Emanuel was chair of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee during the 2006 mid-term elections and remained a top strategist for House Democrats during the 2008 cycle. After Democrats regained control of the House in 2006, Emanuel was elected chairman of the Democratic Caucus. This made him the fourth-ranking House Democrat, behind Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer and Majority Whip Jim Clyburn.
Two days after Obama's election victory, Emanuel was announced as Obama's designee for White House Chief of Staff. He resigned from the House on January 2, 2009,[6] and began his duties as Chief of Staff on January 20, 2009, the day of Obama's inauguration.
Emanuel resigned as Chief of Staff effective October 1, 2010, in order to pursue a campaign to run for Mayor of Chicago pending the announced retirement of six term incumbent Richard M. Daley. On January 27, 2011, the Illinois Supreme Court reversed a lower court's ruling that had cast doubt on Emanuel's candidacy; the court unanimously held that Emanuel did not abandon his Chicago residency by serving in the White House, thus affirming his eligibility to run for mayor.[8] He won the Mayoral election on February 22, 2011, with 55% of the vote.[9] President Obama appointed William M. Daley, the brother of Emanuel's predecessor as mayor, as Chief of Staff to replace Emanuel.
Early and personal life
Emanuel was born in Chicago, Illinois to Jewish parents.[6] His father, Benjamin M. Emanuel, is a Jerusalem-born[10] pediatrician who was once a member of the Irgun, a Jewish paramilitary organization that operated in Mandate Palestine. His mother, Marsha Smulevitz, is the daughter of a Chicago union organizer. She worked in the civil rights movement and owned, briefly, a local rock and roll club. She is now a psychiatric social worker. The two met in Chicago in the 1950s. Emanuel's older brother Ezekiel Emanuel is an oncologist and bioethicist at the National Institutes of Health, and his brother Ari Emanuel, a Hollywood talent agent. He has an adopted sister, Shoshanna, who is 14 years younger Emanuel's grandfather was a Romanian Jew from Moldova.
Emanuel's first name, Rahm (רם) means high or lofty in Hebrew. The surname Emanuel (עמנואל), adopted by the family in honor of his father's brother Emanuel Auerbach, who was killed in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War in Jerusalem, means God is with us. Sources disagree as to whether the family name was changed in 1933 or 1938.
When the family lived in Chicago, Emanuel attended the Bernard Zell Anshe Emet Day School. After his family moved to Wilmette, he attended public schools: Romona School, Locust Junior High School, and New Trier West High School. He and his brothers attended summer camp in Israel, including just after the 1967 Six-Day War.
While working at an Arby's restaurant in his high school years, Emanuel severely cut his right middle finger on a meat slicer. He sought medical attention after suffering a severe infection from swimming in Lake Michigan and as a result, had his finger partially amputated.
Emanuel was encouraged by his mother to take ballet lessons as a boy and is a graduate of the Evanston School of Ballet as well as a student of The Joel Hall Dance Center, where his children also took dance lessons. He won a scholarship to the Joffrey Ballet but turned it down to attend Sarah Lawrence College, a liberal arts school with a strong dance program.
He graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1981 with a B.A. in Liberal Arts, and went on to receive an M.A. in Speech and Communication from Northwestern University in 1985. While still an undergraduate, he joined the congressional campaign of David Robinson of Chicago.
During the 1991 Gulf War, Emanuel volunteered with the Israel Defense Forces as a civilian helping to maintain equipment.
Emanuel's wife, Amy Rule, converted to Judaism shortly before their wedding. They are members of the Chicago synagogue Anshe Sholom B'nai Israel. They have a son and two daughters.
Emanuel is a close friend of fellow Chicagoan David Axelrod, chief strategist for the 2008 Barack Obama presidential campaign. Axelrod signed the ketuba, the Jewish marriage contract, at Emanuel's wedding.
Rabbi Asher Lopatin of Anshe Sholom B'nai Israel Congregation is quoted as saying Emanuel's family is "a very involved Jewish family", adding that "Amy was one of the teachers for a class for children during the High Holidays two years ago." Emanuel has said of his Judaism: "I am proud of my heritage and treasure the values it has taught me." Emanuel's family lives on the North Side of Chicago, in the North Center neighborhood.
Emanuel trains for and participates in triathlons.
Career as political staffer
Emanuel began his political career with the public interest and consumer rights organization Illinois Public Action. He went on to serve in a number of capacities in local and national politics, initially specializing in fundraising for Illinois campaigns and then nationally.
Emanuel worked for Democrat Paul Simon's 1984 election to the U.S. Senate, was the national campaign director for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 1988, and was senior advisor and chief fundraiser for Richard M. Daley's victorious campaign for Mayor of Chicago in 1989.
At the start of then-Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton's presidential primary campaign, Emanuel was appointed to direct the campaign's finance committee. Emanuel insisted that Clinton schedule a lot of time for fundraising and greatly delay campaigning in New Hampshire. Clinton agreed and embarked on an aggressive fundraising campaign across the nation. The fundraising paid off later, providing the campaign a vital buffer to keep buying television time as attacks on Clinton's character threatened to swamp the campaign during the New Hampshire primary.
Clinton's primary rival, Paul Tsongas (the New Hampshire Democratic primary winner in 1992), later withdrew, citing a lack of campaign funds. Richard Mintz, a Washington public relations consultant who worked with Emanuel on the campaign, spoke about the soundness of the idea: "It was that [extra] million dollars that really allowed the campaign to withstand the storm we had to ride out in New Hampshire [over Clinton's relationship with Gennifer Flowers and the controversy over his draft status during the Vietnam War." Emanuel's knowledge of the top donors in the country, and his rapport with "the heavily Jewish donor community" helped Clinton amass a then-unheard-of sum of $72 million.
Following the campaign, Emanuel became a senior advisor to Clinton at the White House from 1993 to 1998. In the White House, Emanuel was initially Assistant to the President for Political Affairs and then Senior Advisor to the President for Policy and Strategy. He was a leading strategist in the unsuccessful White House efforts to institute universal healthcare and many other Clinton initiatives.
Emanuel is known for his "take-no-prisoners style" that has earned him the nickname "Rahmbo." Emanuel is said to have sent a dead fish in a box to a pollster who was late delivering polling results. On the night after the 1996 election, "Emanuel was so angry at the president's enemies that he stood up at a celebratory dinner with colleagues from the campaign, grabbed a steak knife and began rattling off a list of betrayers, shouting 'Dead! ... Dead! ... Dead!' and plunging the knife into the table after every name." Before Tony Blair gave a pro-Clinton speech during the impeachment crisis, Emanuel reportedly screamed to Blair's face "Don't fuck this up!" while Clinton was present; Blair and Clinton both burst into laughter. However, by 2007 friends of Emanuel were saying that he has "mellowed out". Stories of his personal style have entered the popular culture, inspiring articles and websites that chronicle these and other quotes and incidents. Though executive producer Lawrence O'Donnell has denied it, the character Josh Lyman in The West Wing is said to be based on Rahm Emanuel.
Political views
During his original 2002 campaign, Emanuel "indicated his support of President Bush's position on Iraq, but said he believed the president needed to better articulate his position to the American people". One of the major goals he spoke of during the race was "to help make health care affordable and available for all Americans". Emanuel's personal involvement in health care reform was made public when it was reported that he had used overtly assertive and potentially threatening tactics towards Democrats who did not toe the party line while in the shower at the House gym.
In the 2006 congressional primaries, Emanuel, then head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, made national headlines for engineering a run by Tammy Duckworth—an Iraq war veteran with no political experience—against grassroots candidate Christine Cegelis in Illinois' 6th District. Expedited withdrawal from Iraq was a central point of Cegelis' campaign; Duckworth opposed a withdrawal timetable.
In his 2006 book, co-authored with Bruce Reed, The Plan: Big Ideas for America,Emanuel advocated a three-month compulsory universal service program for Americans between the ages of 18 and 25. An expanded version of this idea was later proposed by U.S. Presidential candidate Barack Obama (who was later to choose Emanuel as his White House Chief of Staff), during his 2008 campaign, in a speech on July 2, 2008 at the University of Colorado, in which Obama proposed a "civilian national security force" (this term being used in the spoken version of his speech, not in the original written version), which included expanded voluntary national service programs in many areas, such as infrastructure rebuilding, service to the elderly, and environmental cleanup. For some of these services, tax credits and direct pay, primarily for college tuition, was proposed. Obama's original proposal was for participation by all ages, but with required participation by all middle school and high school students for 50 hours of community service a year. That proposed requirement was later modified to being "a goal". Obama's entire service program proposal quickly became controversial, largely for being mistaken as a call for a national paramilitary force, though the proposal's only reference to military service was volunteer participation in regular U.S. Armed Forces, as one activity that would qualify for inclusion under the program's umbrella.
Emanuel is generally liberal on social issues. He maintained a 100 percent pro-choice voting record, supports gay rights and same sex marriage, and is a strong supporter of gun control, rated "F" by the NRA in December 2003.[60] He has also strongly supported the banning of numerous rifles based upon "sporting" purposes criteria. He has aligned himself with the right wing of the Democratic Party, the Democratic Leadership Council.
In June 2007, Emanuel condemned an outbreak of Palestinian violence in the Gaza Strip and criticized Arab countries for not applying the same kind of pressure on the Palestinians as they have on Israel. At a 2003 pro-Israel rally in Chicago, Emanuel told the marchers Israel was ready for peace but would not get there until Palestinians "turn away from the path of terror".
Emanuel has been called an ally of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich and Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley; other sources dispute that he has been an ally of Blagojevich, for whom Emanuel served as a campaign adviser. He called Illinois state legislator John C. D'Amico in 2008 in support of Blagojevich's Illinois capital bill, but withdrew his encouragement when he discovered Daley opposed the bill.[65] After Obama's election victory, Emanuel articulated his view on the role of government as a positive force to face difficult challenges and solve national problems, notably combating global warming through green energy policies and completely restructuring the healthcare system.
White House Chief of Staff
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| Barack Obama and Rahm Emanuel in the Oval Office |
On November 6, 2008, Emanuel accepted the Cabinet-level position of White House Chief of Staff for Barack Obama He resigned his congressional seat effective January 2, 2009. A special primary to fill his vacated congressional seat was held on March 3, 2009, and the special general election on April 7. Chicago newspapers reported that one candidate for that seat said at a forum that Emanuel had told him he may be interested in running for the seat again in the future.
Some Republican leaders criticized Emanuel's appointment because they believed it went against Obama's promises to make politics less divisive, given Emanuel's reputation as a partisan Democrat. Republican Lindsey Graham disagreed, saying: "This is a wise choice by President-elect Obama. He's tough but fair—honest, direct and candid."
Ira Forman, executive director of the National Jewish Democratic Council, said that the choice indicates that Obama will not listen to the "wrong people" regarding the U.S.–Israel relationship. Some commentators opined that Emanuel would be good for the Israeli–Palestinian peace process because if Israeli leaders make excuses for not dismantling settlements, Emanuel will be tough and pressure the Israelis to comply. Some Palestinians expressed dismay at Obama’s appointment of Emanuel. Emanuel said that Obama did not need his influence to "orientate his policy toward Israel".
In a 2010 article in The New York Times, Emanuel was characterized as being "perhaps the most influential chief of staff of a generation".
At a closed-door meeting in the White House with liberal activists, he called them "fucking retarded" for planning to run TV ads attacking conservative Democrats who didn't support Obama's health-care overhaul. In February 2010, Emanuel apologized to organizations for the mentally handicapped for using the word "retarded." He expressed his regret to Tim Shriver, the chief executive of the Special Olympics after the remark was reported in an article by The Wall Street Journal about growing liberal angst at the chief of staff. The apology came as former Alaska governor and conservative activist Sarah Palin called on President Obama to fire Emanuel via the former governor's Facebook page.
Emanuel also could make his team laugh. Chief technology officer Aneesh Chopra would come to staff meetings and give uniformly upbeat reports, administration aides said. Once Emanuel is said to have looked at him and said: "Whatever you're taking, I want some." Emanuel had a hand in war strategy, political maneuvering, communications and economic policy. Bob Woodward wrote in his book, Obama's Wars that Emanuel made a habit of calling up CIA Director Leon Panetta and asking about the lethal drone strikes aimed at Al Qaeda. "Who did we get today?" he would ask.
In 2010, Emanuel was reported to have conflicts with other senior members of the president's team and ideological clashes over policy. He was also the focal point of criticism from left-leaning Democrats for the administration's perceived move to the center. By September 2010, with the Democrats anticipating heavy losses in midterm elections, this was said to precipitate Emanuel's departure as Chief of Staff.[83]
Mayor of Chicago
2011 Chicago mayoral campaign
On September 30, 2010, it was announced that Emanuel would be leaving his post as White House Chief of Staff to run for Mayor of Chicago. He was replaced by Pete Rouse on October 2, 2010.
After being cleared as eligible to run for mayor by the Board of Elections and the Cook County Circuit Court (his eligibility was challenged on the basis of his lack of residency in Chicago for one year prior to the election), a divided Court of Appeals reversed holding on January 24, 2011 that residency for purposes of a candidate is different than residency for purposes of being a voter. Nevertheless, a further appeal to the Illinois Supreme Court resulted in a unanimous decision reversing the Court of Appeals and affirming Emanuel's eligibility to run for mayor. Emanuel was elected mayor on Tuesday, February 22, 2011. He is Chicago's first Jewish mayor.
Emanuel's electoral campaign was the inspiration for a Twitter account, @MayorEmanuel, which was written by Chicago journalist Dan Sinker. The account received over 43000 followers, and was more popular than Emanuel's real Twitter account. Emanuel announced on February 28 that if the author would reveal himself, he would donate $5000 to the charity of his choice. When Sinker revealed himself, Emanuel donated the money to Young Chicago Authors, a community organization which helps young people with writing and publishing skills.
Mayoralty
Emanuel was sworn in as the 46th Mayor of Chicago on May 16, 2011 at the Pritzker Pavilion. At his inauguration were outgoing Mayor Richard M. Daley, Vice President Joe Biden, Labor Secretary Hilda Solis, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, and William M. Daley, who succeeded Emanuel as White House Chief of Staff and is the brother of the outgoing Mayor Richard Daley.
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