Peter Wallace Rodino, Jr. (June 7, 1909 – May 7, 2005) was a Democratic United States congressman from New Jersey from 1949 to 1989. Rodino rose to prominence as the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, where he oversaw the impeachment hearings that led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon.
Rodino was born Pelligrino Rodino, Jr. in Newark, New Jersey. His parents were immigrants from Italy. He attended Barringer High School. He wen...
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Peter Wallace Rodino, Jr. (June 7, 1909 – May 7, 2005) was a Democratic United States congressman from New Jersey from 1949 to 1989. Rodino rose to prominence as the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, where he oversaw the impeachment hearings that led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon.
Rodino was born Pelligrino Rodino, Jr. in Newark, New Jersey. His parents were immigrants from Italy. He attended Barringer High School. He went to college at the University of Newark and earned a law degree at the Newark Law School, both are now part of Rutgers University. During World War II, he earned a Bronze Star for service in Italy and North Africa.
After the war, he ran an unsuccessful campaign for congress in 1946, losing to incumbent Fred Hartley Jr. Trying again in 1948, when Hartley had decided not to run, he won the seat. As a congressman, Rodino was generally known as a liberal, and as a proponent of civil rights legislation and immigration reform. Representing a...
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