GOP lawmaker becomes longest-serving speaker
Washington, D.C ? Rep. Dennis Hastert, who vaulted out of political obscurity when Newt Gingrich resigned as speaker of the House more than seven years ago, on Thursday became the longest-serving Republican speaker in history.
Hastert, 64, surpasses fellow Illinoisan Joseph “Uncle Joe” Cannon, a pugnacious politician who ruled the House from November 1903 until the Democrats regained the majority in March 1911.
“The House has achieved unprecedented success under his leadership,” said Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., noting GOP successes in Medicare, education and tax cut legislation. “It’s no wonder Denny has become the longest-serving Republican speaker in history.”
A former high school history teacher and wrestling coach, Hastert was elected to Congress from a heavily Republican district west of Chicago in 1986. A low-key conservative with ties to former GOP leader Bob Michel, also from Illinois, Hastert was appointed chief deputy whip in 1995 after the Republicans, under new House Speaker Gingrich, gained the majority in the House for the first time in four decades.