Mike Lee | |
---|---|
United States Senator from Utah | |
Assumed office January 3, 2011 Serving with Mitt Romney | |
Preceded by | Bob Bennett |
Chair of the Joint Economic Committee | |
In office January 3, 2019 – February 3, 2021 | |
Preceded by | Erik Paulsen |
Succeeded by | Don Beyer |
Personal details | |
Born | Michael Shumway Lee June 4, 1971 Mesa, Arizona, U.S. |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse |
Sharon Burr (m. 1993) |
Relations | Rex E. Lee (father) Thomas Rex Lee (brother) |
Children | 3 |
Education | Brigham Young University (BA, JD) |
Website | Senate website |
Michael Shumway Lee (born June 4, 1971) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Utah, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, Lee became Utah's senior senator in 2019 and dean of Utah's congressional delegation in 2021.
The son of U.S. Solicitor General Rex E. Lee and brother of Utah Supreme Court justice Thomas Rex Lee, Lee began his career as a clerk for the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah before clerking for Samuel Alito, who was then a judge on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. From 2002 to 2005, Lee was an assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Utah. He joined the administration of Utah governor Jon Huntsman Jr., serving as the general counsel in the governor's office from 2005 to 2006. Lee again clerked for Alito after he was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
In the 2010 U.S. Senate election in Utah, Lee defeated incumbent senator Bob Bennett in the Republican primary, and won the general election.
Although he refused to endorse Donald Trump during the 2016 Republican presidential primaries and voted for Evan McMullin in the general election, Lee eventually became a Trump ally. He endorsed Trump in the 2020 and 2024 elections and supported the Trump administration's efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, although he ultimately voted to certify the outcome.
Lee has been reelected twice, in 2016 and 2022, the latter victory over McMullin. Lee also chaired the Joint Economic Committee from 2019 to 2021.[1]