980, having been created after the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare was split into the Department ...
and in 2019 co-authored the Academic Partnerships Lead Us to Success Act, to allow state and local governments to withdraw from federal education requirements.
Energy and environment
Daines
rejects the
scientific consensus
Scientific consensus is the generally held judgment, position, and opinion of the majority or the supermajority of scientists in a particular field of study at any particular time.
Consensus is achieved through scholarly communication at confe ...
on
climate change
In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
. In 2019, he said, "to suggest that
limate changehuman-caused is not a sound scientific conclusion."
Daines criticized President
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
for his administration's positions on natural resource development, calling Obama's 2013 climate change proposal a "job killer" and a "war on American energy". He co-sponsored the Northern Route Approval Act, which would allow for congressional approval of the
Keystone pipeline
The Keystone Pipeline System is an oil pipeline system in Canada and the United States, commissioned in 2010 and owned by TC Energy and as of 31 March 2020 the Government of Alberta. It runs from the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin in Albert ...
. Daines expressed strong support of Montana's coal industry and oil production in eastern Montana and the
Bakken formation
The Bakken Formation () is a rock unit from the Late Devonian to Early Mississippian age occupying about of the subsurface of the Williston Basin, underlying parts of Montana, North Dakota, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. The formation was initi ...
.
On June 5, 2013, Daines introduced the
North Fork Watershed Protection Act of 2013
The North Fork Watershed Protection Act of 2013 () is a bill that would withdraw 430,000 acres of federal lands in Montana from programs to develop geothermal and mineral resources. The law would forbid mountaintop removal mining and other natural ...
, which would withdraw 430,000 acres of
federal lands
Federal lands are lands in the United States owned by the federal government. Pursuant to the Property Clause of the United States Constitution ( Article 4, section 3, clause 2), Congress has the power to retain, buy, sell, and regulate federal l ...
in
Montana
Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...
from programs to develop geothermal and mineral resources.
The law would forbid
mountaintop removal mining
Mountaintop removal mining (MTR), also known as mountaintop mining (MTM), is a form of surface mining at the summit or summit ridge of a mountain. Coal seams are extracted from a mountain by removing the land, or overburden, above the seams. Thi ...
and other
natural resource
Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest and cultural value. O ...
development.
The affected lands lie adjacent to
Glacier National Park and already have some protections.
Daines emphasized his desire "to rise above partisan politics, preserve the pristine landscape, and 'protect this critical watershed'" when he announced that he would be introducing the bill,
and said that both conservationists and energy companies supported it.
The bill, also supported by Tester and Walsh, passed in the House, but Senate Republicans prevented it from being voted on.
Daines has called for litigation reforms to allow more logging in Montana's forests. In April 2016, he signed on to the
Restoring Healthy Forests for Healthy Communities Act, legislation to address the expiration of the Secure Rural Schools program by renewing the federal government's commitment to manage forest resources.
In July 2019, Daines co-founded the Roosevelt Conservation Caucus, a group of Republican members of Congress meant to focus on environmental issues with specific priorities including reducing water and
ocean plastic pollution, and heightening access to public lands and waters in the United States for outdoor recreation, hunting and fishing.
In February 2021, while Texas was suffering power outages amid a snowstorm, Daines tweeted, "This is a perfect example of the need for reliable energy sources like natural gas & coal" in a criticism of renewable energy such as wind turbines and solar energy. Failures in natural gas, coal, and nuclear energy systems caused nearly twice as much power outage as frozen wind turbines and solar panels, though wind power was reduced by a far higher percentage.
In November 2021, Daines criticized the Biden administration for stricter regulations of methane emissions from the oil and natural gas sector (which had signaled that it was open to the Biden administration's regulatory shift).
Foreign policy
Daines was a supporter of strong China-US relations, but became more critical of China during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In August 2017, Daines co-sponsored the
Israel Anti-Boycott Act
The Israel Anti-Boycott Act (IABA) (; ) was a proposed anti-BDS law and amendment to the Export Administration Act of 1979 designed to allow U.S. states to enact laws requiring contractors to sign pledges promising not to boycott any goods from I ...
(s. 720), which made it a federal crime, punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison, for Americans to encourage or participate in boycotts against Israel and
Israeli settlement
Israeli settlements, or Israeli colonies, are civilian communities inhabited by Israeli citizens, overwhelmingly of Jewish ethnicity, built on lands occupied by Israel in the 1967 Six-Day War. The international community considers Israeli se ...
s in the occupied
Palestinian territories
The Palestinian territories are the two regions of the former British Mandate for Palestine that have been militarily occupied by Israel since the Six-Day War of 1967, namely: the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip. The I ...
if protesting actions by the Israeli government.
In January 2019, Daines was one of 11 Republican senators to vote to advance legislation intended to block Trump's lifting of sanctions against three Russian companies.
In June 2019, Daines was one of eight senators to sign a letter to
Premier of British Columbia
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of governm ...
John Horgan
John Joseph Horgan (born August 7, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 36th premier of British Columbia from 2017 to 2022, and also as the leader of the British Columbia New Democratic Party from 2014 to 2022. Horgan has been the ...
expressing concern over "the lack of oversight of Canadian mining projects near multiple transboundary rivers that originate in B.C. and flow into" Alaska, Idaho, Washington, and Montana. The senators requested that British Columbia replicate American efforts to protect watersheds.
In January 2020, Daines expressed support for the US military's
assassination of Iranian major general Qasem Soleimani by drone strike at the Baghdad International Airport.
Gun policy
Daines opposes gun control legislation. He has signaled opposition to proposals for expanded background checks and
red flag laws, saying he does not believe such legislation would reduce gun violence.
Health care
In 2017, Daines voted to repeal the
Affordable Care Act
The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presid ...
(Obamacare).
Immigration
Daines opposes allowing
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals
Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, colloquially referred to as DACA, is a United States immigration policy that allows some individuals with unlawful presence in the United States after being brought to the country as children to receive ...
(DACA) recipients to apply for temporary protection to stay in the United States; he believes the program is an executive overreach.
Daines supported Trump's 2017
executive order
In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of th ...
to impose a temporary ban on entry to the U.S. to citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries.
Internet and technology
Daines opposes
net neutrality
Network neutrality, often referred to as net neutrality, is the principle that Internet service providers (ISPs) must treat all Internet communications equally, offering users and online content providers consistent rates irrespective of co ...
and praised its 2017 repeal by the
Federal Communications Commission
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdiction ...
(FCC). In May 2018, he voted against legislation to overturn the FCC's ruling and restore net neutrality.
In May 2020, Daines and
Ron Wyden
Ronald Lee Wyden (; born May 3, 1949) is an American politician and retired educator serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Oregon, a seat he has held since 1996 United Stat ...
co-sponsored an amendment that would have required
federal law enforcement and
intelligence agencies
An intelligence agency is a government agency responsible for the collection, analysis, and exploitation of information in support of law enforcement, national security, military, public safety, and foreign policy objectives.
Means of informatio ...
to obtain
federal court warrants when collecting
web search engine
A search engine is a software system designed to carry out web searches. They search the World Wide Web in a systematic way for particular information specified in a textual web search query. The search results are generally presented in a ...
data from American citizens, nationals, or residents under the
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 ("FISA" , ) is a United States federal law that establishes procedures for the physical and electronic surveillance and the collection of "foreign intelligence information" between "foreign po ...
(FISA).
Judiciary
In May 2018, Daines announced his support for the so-called
nuclear option
In the United States Senate, the nuclear option is a parliamentary procedure that allows the Senate to override a standing rule by a simple majority, avoiding the two-thirds supermajority normally required to invoke cloture on a resolution to ...
"to speed up consideration of President Trump's judicial nominees". He has argued that changing the Senate's rules to a simple majority vote would "ensure a quicker pace on Trump's court picks".
In September 2020, after Justice
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg ( ; ; March 15, 1933September 18, 2020) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until her death in 2020. She was nominated by President ...
's death, Daines supported moving forward with Trump's nominee to fill the vacancy on the court before the November presidential election. He tweeted that he wanted to "protect our Montana way of life". In March 2016, after Justice
Antonin Scalia
Antonin Gregory Scalia (; March 11, 1936 – February 13, 2016) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1986 until his death in 2016. He was described as the intellectu ...
's death, Daines said Obama's nominee to the Supreme Court should not be considered, as the "American people have already begun voting on who the next president will be" and Americans should "have their voices heard" via the 2016 election.
LGBT rights
Daines opposes same-sex marriage and said he was "disappointed" in the
Supreme Court's decision that same-sex marriage bans are unconstitutional.
Personal life
Daines and his wife have four children. He enjoys mountain-climbing and has scaled
Granite Peak and
Grand Teton
Grand Teton is the highest mountain in Grand Teton National Park, in Northwest Wyoming, and a classic destination in American mountaineering.
Geography
Grand Teton, at , is the highest point of the Teton Range, and the second highest peak in t ...
.
[
]
Electoral history
References
External links
U.S. Senator Steve Daines
official U.S. Senate website
Steve Daines for U.S. Senate
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Daines, Steve
1962 births
Living people
21st-century American politicians
American people of Norwegian descent
Procter & Gamble people
Montana State University alumni
People from Van Nuys, Los Angeles
Politicians from Bozeman, Montana
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Montana
Republican Party United States senators from Montana