Carl Hayden

Carl Trumbull Hayden (October 2, 1877 – January 25, 1972) was an American politician. Representing Arizona in the United States Senate from 1927 to 1969, he was the first U.S. Senator to serve seven terms. Serving as the state's first Representative for eight terms before entering the Senate, Hayden set the record as the longest-serving member of the United States Congress more than a decade before his retirement from politics. He was Dean of the United States Senate and served as its president pro tempore and chairman of both its Rules and Administration and Appropriations committees. He was a member of the Democratic Party. Hayden was also the last remaining member of Congress to have served during the presidencies of William Howard Taft and Woodrow Wilson, as he retired in 1969.

Having earned a reputation as a reclamation expert early in his congressional career,^[1] Hayden consistently backed legislation dealing with public lands, mining, reclamation, and other projects affecting the Western United States. In addition, he played a key role in creating the funding formula for the federal highway system.^[2] President John F. Kennedy said of Hayden, "Every Federal program which has contributed to the development of the West—irrigation, power, reclamation—bears his mark, and the great Federal highway program which binds this country together, which permits this State to be competitive east and west, north and south, this in large measure is his creation."^[3]

Known as the "Silent Senator", Hayden rarely spoke on the Senate floor. Instead his influence came from committee meetings and Senate cloakroom discussions, where his comments were "given a respect comparable to canon law".^[4] A colleague said of him, "No man in Senate history has wielded more influence with less oratory,"^[5] while the Los Angeles Times wrote that Hayden had "assisted so many projects for so many senators that when old Carl wants something for his beloved Arizona, his fellow senators fall all over themselves giving him a hand. They'd probably vote landlocked Arizona a navy if he asked for it."^[6]