Tom Coburn

Tom Coburn
Official portrait, 2005
Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security Committee
In office
January 3, 2013 – January 3, 2015
Preceded bySusan Collins
Succeeded byTom Carper
United States Senator
from Oklahoma
In office
January 3, 2005 – January 3, 2015
Preceded byDon Nickles
Succeeded byJames Lankford
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Oklahoma's 2nd district
In office
January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2001
Preceded byMike Synar
Succeeded byBrad Carson
Personal details
Born
Thomas Allen Coburn

(1948-03-14)March 14, 1948
Casper, Wyoming, U.S.
DiedMarch 28, 2020(2020-03-28) (aged 72)
Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Carolyn Denton
​
(m. 1968)​
Children3, including Sarah
EducationOklahoma State University (BS)
University of Oklahoma (MD)

Thomas Allen Coburn (March 14, 1948 – March 28, 2020) was an American politician and physician who served as a United States senator from Oklahoma from 2005 to 2015. A Republican, Coburn previously served as a United States representative from 1995 to 2001.

Coburn was an obstetrician who operated a private medical practice in Muskogee, Oklahoma. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1994 as part of the Republican Revolution. After being re-elected twice, Coburn upheld his campaign pledge to serve no more than three consecutive terms and did not seek re-election in 2000. In 2004, he returned to political life with a successful run for the United States Senate. Coburn was re-elected to a second Senate term in 2010 and kept his pledge not to seek a third term in 2016.[1] In January 2014, Coburn announced that he would resign before the expiration of his final term due to a recurrence of prostate cancer.[2] He submitted a letter of resignation to Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin, effective at the end of the 113th Congress.[3]

Coburn was a fiscal and social conservative known for his opposition to deficit spending, pork barrel projects,[4][5][6] and abortion. Described as "the godfather of the modern conservative austerity movement",[7] he supported term limits, gun rights and the death penalty,[8] and opposed same-sex marriage and embryonic stem cell research.[9][10] Many Democrats referred to him as "Dr. No" due to his frequent use of technicalities to block federal spending bills.[11][12]

After leaving Congress, Coburn worked with the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research on its efforts to reform the Food and Drug Administration,[13] becoming a senior fellow of the institute in December 2016.[14] Coburn also served as a senior advisor to Citizens for Self-Governance, where he was active in calling for a convention to propose amendments to the United States Constitution.[15][16][17]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference dT9xo was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference 3nUa3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference SEC8T was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Murphy, Sean (March 28, 2020). "Ex-Sen. Tom Coburn, conservative political maverick, dies". Associated Press. Archived from the original on March 29, 2020. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  5. ^ Mark, David (March 28, 2020). "Ex-Sen. Tom Coburn, who pressed Republicans to keep budget-cutting promises, dies at 72". Washington Examiner. Archived from the original on April 8, 2020. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  6. ^ Dinan, Stephen (March 28, 2020). "Tom Coburn leaves lasting legacy for taxpayers". The Washington Times. Archived from the original on November 17, 2020. Retrieved March 30, 2020.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference battling was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ Cite error: The named reference Romano was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference rock was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference salon was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Dr. No was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ Cite error: The named reference mcfadden was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference Cunningham was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference MI was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference MrphK was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference I5B34 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ Cite error: The named reference PdFlb was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.