Jim Sensenbrenner
Frank James Sensenbrenner Jr. (/ˈsɛnsənˌbrɛnər/; born June 14, 1943) is an American politician who represented Wisconsin's 5th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1979 to 2021 (numbered as the 9th district until 2003). He is a member of the Republican Party.
"Sensenbrenner" redirects here. For other uses, see Sensenbrenner (disambiguation).
Jim Sensenbrenner
9th district (1979–2003)
5th district (2003–2021)
District established
District abolished
25th Milwaukee County
2
John C. Pritzlaff (great-great-grandfather)
James C. Kerwin (great-grandfather)
F. Joseph Sensenbrenner Jr. (2nd cousin)
He is the former chairman of the House Science Committee and the former chairman of the House Judiciary Committee; when the Republicans lost control of the House, he finished his six-year term as chairman and was not chosen as the Judiciary Committee's ranking minority member (that honor went to Lamar S. Smith of Texas).[1] He served as the ranking Republican on the House Select Committee for Energy Independence and Global Warming from 2007 to 2011 before Republicans abolished the committee after regaining control of the House. At the time of his retirement, Sensenbrenner was the most senior member of the Wisconsin delegation and the second most senior member in the House.
Sensenbrenner announced in September 2019 that he would not run for re-election in 2020.[2]
Early life, education, and early political career[edit]
Sensenbrenner was born in Chicago, Illinois. His great-grandfather, Frank J. Sensenbrenner, was involved in the early marketing of Kotex sanitary napkin and served as the second president of Kimberly-Clark.[3] His grandfather, John S. Sensenbrenner, also spent his entire career working for Kimberly-Clark.[4] Sensenbrenner was raised in Shorewood, Wisconsin, and attended the private Milwaukee Country Day School, from which he graduated in 1961. He matriculated at Stanford University, graduating with a B.A. in political science in 1965. He received a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1968. Sensenbrenner served as staff assistant to California U.S. Congressman J. Arthur Younger and Wisconsin State Senator Jerris Leonard.[5]
Wisconsin legislature[edit]
Sensenbrenner was elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1968, the same year he graduated from law school. He served in the State Assembly until 1975, and in the Wisconsin State Senate from 1975 to early 1979.[6]
Personal life[edit]
In 1977, Sensenbrenner married Cheryl Warren, daughter of former state attorney general and U.S. District Court Judge Robert W. Warren. The couple have two sons, Frank (born 1981), and Bob (born 1984). Frank worked as a lobbyist for the Canadian embassy in Washington D.C. starting in 2007, although he didn't register with the U.S. as an agent for a foreign government.[56] He is currently a visiting fellow at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, his research focusing on Eurozone financial markets, and has blogged for the Huffington Post on Italian politics and the Vatican.[57][58]
When not in Washington D.C., Sensenbrenner resides in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin.
Sensenbrenner has a net worth of about $11.6 million.[59] His net worth in 2010 was $9.9 million.[60] He is an heir to the Kimberly-Clark family fortune,[61] but no longer owns any Kimberly-Clark stock.[60] His great-grandfather, Frank J. Sensenbrenner, who served as Kimberly-Clark's second president and CEO during the period Kimberly Clark developed Kotex and numerous other consumable goods, but the congressman has never served on the board or been directly involved with the company.[60] He has put his money into stocks, as detailed in the Congressional Record.[8] Sensenbrenner has also won lottery prizes three times, the largest, $250,000, in 1997.[59][62]
Other notable ancestors of Sensenbrenner's include maternal great-great-grandfather John C. Pritzlaff, founder of Milwaukee-based John Pritzlaff Hardware Company, and paternal great-grandfather James C. Kerwin, a justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. His ancestry includes German, Irish, and Alsatian.[63]
In August 2009, Sensenbrenner announced that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. His doctor said the cancer was caught in the early stages when the cure rate is between 85 and 95 percent.[64]
A former United Episcopalian, Sensenbrenner became a Catholic in August 2014.[65]
Sensenbrenner's wife, Cheryl, died on June 15, 2020, in Alexandria, Virginia, after suffering a stroke six years earlier.[66]