John Feehery

Last updated
John Feehery
Born
John Patrick Feehery

(1963-12-11) December 11, 1963 (age 61)
Education Marquette University (BA, MA)
Occupation(s)Lobbyist, columnist, pundit
Political party Republican
SpouseKerry Fennelly (m. 2003)

John Patrick Feehery (born December 11, 1963) is an American political communications strategist, columnist, television pundit, and former press secretary to Dennis J. Hastert, Republican of Illinois, during Hastert's term as speaker of the United States House of Representatives.

Contents

Early life and education

Feehery was born on December 11, 1963, in Chicago to Jack Feehery, an Amoco executive and Maureen Mason, a dog lover, homemaker and interior designer. [1] He studied history at Marquette University, earning his bachelor's degree in 1986 and his master's degree in 1988.

Career

Congressional staff

In 1989, Feehery, a Chicago native, began his career on Capitol Hill as a researcher and speechwriter for House Minority Leader Bob Michel (R-Illinois). Feehery played a central role in the creation of the House Theme Team, which coordinated one-minute speeches and special orders to hit home a given theme of the day. [2] [3] Six years later, after Republicans gained control of the Congress, Feehery went to work for House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) as communications director. In 1999, Feehery became press secretary for Speaker Dennis J. Hastert (R-Illinois), serving in that post until 2005.

Role in articulating the "Hastert rule"

Feehery lays indirect claim to the articulation of the so-called Hastert rule by having drafted the speech in which Speaker Hastert laid out the “majority of the majority” rule for bringing legislation to the floor. [4] [5]

Lobbying and political consulting

Feehery left Capitol Hill for the Motion Picture Association of America in February 2005, where he served as an Executive Vice President and Chief Communications Officer. [6]

In February 2007, Feehery opened his eponymous consulting firm, The Feehery Group, which he ran as president until taking a job with Quinn Gillespie & Associates Public Affairs in October 2010 as president of the firm's Communications Practice division. [7]

In April 2017, Feehery left QGA Public Affairs (as it became known after the departure of founder Ed Gillespie) along with two other lobbyists, John Easton and Adam Belmar, to start EFB Advocacy. EFB Advocacy is a boutique lobbying and communications shop located in the Eastern Market section of Capitol Hill. [8]

Controversies

Open letter to Rush Limbaugh

In February 2009, Feehery penned an open letter to syndicated conservative talk radio host Rush Limbaugh, mockingly hailing him as a “true political leader” who must accordingly “[r]estore the Republican Party to its former greatness by single-handedly helping Republicans to regain control of Congress and to offer a reasonable and viable alternative to President Barack Obama.” [9]

Public feud with William Kristol

On March 18, 2016, Weekly Standard editor William Kristol published online a piece written for the March 28 print edition of the magazine which attacked Feehery for being "reconciled" to accepting Donald Trump as the presidential nominee of the Republican Party.

According to Kristol, Feehery exhibited the Republican political establishment's “deeply ingrained instinct to accommodate those who threaten from without and to collaborate with the buffoons and opportunists who have established beachheads within.” [10] Later that day via his personal blog, Feehery responded. “Our party is in the shape it is today because of people like Bill Kristol,” he noted, blaming Kristol's support of the Iraq War and his support of then-Alaska Governor Sarah Palin in 2008, whose selection for John McCain’s running mate was the “real start of the dumbing down of the GOP,” according to Feehery. [11] On March 21, In a column for The Hill newspaper Feehery laid out a six-pointed case for why Republicans should support Donald Trump were he to win the party nomination, while strongly disavowing the candidate's personal flaws. [12] The New York Times subsequently covered the Feehery-Kristol row as evidence of how the Donald Trump presidential primary run “has forced open to public view long-festering wounds in the conservative coalition.” [13]

Personal life

In October 2003, Feehery married Kerry Anne Fennelly in a wedding Mass in St. Mary's Cathedral in Killarney, Ireland. They reside in Washington, D.C., with their two young children. [14]

Feehery is from an Irish Catholic family. He serves on the board of the Washington Ireland Program and co-chairs the American Ireland Fund’s Washington, D.C., chapter. [15] [16]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dennis Hastert</span> American politician (born 1942)

John Dennis Hastert is an American former politician, teacher, and wrestling coach who represented Illinois's 14th congressional district from 1987 to 2007 and served as the 51st Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1999 to 2007. Hastert was the longest-serving Republican Speaker of the House in history. After Democrats gained a majority in the House in 2007, Hastert resigned and began work as a lobbyist. In 2016, he was sentenced to 15 months in prison for financial offenses related to the sexual abuse of teenage boys.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Kristol</span> American political writer (born 1952)

William Kristol is an American neoconservative writer. A frequent commentator on several networks including CNN, he was the founder and editor-at-large of the political magazine The Weekly Standard. Kristol is now editor-at-large of the center-right publication The Bulwark and has been the host of Conversations with Bill Kristol, an interview web program, since 2014.

<i>The Weekly Standard</i> US opinion magazine (1995–2018)

The Weekly Standard was an American neoconservative political magazine of news, analysis, and commentary that was published 48 times per year. Originally edited by founders Bill Kristol and Fred Barnes, the Standard was described as a "redoubt of neoconservatism" and as "the neocon bible." Its founding publisher, News Corporation, debuted the title on September 18, 1995. In 2009, News Corporation sold the magazine to a subsidiary of the Anschutz Corporation. On December 14, 2018, its owners announced that the magazine would cease publication, with the last issue to be published on December 17. Sources have attributed its demise to an increasing divergence between Kristol and other editors' shift towards anti-Trump positions on the one hand, and the magazine's audience's shift towards Trumpism on the other.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Pence</span> Vice President of the United States from 2017 to 2021

Michael Richard Pence is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 48th vice president of the United States from 2017 to 2021 under President Donald Trump during his first administration. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 50th governor of Indiana from 2013 to 2017, and as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 2001 to 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Boehner</span> American politician (born 1949)

John Andrew Boehner is an American retired politician who served as the 53rd speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2011 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he served 13 terms as the U.S. representative for Ohio's 8th congressional district from 1991 to 2015. The district included several rural and suburban areas near Cincinnati and Dayton.

Juleanna Ruth Glover is an American corporate public affairs consultant, entrepreneur, former Republican lobbyist, and political strategist. She is founder and CEO of Ridgely Walsh, a public and governmental affairs agency that advises Silicon Valley companies, including Google, Snap, Oracle, eBay, First Solar, Uber, and SpaceX.

<i>The Hill</i> (newspaper) American political newspaper and website

The Hill, formed in 1994, is an American newspaper and digital media company based in Washington, D.C. Focusing on politics, policy, business and international relations, The Hill's coverage includes the U.S. Congress, the presidency and executive branch, and election campaigns. Its stated output is "nonpartisan reporting on the inner workings of Government and the nexus of politics and business".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Levin</span> American lawyer, radio and television personality

Mark Reed Levin is an American broadcast news analyst, columnist, lawyer, political commentator, radio personality, and writer. He is the host of syndicated radio show The Mark Levin Show, as well as Life, Liberty & Levin on Fox News. Levin worked in the administration of President Ronald Reagan and was a chief of staff for Attorney General Edwin Meese. He is the former president of the Landmark Legal Foundation, an author of seven books, and contributor to media outlets such as National Review Online. Since 2015, Levin has been editor-in-chief of the Conservative Review and is known for his incendiary commentary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Murphy (political consultant)</span> American political consultant, writer, and producer (born 1962)

Michael Ellis Murphy is a Republican political consultant, entertainment industry writer, and producer. He advised Republicans including John McCain, Jeb Bush, David Dreier, John Engler, Tommy Thompson, Spencer Abraham, Christine Whitman, Lamar Alexander, Meg Whitman, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Until January 2006, he was an adviser to Republican Mitt Romney. Murphy resigned his position with Romney when his former client John McCain made it clear he would also pursue the Republicans presidential nomination in 2008; Murphy decided to be neutral in the contest between them. Murphy is a vocal Republican critic of President Donald Trump. He endorsed Democratic candidate Joe Biden in the 2020 U.S. Presidential election.

RedState is an American conservative political blog.

Quinn Gillespie & Associates (QGA) was an American lobbying and communications firm founded in 2000 by Republican political strategist Ed Gillespie and Democratic operative Jack Quinn. It was sold in 2004 to WPP, one of the world's largest communications services groups, and ceased operations in December 2017.

Morning Joe is an American morning news talk show, which airs weekdays from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time on the cable news channel MSNBC. It features former US Representative (Independent) Joe Scarborough reporting and discussing the news of the day in a panel format with co-hosts Mika Brzezinski, Willie Geist, who regularly co-hosts from Tuesdays to Fridays, and Jonathan Lemire, along with recurring and special guests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tom Reed (politician)</span> American politician & attorney (born 1971)

Thomas Willard Reed II is an American lobbyist, attorney, and politician from the state of New York. Reed served as the U.S. representative for New York's 23rd congressional district; the district is in New York's Southern Tier. A Republican, Reed first joined the U.S. House after winning a special election to replace Eric Massa in 2010. He previously served one term as mayor of Corning, New York.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dan Bongino</span> American political commentator

Daniel John Bongino is an American conservative political commentator, radio show host, and author. He serves as a host of The Dan Bongino Show on Rumble. He served as host of the Unfiltered with Dan Bongino on Fox News until April 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hastert rule</span> Informal governing principle used in the US Congress

The Hastert rule, also known as the "majority of the majority" rule, is an informal governing principle used in the United States by Republican Speakers of the House of Representatives since the mid-1990s to maintain their speakerships and limit the power of the minority party to bring bills up for a vote on the floor of the House. Under the doctrine, the speaker will not allow a floor vote on a bill unless a majority of the majority party supports the bill.

The Never Trump movement is an ongoing conservative movement that opposes Trumpism and U.S. president-elect Donald Trump. It began as an effort on the part of a group of Republicans and other prominent conservatives to prevent Republican front-runner Trump from obtaining the 2016 Republican Party presidential nomination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Urban</span> American lobbyist (born 1964)

David Urban is an American lobbyist and political commentator for CNN. He is the managing director for BGR Group and serves on the board of directors for numerous companies.

Alexander Burns is an American journalist. He is currently the head of news for Politico and previously was national political correspondent for The New York Times and a political analyst at CNN.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarah Longwell</span> American political strategist

Sarah Longwell is an American political strategist and publisher of the conservative news and opinion website The Bulwark. A member of the Republican Party, she is the founder of Republican Accountability, which spent millions of dollars to defeat then-President Donald Trump in 2020. According to TheNew Yorker, Longwell has "dedicated her career to fighting Trump's takeover of her party".

References

  1. ↑ "The Honest Contrarian - The Feehery Theory The Feehery Theory". thefeeherytheory.com. 2015-11-27. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
  2. ↑ "Robery Michel BluePrint Theme" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-10-17. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
  3. ↑ "About | John Feehery, Republican Pundit The Feehery Theory". thefeeherytheory.com. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
  4. ↑ "Rules Are Made to Be Broken - The Feehery Theory The Feehery Theory". thefeeherytheory.com. 2013-01-17. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
  5. ↑ Schaller, T.F. (2015). The Stronghold: How Republicans Captured Congress but Surrendered the White House. Yale University Press. p. 196. ISBN   9780300210774 . Retrieved 2016-04-27.
  6. ↑ "John Feehery: Executive Profile & Biography - Businessweek". Bloomberg . Retrieved 2016-04-27.
  7. ↑ "Experts". qga.com. Archived from the original on 2016-05-10. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
  8. ↑ Ackley, Kate (2017-03-31). "GOP Lobbyists Launch New Shop as High-Profile Firm Fades". Roll Call. Retrieved 2017-04-24.
  9. ↑ "A letter to Rush Limbaugh". Politico. 9 February 2009. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
  10. ↑ "Donald and Decadence". The Weekly Standard. 2016-03-18. Archived from the original on March 19, 2016. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
  11. ↑ "Kristol Attacks Me? - The Feehery Theory The Feehery Theory". thefeeherytheory.com. 2016-03-18. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
  12. ↑ "John Feehery: The case for Trump | TheHill". The Hill . 2016-03-21. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
  13. ↑ Edsall, Thomas B. (2016-03-23). "The New York Times" . Retrieved 2016-04-27.
  14. ↑ "WEDDINGS/CELEBRATIONS - Kerry Fennelly, John Feehery - NYTimes.com". The New York Times . 2003-10-12. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
  15. ↑ "WIP Board of Directors | Washington Ireland Program". wiprogram.org. Archived from the original on 2016-05-07. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
  16. ↑ "Home". Archived from the original on 2016-11-23. Retrieved 2016-04-27.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.