Dennis Hastert

Who is Dennis Hastert?

John Dennis "Denny" Hastert is an American politician, lobbyist and member of the Republican Party who was the 59th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, serving from 1999 to 2007. He represented Illinois's 14th congressional district for twenty years, 1987 to 2007.

He is the longest-serving Republican Speaker in history. Hastert was reelected to an eleventh term in Congress in the 2006 general election, however, the Republican Party lost its majority in the House and Hastert did not seek a leadership position in the 110th Congress. Instead, he resigned his seat mid-session and became a lobbyist. Hastert endorsed former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney for the 2008 Republican Presidential nomination before Romney withdrew from the race. He endorsed Romney again for the 2012 nomination.