Wayne Hays

Who was Wayne Hays?

Wayne Levere Hays was an American politician whose strong rule of the House Administration Committee extended to even the smallest items. In the mid-1970s, lawmakers avoided crossing Hays for fear that he would shut off the air conditioning in their offices. He resigned from Congress after a much-publicized sex scandal in 1976. He resided in St. Clairsville, Ohio at the time of his death.

While his colleagues might have argued over whether he, as chairman of the House Administrative Committee and the Democratic Campaign Committee, was the second or third most powerful member of Congress, few disagreed that he stood in a class by himself as the meanest man in the House.