John Dennis "Denny" Hastert (born January 2, 1942) is an American politician. He was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1987 to 2007, representing Illinois's 14th congressional district, and served as Speaker of the House from 1999 to 2007.
Originally elevated to the Speakership on January 6, 1999, he surpassed Joseph Gurney Cannon as the longest-serving Republican Speaker in history on June 1, 2006. Hastert wa...
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John Dennis "Denny" Hastert (born January 2, 1942) is an American politician. He was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1987 to 2007, representing Illinois's 14th congressional district, and served as Speaker of the House from 1999 to 2007.
Originally elevated to the Speakership on January 6, 1999, he surpassed Joseph Gurney Cannon as the longest-serving Republican Speaker in history on June 1, 2006. Hastert was reelected to an eleventh term in Congress in the 2006 general election, defeating former United States Navy intelligence analyst John Laesch. However, the Republican Party lost its majority in the House and Hastert did not seek a leadership position in the 110th Congress. He resigned his seat mid-session on November 26, 2007. Hastert endorsed former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney for the 2008 Republican Presidential nomination before he withdrew from the race.
Hastert was born in Aurora, Illinois and grew up in Oswego, Illinois. He was...
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