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{{Short description|American lawyer and politician (born 1955)}}
{{About|the U.S. senator|his grandfather, the U.S. diplomat|Edwin Sheldon Whitehouse}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2018}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Sheldon Whitehouse
| image = Sheldon Whitehouse, official portrait, 116th congress.jpg
| caption = Official portrait, 2019
| jr/sr = United States Senator
| state = [[Rhode Island]]
| alongside = [[Jack Reed (Rhode Island politician)|Jack Reed]]
| term_start = January 3, 2007
| term_end =
| predecessor = [[Lincoln Chafee]]
{{Collapsed infobox section begin|Senate positions|titlestyle=border: 1px dashed lightgrey;}}
{{Infobox officeholder |embed=yes
| office1 = Ranking Member of the [[United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works|Senate Environment Committee]]
| term_start1 = January 3, 2025
| term_end1 =
| predecessor1 = [[Shelley Moore Capito]]
| successor1 =
| office2 = Chair of the [[United States Senate Committee on the Budget|Senate Budget Committee]]
| term_start2 = January 3, 2023
| term_end2 = January 3, 2025
| predecessor2 = [[Bernie Sanders]]
| successor2 = [[Lindsey Graham]]
| office3 = Chair of the [[United States Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control|Senate International Narcotics Control Caucus]]
| term_start3 = February 3, 2021
| term_end3 = January 3, 2025
| predecessor3 = [[John Cornyn]]
| successor3 = [[John Cornyn]]
}}
{{Collapsed infobox section end}}
| office4 = 71st [[List of attorneys general of Rhode Island|Attorney General of Rhode Island]]
| governor4 = [[Lincoln Almond]]
| term_start4 = January 2, 1999
| term_end4 = January 7, 2003
| predecessor4 = [[Jeffrey B. Pine]]
| successor4 = [[Patrick Lynch (Rhode Island attorney general)|Patrick Lynch]]
| office5 = [[United States Attorney]] for the [[United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island|District of Rhode Island]]
| president5 = [[Bill Clinton]]
| term_start5 = January 20, 1993
| term_end5 = June 8, 1998
| predecessor5 = Lincoln Almond
| successor5 = [[Margaret E. Curran|Margaret Curran]]
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1955|10|20}}
| birth_place = [[New York City]], [[New York (state)|New York]], U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| spouse = {{marriage|Sandra Thornton|1986}}
| children = 2
| parents = Mary Rand<br />[[Charles S. Whitehouse|Charles Whitehouse]]
| relatives = [[Rufus Rand]] (grandfather)<br />[[Edwin Sheldon Whitehouse]] (grandfather)<br />''See the [[Crocker family]]''
| education = [[Yale University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])<br />[[University of Virginia]] ([[Juris Doctor|JD]])
| signature = Sheldon Whitehouse Signature.svg
| signature_alt = Cursive signature in ink
| website = {{URL|whitehouse.senate.gov|Senate website}}<br/>{{URL|https://whitehouseforsenate.com/|Campaign website}}
| module = {{Listen
|pos = center
|embed = yes
|filename = Sheldon Whitehouse questions witnesses on Guantanomo Bay Detainees and torture during the War on Terror.ogg
|title = Sheldon Whitehouse's voice
|type = speech
|description = Sheldon Whitehouse questions witnesses on [[Guantanamo Bay detention camp|Guantanamo Bay]] detainees and [[torture]] during the [[War on Terror]]<br />Recorded December 7, 2021}}
}}
'''Sheldon Whitehouse''' (born October 20, 1955) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the [[Seniority in the United States Senate|junior]] [[United States Senate|United States senator]] from [[Rhode Island]], a seat he has held since 2007. A member of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]], he served as the [[United States Attorney]] for the [[United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island|District of Rhode Island]] from 1993 to 1998, and as the 71st [[List of attorneys general of Rhode Island|attorney general of Rhode Island]] from 1999 to 2003. He was elected to the Senate In [[2006 United States Senate election in Rhode Island|2006]], defeating [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] incumbent [[Lincoln Chafee]]. He was reelected in [[2012 United States Senate election in Rhode Island|2012]], [[2018 United States Senate election in Rhode Island|2018]], and [[2024 United States Senate election in Rhode Island|2024]].
A political [[Progressivism in the United States|progressive]] and climate hawk, Whitehouse became chair of the [[United States Senate Committee on the Budget]] in 2023. He has given hundreds of Senate floor speeches about [[climate change]] and asserted that politically conservative "[[dark money]]" groups are conducting a campaign to take control of the U.S. government, specifically the [[Supreme Court of the United States]], to prevent [[climate action]], among other reasons.<ref name=emma>{{cite news |last1=Emma |first1=Caitlin |title=Senate's new budget boss is also a climate hawk |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2023/03/26/sheldon-whitehouse-budget-climate-00088574 |access-date=12 April 2023 |work=Politico |date=March 26, 2023 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Lenkowsky |first1=Leslie |title='The Scheme' Review: Yet Another Conspiracy Theory |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-scheme-review-yet-another-conspiracy-theory-11670281150 |access-date=12 April 2023 |work=Wall Street Journal |date=December 5, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Seddiq |first1=Oma |title=This member of Congress wants everyone to know about the 'dark money scheme' that's 'captured' the Supreme Court |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/sheldon-whitehouse-fighting-to-end-dark-money-at-supreme-court-2021-11 |access-date=12 April 2023 |work=Business Insider |date=November 20, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Newell |first1=Jim |title=Will the Senate's Most Frustrated Climate Hawk Finally Get the Change He's Been Waiting For? |url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2021/09/sheldon-whitehouse-climate-change-legislation-democrats-biden-manchin-senate.html |access-date=12 April 2023 |work=Slate |date=14 September 2021}}</ref>
{{TOC limit|3}}
==Early life and education==
Whitehouse was born on October 20, 1955, in New York City,<ref name=about>{{cite web |title=About Sheldon |url=https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/about/biography |website=whitehouse.senate.gov|publisher=Office of Senator Sheldon Whitehouse |access-date=21 January 2020}}</ref> the son of Mary Celine (née Rand) and career diplomat [[Charles S. Whitehouse|Charles Sheldon Whitehouse]], and grandson of diplomat [[Edwin Sheldon Whitehouse]] (1883–1965). Whitehouse's father served as the U.S. Ambassador to [[Thailand]] and [[Laos]].<ref name=emma/> Among his great-great-grandfathers were Episcopal bishop [[Henry John Whitehouse]] and railroad executive<ref>{{Cite web |title=Charles Crocker: Railroad, Robber Baron, Net Worth |url=https://www.american-rails.com/charles-crocker.html |access-date=2023-09-02 |website=American-Rails.com}}</ref> [[Charles Crocker]], who was among the founders of the [[Central Pacific Railroad]]. Whitehouse graduated from [[St. Paul's School (Concord, New Hampshire)|St. Paul's School]] in [[Concord, New Hampshire|Concord]], New Hampshire, and in 1978 from [[Yale College]]. He received his [[Juris Doctor]] from the [[University of Virginia School of Law]] in 1982, where he became friends with [[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]]<ref name=emma/>
==Early career==
Whitehouse worked as a clerk for Justice [[Richard Neely]] of the [[Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia]] from 1982 to 1983. He also worked in the [[Attorney General of Rhode Island|Rhode Island Attorney General]]'s office as a special assistant attorney general from 1985 to 1990, chief of the Regulatory Unit (which oversaw utilities) from 1988 to 1990, and as an assistant attorney general from 1989 to 1990.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}}
Whitehouse worked as Rhode Island Governor [[Bruce Sundlun]]'s executive counsel beginning in 1991, and was later tapped to serve as director of policy. He oversaw the state's response to the [[Rhode Island banking crisis]] that took place soon after Sundlun took office.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ross |first1=Ken |title=Closed R.I. credit unions face ultimatum from state |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1991/01/10/Closed-RI-credit-unions-face-ultimatum-from-state/6015663483600/ |access-date=12 April 2023 |work=UPI Archives|date=January 10, 1991 |language=en}}</ref> In 1992, Sundlun appointed Whitehouse the state's Director of Business Regulation, where he oversaw the state's workers' compensation insurance system.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}}
==Early political career==
===U.S. attorney===
President [[Bill Clinton]] appointed Whitehouse [[United States Attorney]] for Rhode Island in 1994. Whitehouse held the position for four years. With the 1996 extortion conviction of mobster [[Gerard Ouimette]], he was the first prosecutor to convict a member of organized crime under Clinton's "[[three strikes law]]". Ouimette was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole.<ref name=":17">{{Cite news|url=http://res.providencejournal.com/hercules/extra/2007/mob/archive_stories/19960202.html|title=State of the Mob: Three strikes and he's in|last=Malinowski|first=W. Zachary|date=1996-02-02|work=[[The Providence Journal]]|access-date=2017-09-25}}</ref>
===State attorney general===
In 1998, Whitehouse was elected [[Rhode Island Attorney General]]. He initiated a lawsuit against the [[lead paint]] industry that ended in a mistrial; the state later won a second lawsuit against former lead paint manufacturers [[Sherwin-Williams]], Millennium Holdings, and NL Industries that found them responsible for creating a public nuisance.<ref>Peter B. Lord, "3 companies found liable in lead-paint nuisance suit," ''[[The Providence Journal]]'', February 23, 2006.[https://web.archive.org/web/20060303184724/http://www.projo.com/news/content/projo_20060223_lead23.180686c3.html]</ref> This decision, however, was unanimously overturned by the [[Rhode Island Supreme Court]] on July 1, 2008. The court found that under Rhode Island law it is the responsibility of property owners to abate and mitigate lead hazards.<ref>{{cite news |title=R.I. high court overturns lead paint verdict |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna25475315 |access-date=12 April 2023 |work=NBC News |agency=[[Associated Press|AP]] |date=July 1, 2008 |language=en}}</ref>
When African-American Providence police officer [[Cornel Young Jr.]] was shot and killed by two fellow officers while he was off duty in January 2000,<ref>{{cite web | author=Ken Mingis |url=http://www.projo.com/cgi-bin/include.pl/news/young/archive/shot0128.htm |title=Off-duty Providence police officer shot and killed outside restaurant |access-date=September 9, 2005 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051110105449/http://www.projo.com/cgi-bin/include.pl/news/young/archive/shot0128.htm |archive-date=November 10, 2005 }}</ref> Whitehouse was criticized for not appointing an [[special prosecutor|independent prosecutor]] to investigate the shooting.<ref>Jonathan D. Rockoff, "Minority leaders seek independent inquiry," ''[[The Providence Journal]]'', February 6, 2000.{{cite web |url=http://www.projo.com/cgi-bin/include.pl/news/young/archive/cy0206a.htm |title=| projo.com | the Providence Journal | Digital Extra | the shooting of SGT. Cornel Young Jr |access-date=July 3, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110628210056/http://www.projo.com/cgi-bin/include.pl/news/young/archive/cy0206a.htm |archive-date=June 28, 2011 }}</ref> Later that year, Whitehouse was criticized when 15-year-old Jennifer Rivera, a witness in a murder case, was shot by a relative of the man she was to testify against later that year.<ref>Mark Arsenault, "Grounded in law, Whitehouse builds his case on leadership," ''[[The Providence Journal]]'', August 25, 2002.[http://www.projo.com/extra/election/content/projo_20020825_white25.4ac8.html]</ref>
===2002 gubernatorial election===
{{main|2002 Rhode Island gubernatorial election}}
Whitehouse ran for the Democratic nomination for [[governor of Rhode Island]] in 2002. He lost the [[Partisan primary|primary election]] to former State Senator [[Myrth York]], who was unsuccessful in the general election against Republican [[Donald Carcieri]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Elections & Voting- Board of Elections |url=https://elections.ri.gov/elections/results/2002/statewideprimary/ |website=elections.ri.gov |access-date=12 April 2023}}</ref>
==U.S. Senate==
[[File:Sheldon Whitehouse Senator from Rhode Island.jpg|thumb|165px|Whitehouse speaking in 2008]]
===Elections===
==== 2006 ====
{{main|2006 United States Senate election in Rhode Island}}
Whitehouse launched his campaign for the U.S. Senate seat held by [[Lincoln Chafee]], a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]], on April 4, 2005.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/article/florida-today-former-attorney-general-an/136827717/ Former attorney general announces bid for Senate seat]. ''Florida Today''. April 5, 2005.</ref> By September 30, he had raised over $600,000 for his campaign, including $360,000 of his own, more than doubling Chafee's fundraising.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-day-chafee-trails-his-opponents-in-r/136828247/ Chafee trails his opponents in raising funds for Senate race]. ''The Day''. October 15, 2005.</ref> Whitehouse campaigned heavily against the [[Iraq War]] and the United States's dependence on foreign oil.<ref>Klein, Rick (September 13, 2006). [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-kansas-city-star-chafee-holds-early/136827612/ CHAFEE HOLDS EARLY LEAD]. ''The Kansas City Star''.</ref> After winning the Democratic primary by a large margin, he defeated Chafee with 53% of the vote in the 2006 general election.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/2006/2006Stat.htm#39|title = Office of the Clerk, U.S. House of Representatives}}</ref> With his victory, Whitehouse became the first Democrat to win this Senate seat since [[John Pastore]] in [[1970 United States Senate election in Rhode Island|1970]].
==== 2012 ====
{{main|2012 United States Senate election in Rhode Island}}
On November 6, 2012, Whitehouse won reelection to a second term in office, defeating Republican nominee [[2012 United States Senate election in Rhode Island|Barry Hinckley]] by 30 points, with 64.9% of the vote.<ref name=electionresults>{{cite web|title=2012 Election Results
|url=http://narragansett.patch.com/articles/2012-election-results|publisher=Narragansett–South Kingstown Patch |access-date=November 8, 2012|date=November 7, 2012}}</ref>
==== 2018 ====
{{main|2018 United States Senate election in Rhode Island}}
On November 6, 2018, Whitehouse was reelected to a third term, defeating Republican nominee [[Robert Flanders]] by 23 points.<ref name="United States Senate general election in Rhode Island, 2018"/>
==== 2024 ====
{{main|2024 United States Senate election in Rhode Island}}
On November 5, 2024, Whitehouse was reelected to a fourth term, defeating Republican nominee [[Patricia Morgan]] by 20 points.<ref>{{cite web |title=RI.gov: Election Results |url=https://www.ri.gov/election/results/2024/general_election/ |access-date=31 May 2025}}</ref>
===Tenure===
[[File:Sheldon Whitehouse MSC 2018 (cropped).jpg|thumb|200px|Whitehouse during the [[Munich Security Conference]] 2018]]
In 2007, the ''[[National Journal]]'' ranked Whitehouse the second-most liberal senator.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nationaljournal.com/voteratings/sen/lib_cons.htm?o1=con_composite&o2=desc#results|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080925095516/http://www.nationaljournal.com/voteratings/sen/lib_cons.htm?o1=con_composite&o2=desc#results|url-status=dead|title=National Journal's 2007 Vote Ratings|archive-date=September 25, 2008|access-date=September 10, 2019}}</ref>
He voted to confirm [[Elena Kagan Supreme Court nomination|Elena Kagan]] and [[Sonia Sotomayor Supreme Court nomination|Sonia Sotomayor]] to the [[Supreme Court of the United States|Supreme Court]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vote on Elena Kagan Confirmation {{!}} C-SPAN.org |url=https://www.c-span.org/video/?294632-1/vote-elena-kagan-confirmation |access-date=2024-02-27 |website=www.c-span.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Whitehouse Praises Senate's Confirmation of Sotomayor |url=https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/news/release/whitehouse-praises-senates-confirmation-of-sotomayor/ |access-date=2024-02-27 |website=Senator Sheldon Whitehouse |language=en-US}}</ref>
In the spring of 2007, Whitehouse joined other senators in calling for [[United States Attorney General|Attorney General]] [[Alberto Gonzales|Alberto Gonzales's]] resignation.<ref>{{cite news | first=David| last=Stout|author-link=David Stout|title =Bush Backs Gonzales in Face of No-Confidence Vote| work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/05/24/washington/24cnd-attorneys.html?ex=1188360000&en=0cbfc7ae45364884&ei=5070 | date = May 24, 2007|access-date=November 24, 2020}}</ref> After Gonzales's first appearance before the [[United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary|Senate Judiciary Committee]] related to the [[2006 dismissal of U.S. attorneys|controversy]], Whitehouse told [[NPR]], "[Gonzales] had a hard sell to make to me, and he didn't make it."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.wbur.org/npr/9692295|title=Sen. Whitehouse: Gonzales Not Convincing|publisher=[[WBUR]]|date=April 19, 2007|access-date=November 21, 2015|archive-date=November 22, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151122014937/http://www.wbur.org/npr/9692295|url-status=dead}}</ref> He continued to question Gonzales's service in the [[NSA warrantless surveillance controversy]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Gonzales Denies Improper Pressure on Ashcroft|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/25/washington/25gonzales.html|first1=David|last1=Johnston|first2=Scott|last2=Shane|author2-link=Scott Shane|date=July 25, 2007|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 24, 2020}}</ref>
Upon Attorney General [[Eric Holder]]'s announcement in September 2014 of his intention to step down, some speculated that Whitehouse could be nominated as Holder's replacement.<ref>{{cite web|author=[[Matt Apuzzo]] & Michael D. Shear|date=September 25, 2014|title=Attorney General Eric Holder, Prominent Liberal Voice in Obama Administration, Is Resigning|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/26/us/politics/eric-holder-resigning-as-attorney-general.html?_r=0|access-date=September 25, 2014|work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|author=Camia, Catalina|date=September 25, 2014|title=After Eric Holder: Potential attorney general choices|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2014/09/25/eric-holder-attorney-general-replacements/16203345/|access-date=September 25, 2014|publisher=[[USA Today]]}}</ref>
In February 2016, after the death of U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice [[Antonin Scalia]], ''[[USA Today]]'' named Whitehouse as a possible nominee to fill the vacancy. Whitehouse's service as a U.S. Attorney and as Attorney General of Rhode Island gives him both legislative experience and experience as a legal official, though not as a judge.<ref>{{cite web|title=Who could replace Scalia? Here are 10 names| website=[[MSN]] |url=https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/who-could-replace-scalia-here-are-10-names/ar-BBptsEf?li=BBnb7Kz|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160216193806/http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/who-could-replace-scalia-here-are-10-names/ar-BBptsEf?li=BBnb7Kz|archive-date=February 16, 2016|access-date=February 14, 2016}}</ref> Whitehouse was ultimately not nominated.
In August 2024, Whitehouse said that if Democrats won control of the White House, Senate, and House of Representatives in the [[2024 United States elections|2024 elections]], they would be "virtually certain" to pass a Supreme Court reform bill by a simple majority, which would evade the 60-vote requirement for [[cloture]]. Whitehouse said Democrats would include 18-year term limits for Supreme Court justices and establish ethics and recusal rules in an omnibus package that would also include a bill creating a national right to abortion.<ref>{{cite news |title=Democrats Still Hope to Remake the Supreme Court in 2025 |url=https://thedispatch.com/newsletter/dispatch-politics/democrats-still-hope-to-remake-the-supreme-court-in-2025/ |access-date=29 August 2024 |work=The Dispatch |date=29 August 2024}}</ref>
====Allegations of insider trading and failure to disclose stock purchases====
Whitehouse has faced some criticism for alleged [[insider trading]], avoiding big losses by trading stocks after top federal officials warned congressional leaders of "the coming economic cataclysm" on September 16, 2008.<ref name="The Providence Journal">{{cite web|title=Sen. Whitehouse mentioned in book on Congressional 'insider' trading|url=http://news.providencejournal.com/breaking-news/2011/11/ready-100.html|work=[[The Providence Journal]]|access-date=December 28, 2012|archive-date=November 20, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111120190033/http://news.providencejournal.com/breaking-news/2011/11/ready-100.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> After meeting with [[Federal Reserve]] Chairman [[Ben Bernanke]] and [[United States Department of the Treasury|Treasury]] Secretary [[Henry Paulson]] on September 16, and being briefed on the unfolding financial crisis, Whitehouse sold a number of positions, valued between $250,000 and $600,000, over the next six days.<ref name="Public Trust">{{cite news|title= How Congress Insider Traders Abused The Public's Trust During The Financial Crisis|url=http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-how-congressmen-gamed-the-financial-crisis-to-make-big-bucks-in-the-stock-market-2011-11#sen-sheldon-whitehouse-d-ri-5|newspaper=[[Business Insider]]}}</ref><ref name="Financials">{{Cite web|url=http://pfds.opensecrets.org/N00027533_2008.pdf|title=Open Secrets Report|access-date=September 10, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last1=Miller |first1=Zeke | first2=Michael Brendan | last2=Dougherty |title= How Congress Insider Traders Abused The Public's Trust During The Financial Crisis |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/heres-how-congressmen-gamed-the-financial-crisis-to-make-big-bucks-in-the-stock-market-2011-11 |access-date=2023-09-03 |website=Business Insider |language=en-US}}</ref> After coming under scrutiny due to possible insider trading, a spokesperson for his office denied it, saying Whitehouse "is not actively involved in the management" of the implicated accounts and that he "neither directed his financial advisor to undertake any transaction during that time, nor ever took advantage of any exclusive or secret information".<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.providencejournal.com/breaking-news/2011/11/ready-100.html |title=Breaking News | providencejournal.com | The Providence Journal |publisher=News.providencejournal.com |date=April 9, 2014 |access-date=April 13, 2014 |archive-date=November 20, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111120190033/http://news.providencejournal.com/breaking-news/2011/11/ready-100.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>
In March 2022, ''[[Business Insider]]'' reported that Whitehouse had violated the [[STOCK Act]], which is designed to combat insider trading, by failing to disclose two personal stock purchases by the federal deadline. The stocks in question were for the [[Target Corporation]] and [[Tesla, Inc.]] Whitehouse's office acknowledged that he missed the disclosure deadline, blaming it on a staff transition in his office.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Levinthal |first1=Dave |title=Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse violated a conflict-of-interest law with 2 late stock purchase disclosures |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/sheldon-whitehouse-rhode-island-stock-act-congress-trading-tesla-target-2022-3 |access-date=31 March 2022 |publisher=Business Insider |date=March 19, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Nesi |first1=Ted |title=Sen. Whitehouse missed deadline to disclose purchase of Target, Tesla stock |url=https://www.wpri.com/news/politics/sen-whitehouse-missed-deadline-to-disclose-purchase-of-target-tesla-stock/ |access-date=31 March 2022 |work=WPRI.com |date=19 March 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Fenton |first1=Josh |title=Whitehouse Violated Conflict-of-Interest Law with 2 Late Stock Purchase Disclosures, Says Report |url=https://www.golocalprov.com/news/Whitehouse-Violated-Conflict-of-Interest-Law-with-2-Late-Stock-Purchase-Dis |access-date=31 March 2022 |work=GoLocalProv |date=March 21, 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Levinthal |first1=Dave |last2=Hall |first2=Madison |title=78 members of Congress have violated a law designed to prevent insider trading and stop conflicts-of-interest |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/congress-stock-act-violations-senate-house-trading-2021-9 |access-date=12 April 2023 |work=Business Insider |date=January 3, 2023}}</ref>
In September 2022, an investigation by ''The New York Times'' found that Whitehouse was among the members of Congress who had bought or sold stock that intersected with his congressional work, including trading stock in public companies that came before the committees on which he serves.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Parlapiano |first1=Alicia |last2=Playford |first2=Adam |last3=Kelly |first3=Kate |author3-link=Kate Kelly (journalist) |last4=Uz |first4=Ege |title=These 97 Members of Congress Reported Trades in Companies Influenced by Their Committees |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/09/13/us/politics/congress-members-stock-trading-list.html |work=The New York Times |date=13 September 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Fenton |first1=Josh |title=NYT Investigation Finds Whitehouse Traded Stock in Companies in Which He Had Oversight |url=https://www.golocalprov.com/news/nyt-investigation-finds-whitehouse-traded-stock-in-companies-in-which-he-ha |access-date=12 April 2023 |work=GoLocalProv |language=en}}</ref>
===Committee assignments===
:''Sources:''<ref>[http://democrats.senate.gov/committees/ Committee Assignments] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401063437/http://democrats.senate.gov/committees/ |date=April 1, 2016 }} ''United States Senate''. Retrieved March 29, 2016.</ref><ref>
[http://senate.gov/general/committee_membership/committee_memberships_SSJU.htm Senate Judiciary Committee and Subcommittee membership] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070625143804/http://senate.gov/general/committee_membership/committee_memberships_SSJU.htm |date=June 25, 2007 }} ''United States Senate'' Retrieved June 20, 2008.</ref><ref>
[http://senate.gov/general/committee_membership/committee_memberships_SSEV.htm Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and Subcommittee membership] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070630103553/http://senate.gov/general/committee_membership/committee_memberships_SSEV.htm |date=June 30, 2007 }} ''United States Senate'' Retrieved June 20, 2008.</ref>
* [[United States Senate Committee on the Budget|Committee on Budget]]
* [[United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works|Committee on Environment and Public Works]] (Ranking Member)
** [[United States Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Oversight|Subcommittee on Oversight]]
** [[United States Senate Environment Subcommittee on Chemical Safety, Waste Management, Environmental Justice and Regulatory Oversight|Subcommittee on Superfund, Toxics and Environmental Health]]
** [[United States Senate Environment Subcommittee on Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife|Subcommittee on Water and Wildlife]]
* [[United States Senate Committee on Finance|Committee on Finance]]
* [[United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary|Committee on the Judiciary]]
*[[United States Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control]] (Chair)
* [[Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe]]
===Caucus memberships===
* Healthy Kids Caucus
* [[United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus|International Conservation Caucus]] (Co-chair)
* [[Senate Oceans Caucus]] (Co-chair)
*[[Afterschool Caucuses]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Members|url=http://www.afterschoolalliance.org/policyCongressionalCaucuses.cfm|publisher=Afterschool Alliance|access-date=April 17, 2018}}</ref>
==Political positions==
According to ''Politico'', during Whitehouse's chairmanship of the Senate Budget Committee, he turned the committee into a de facto climate panel. He has sought to subpoena the executives of leading oil companies and to impose a carbon tax.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Dumain |first1=Emma |title=E&E News: Sheldon Whitehouse plots his next act on climate change |url=https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/eenews/2024/12/17/sheldon-whitehouse-plots-his-next-act-on-climate-change-00194667 |access-date=30 December 2024 |work=Politico |date=December 17, 2024 |language=en}}</ref>
===D.C. statehood===
In a 2018 interview with the ''[[Providence Journal]]'', Whitehouse expressed opposition to [[D.C. Statehood|D.C. statehood]]. He was dismissive of efforts to give District residents representation in Congress, suggesting they should be satisfied with the amount of federal activity nearby.<ref name="projo.statehood">{{cite news|last=Gregg|first=Katherine|date=21 October 2018|title=Political Scene: Candidates weigh in on gambling, recession, Fane tower|work=[[The Providence Journal]]|___location=Providence RI|url=http://www.providencejournal.com/news/20181021/political-scene-candidates-weigh-in-on-gambling-recession-fane-tower|access-date=26 October 2018}}</ref><ref name="newrepublic1">{{cite news|last=Ford|first=Matt|date=26 October 2018|title=Sheldon Whitehouse's Frustrating, Illogical Remarks on D.C. Statehood|work=[[The Providence Journal]]|___location=Providence RI|url=https://newrepublic.com/article/151901/sheldon-whitehouses-frustrating-illogical-remarks-dc-statehood|access-date=20 July 2019}}</ref> In July 2020, he cosponsored a Senate bill to grant D.C. statehood.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Carper|first=Thomas R.|date=2019-02-28|title=Cosponsors – S.631 – 116th Congress (2019–2020): Washington, D.C. Admission Act|url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-congress/senate-bill/631/cosponsors|access-date=2020-11-26|website=www.congress.gov}}</ref>
===Environmental issues===
In November 2011, Whitehouse introduced the Safeguarding America's Future and Environment (SAFE) Act, a bill that would require federal natural resource agencies to be concerned with the long-term effects of climate change, encourage states to prepare natural resource adaptation plans, and "create a science advisory board to ensure that the planning uses the best available science".<ref name="Resilience">{{cite news|last=Johnson|first=Brad|date=November 17, 2011|title=Climate Hawk Sheldon Whitehouse Introduces Climate Resilience Legislation|work=[[ThinkProgress]]|url=http://thinkprogress.org/green/2011/11/17/370595/climate-hawk-sheldon-whitehouse-introduces-climate-resilience-legislation/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323184723/http://thinkprogress.org/green/2011/11/17/370595/climate-hawk-sheldon-whitehouse-introduces-climate-resilience-legislation/|archive-date=March 23, 2012}}</ref>
Of a proposed action on mandatory emissions curbs, Whitehouse told [[The Hill (newspaper)|''The Hill'']], "I am not hearing anybody on our side, even the people who are more economically concerned about the climate legislation who come from coal states, that sort of thing, saying, 'What are we going to say about this, is this a problem?'"<ref name="Climategate">{{cite news |title='Climategate' hasn't swayed swing votes on climate change bill |newspaper=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]] |url=http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/70831-climategate-hasnt-swayed-swing-votessenators-say |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091209021354/http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/70831-climategate-hasnt-swayed-swing-votes-senators-say |archive-date=2009-12-09}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
Whitehouse dismissed the [[Climatic Research Unit email controversy|Climatic Research Unit conspiracy theory]]: "Climategate should properly be known as Climategate-gate because it was the scandal that was phony."<ref name="Climate Hawks">{{cite news|last=Johnson|first=Brad|date=December 15, 2011|title=Climate Hawks Whitehouse And Franken Hold Climate Crisis Colloquy|newspaper=[[ThinkProgress]]|url=http://thinkprogress.org/green/2011/12/15/390202/video-climate-hawks-whitehouse-and-franken-hold-climate-crisis-colloquy/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150506103652/http://thinkprogress.org/green/2011/12/15/390202/video-climate-hawks-whitehouse-and-franken-hold-climate-crisis-colloquy/|archive-date=May 6, 2015}}</ref>
Whitehouse has said that the development of [[Energy development|alternate energy sources]], including [[solar power]], will eliminate U.S. dependence on foreign oil. He has cited the installation of new solar panels on three new bank branches in Rhode Island, saying that the projects "created jobs, they put people to work, they lowered the cost for these banks of their electrical energy, and they get us off foreign oil and away, step by step, from these foreign entanglements that we have to get into to defend our oil supply". [[PolitiFact]] investigated the economics of [[renewable energy]] and determined that solar and wind investments would not have a large effect on oil consumption, calling Whitehouse's comments "mostly false" due to "this misimpression—and because of the other inaccuracies in Whitehouse's speech".<ref name="Renewable Energy">{{cite web|last=Kuffner|first=Alex|date=January 8, 2012|title=U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse says that the development of solar power and other forms of renewable energy will "get us off" foreign oil|url=http://www.politifact.com/rhode-island/statements/2012/jan/08/sheldon-whitehouse/us-sen-sheldon-whitehouse-says-development-solar-p/|access-date=December 4, 2020|work=[[PolitiFact]]}}</ref>
In a May 29, 2015, ''Washington Post'' editorial, Whitehouse advocated prosecution of members of the fossil fuel industry under the [[RICO Act|Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO)]].<ref name="Senator Advocates Criminal Charges for Political Speech">{{cite news|last=Whitehouse|first=Sheldon|date=May 29, 2015|title=The fossil-fuel industry's campaign to mislead the American people|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-fossil-fuel-industrys-campaign-to-mislead-the-american-people/2015/05/29/04a2c448-0574-11e5-8bda-c7b4e9a8f7ac_story.html|access-date=December 4, 2020|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref>
In April 2019, Whitehouse was one of 12 senators to sign a bipartisan letter to top senators on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development advocating that the Energy Department be granted maximum funding for [[Carbon capture and storage|carbon capture]], utilization and storage (CCUS), arguing that American job growth could be stimulated by investment in capturing carbon emissions and expressing disagreement with President Trump's 2020 budget request to combine the two federal programs that do carbon capture research.<ref>{{cite news|last=Green|first=Miranda|date=April 5, 2019|title=Bipartisan senators want 'highest possible' funding for carbon capture technology|newspaper=[[The Hill (newspaper)|The Hill]]|url=https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/437618-bipartisan-group-of-senators-request-highest-possible-funding-for/|access-date=December 4, 2020}}</ref>
In July 2024, Whitehouse authored legislation to prohibit the [[Octopus aquaculture|commercial farming of octopuses]] nationwide, after [[Washington octopus protection law|Washington]] and [[California]] enacted octopus farming bans. He cited environmental and [[animal welfare]] concerns, telling [[NPR]]: "Octopuses are among the most [[Cephalopod intelligence|intelligent]] creatures in the oceans. And they belong at sea, not suffering on a [[factory farm]]."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Chappell |first1=Bill |title=Octopus farming in the U.S. would be banned under a new bill in Congress |url=https://www.npr.org/2024/07/25/nx-s1-5051801/octopus-farming-ban-us-congress |access-date=9 June 2025 |work=NPR |date=25 July 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240726010749/https://www.npr.org/2024/07/25/nx-s1-5051801/octopus-farming-ban-us-congress |archive-date=26 July 2024}}</ref> Whitehouse reintroduced the legislation in 2025.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Cabico |first1=Gaea |title=Octopus Farming in the U.S. Doesn’t Exist, and a New Bill Wants to Keep It That Way |url=https://sentientmedia.org/octopus-farming-in-the-u-s-doesnt-exist/ |access-date=25 June 2025 |work=Sentient |date=24 June 2025}}</ref>
Since 2012, Whitehouse has spoken on the Senate floor about climate change every week the Senate has been in session, giving his 250th speech on the issue on July 24, 2019.<ref>{{cite news|date=July 24, 2019|title=Senator Sheldon Whitehouse 250th Speech on Climate Change|work=[[C-Span]]|url=https://www.c-span.org/video/?462921-2/senator-sheldon-whitehouse-250th-speech-climate-change|access-date=December 4, 2020}}</ref>
===Foreign policy===
Whitehouse supported a vote that would limit continuing U.S. support for the War in [[Yemen]]. Initially, he was one of the two Democratic holdouts in the Senate, but an activist effort, including mobilizing fans of the Rhode Island band [[Downtown Boys (band)|Downtown Boys]], contributed to changing his position.<ref name="newrepublic2">{{cite news|last=Ford|first=Matt|date=26 October 2018|title=Senator Announces Support for Ending US Action in Yemen|work=[[U.S. News & World Report]]|___location=Washington DC|url=https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/rhode-island/articles/2018-11-28/senator-announces-support-for-ending-us-action-in-yemen|access-date=20 July 2019}}</ref><ref name="inthesetimes">{{cite news|last1=Kampf-Lassin|first1=Miles|last2=Lazare|first2=Sarah|date=November 28, 2018|title=The Senate Just Took the Biggest Step Yet Toward Ending U.S. Support for the Yemen War|work=[[In These Times (publication)|In These Times]]|___location=Providence RI|url=http://inthesetimes.com/article/21590/yemen-war-saudi-arabia-bernie-sanders-trump-war-powers-resolution-senate|access-date=July 20, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190603012338/http://inthesetimes.com/article/21590/yemen-war-saudi-arabia-bernie-sanders-trump-war-powers-resolution-senate|archive-date=3 June 2019}}</ref>
===Gun policy===
Whitehouse is a supporter of gun control legislation.<ref name="guncontrolsupport">{{cite web |title=Whitehouse denounces defeat of gun-control measures |url=https://www.providencejournal.com/story/news/2013/04/17/20130417-whitehouse-denounces-defeat-of-gun-control-measures-ece/35412639007/ |access-date=17 April 2013 |ref=34}}</ref> In 2022, Whitehouse voted for the [[Bipartisan Safer Communities Act]], a gun reform bill introduced following a deadly school shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. The bill enhanced background checks for firearm purchasers under the age of 21, provided funding for school-based mental health services, and partially closed the [[gun show loophole]] and [[boyfriend loophole]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=DeBonis |first=Mike |date=June 25, 2022 |title=How the Senate defied 26 years of inaction to tackle gun violence |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/06/25/senate-gun-deal-behind-scenes/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 117th Congress - 2nd Session |url=https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1172/vote_117_2_00242.htm |access-date=2024-10-30 |website=www.senate.gov}}</ref>
===Health care===
Whitehouse voted for the [[Affordable Care Act|Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act]].<ref name="Database">{{cite news|title=The U.S. Congress Votes Database|url=http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/W000802|access-date=March 12, 2012|newspaper=Washington Post|archive-date=February 4, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070204101120/http://projects.washingtonpost.com/congress/members/W000802|url-status=dead}}</ref> During its passage, he cautioned that conservative opposition to the bill was moving toward historical instances of mob violence.<ref>{{cite news | first=Dana| last=Milbank|author-link=Dana Milbank|title =An ugly finale for health-care reform| newspaper = The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/20/AR2009122002872.html | date = December 21, 2009|access-date=December 4, 2020}}</ref>
In December 2009, Whitehouse said "[[Barack Obama citizenship conspiracy theories|birthers]]", "fanatics", and "people running around in right-wing militia and Aryan support groups" opposed Obamacare.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://washingtontimes.com/weblogs/watercooler/2009/dec/20/sen-whitehouse-foes-health-care-bill-are-birthers-/?feat=home_top5_read |title=Sen. Whitehouse: Foes of health care bill are birthers, right-wing militias, aryan groups |work=[[The Washington Times]]|first=Kerry|last=Picket |date=December 20, 2009 |access-date=April 13, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140201202414/http://www.washingtontimes.com/weblogs/watercooler/2009/dec/20/sen-whitehouse-foes-health-care-bill-are-birthers-/?feat=home_top5_read |archive-date=February 1, 2014 }}</ref>
In January 2025, ''[[Talking Points Memo]]'' reported that Whitehouse was "actively considering" voting to confirm [[anti-vaccine activism|anti-vaccine activist]] [[Robert F. Kennedy Jr.]], Trump's nominee for Secretary of [[United States Department of Health and Human Services|HHS]].<ref name="TPM">{{Cite web|title=Dems Worry Sen. Whitehouse Considering Vote for RFK Jr|url=https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/dems-worry-sen-whitehouse-considering-vote-for-rfk-jr|website=Talking Points Memo|date=January 24, 2025|access-date=February 1, 2025}}</ref> Whitehouse's reported reasons for considering Kennedy's nomination were his lifelong friendship with Kennedy and specific issues with Rhode Island's healthcare system that needed regulatory flexibility from HHS.<ref name="TPM"/> Whitehouse ultimately voted not to confirm Kennedy.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Boardman |first1=Christopher |title=Senator Whitehouse votes 'no' on RFK, Jr HHS confirmation |url=https://www.abc6.com/senator-whitehouse-votes-no-on-rfk-jr-hhs-confirmation/ |access-date=28 March 2025 |work=ABC6 |date=4 February 2025}}</ref>
===LGBTQ rights===
In September 2014, Whitehouse was one of 69 members of Congress to sign a letter to then-[[Food and Drug Administration|FDA]] commissioner [[Sylvia Burwell]] requesting that the FDA revise its policy banning donation of [[corneas]] and other tissues by men who have had sex with another man in the preceding five years.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.baldwin.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/9.8.14%20Bicameral%20Letter%20to%20HHS%20on%20MSM%20Policies.pdf | title=Letter for Secretary Burwell from many US senators| access-date=2024-06-21}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.fda.gov/vaccines-blood-biologics/biologics-guidances/tissue-guidances|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080319073505/https://www.fda.gov/Cber/gdlns/tissdonor.htm#iv|title=Tissue Guidances|publisher=[[Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research]]|date=December 4, 2020|archivedate=March 19, 2008|journal=FDA|via=www.fda.gov}}</ref> He has publicly supported reintroducing the [[Equal Rights Amendment]].
===Political spending===
Whitehouse has been a staunch critic of so-called "[[dark money]]", or political spending by nonprofit organizations that are not required to disclose their donors.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Parks |first1=Dan |title=Nonprofits likely under fire as Senate explores 'dark money' |url=https://apnews.com/article/business-elections-philanthropy-sheldon-whitehouse-e7a84b70ac55eb9bb19740c5e5df09bd |access-date=27 February 2024 |work=AP News |date=3 May 2022 |language=en}}</ref> According to ''[[Roll Call]]'', "Whitehouse hasn't been as convincing as he'd hoped in his campaign to curb conservative anonymous donors and their influence on the Supreme Court—even as that 'dark money' now floods in to support the judicial nomination process his party controls." ''Roll Call'' wrote that when talking about undisclosed political spending, Whitehouse "can sound conspiratorial". Ilya Shapiro of the [[Cato Institute]], serving as a witness at one of Whitehouse's congressional hearings about political spending, said Whitehouse was on a "quixotic crusade".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Scully |first1=Megan |title=Whitehouse bolsters push to shine light on 'dark money' at Supreme Court |url=https://rollcall.com/2021/06/23/whitehouse-bolsters-push-to-shine-light-on-dark-money-at-supreme-court/ |access-date=27 February 2024 |work=Roll Call |date=23 June 2021}}</ref> The ''[[New York Times]]'' and ''[[Wall Street Journal]]'' have complained that, while positioning himself as someone opposed to dark money, Whitehouse has a history of accepting dark money and overlooking it when such contributions flow to his Democratic colleagues.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Vogel |first1=Kenneth P. |last2=Goldmacher |first2=Shane |title=Democrats Decried Dark Money. Then They Won With It in 2020. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/29/us/politics/democrats-dark-money-donors.html |access-date=27 February 2024 |work=The New York Times |date=29 January 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Sheldon Whitehouse Goes Dark |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/sheldon-whitehouse-goes-dark-11600816031 |access-date=27 February 2024 |work=Wall Street Journal |date=September 22, 2020}}</ref>
Whitehouse critiqued conservative dark money groups who backed Supreme Court Justice [[Brett Kavanaugh]]'s nomination. The ''[[Washington Post]]'' criticized him for not addressing anti-Kavanaugh groups with the same scrutiny.<ref>{{cite news |title=Who is paying for the next Supreme Court justice? |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/who-is-paying-for-the-next-supreme-court-justice/2018/07/15/8894e4d8-8538-11e8-8553-a3ce89036c78_story.html |accessdate=6 May 2020 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=July 15, 2018}}</ref>
In 2019, Whitehouse announced that he intended to introduce legislation that would require groups that file ''[[amicus curiae]]'' briefs with the U.S. Supreme Court to disclose their donors.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Ruger |first1=Todd |title=Sheldon Whitehouse takes aim at funding disclosure for court briefs |url=https://www.rollcall.com/2019/01/30/sheldon-whitehouse-takes-aim-at-funding-disclosure-for-court-briefs/ |accessdate=6 May 2020 |publisher=Roll Call |date=January 30, 2019}}</ref>
Whitehouse has received over $175,000 in campaign donations from the [[League of Conservation Voters]]. Billionaire [[Tom Steyer]] has donated $17,300 directly to Whitehouse since 2006. Other donors to Whitehouse include the [[Sierra Club]] and the [[Natural Resources Defense Council]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Donnis |first1=Ian |title=Whitehouse Blames 'Dark Money' For Why He Raised So Much For '18 Campaign |url=https://thepublicsradio.org/article/whitehouse-blames-dark-money-for-his-big-spend-on-18-campaign/ |access-date=27 February 2024 |work=TPR: The Public's Radio |date=23 April 2019}}</ref>
In March 2021, Whitehouse convened a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing titled "What's Wrong with the Supreme Court: The Big-Money Assault on Our Judiciary". He alleged that a "multi-hundred million dollar covert operation" influences the U.S. Supreme Court.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Golde |first1=Kalvis |title=Senate Judiciary holds hearing on 'dark money' and Supreme Court |url=https://www.scotusblog.com/2021/03/senate-judiciary-holds-hearing-on-dark-money-and-supreme-court/ |access-date=30 March 2021 |work=[[SCOTUSblog]] |date=11 March 2021}}</ref>
Also in March 2021, Whitehouse wrote U.S. Attorney General [[Merrick Garland]] a letter asking him to investigate "what appears to have been a politically constrained and perhaps fake FBI investigation into alleged misconduct by now-Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Silverstein |first1=Jason |title=Senator alleges FBI's Brett Kavanaugh investigation may have been 'fake'|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/brett-kavanaugh-fbi-background-check-senator-allegation/ |access-date=30 March 2021 |work=www.cbsnews.com |date=March 16, 2021}}</ref> Senator [[Ben Sasse]] critiqued Whitehouse's allegation that the FBI investigation of Kavanaugh had been "fake", saying "This kind of paranoid obsession is Nixonian poison to public trust."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Fitzpatrick |first1=Edward |title=Senator Whitehouse draws fire in questioning FBI's Kavanaugh probe, dark money |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/03/18/metro/senator-whitehouse-draws-fire-questioning-fbis-kavanaugh-probe-dark-money/ |access-date=30 March 2021 |work=BostonGlobe.com |date=March 18, 2021}}</ref>
On July 9, 2024, it was reported that Whitehouse and [[Ron Wyden|Senator Ron Wyden]] sent an official letter the previous week to [[Merrick Garland|Attorney General Merrick Garland]] requesting him to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate [[Clarence Thomas|Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas]] for possible tax and ethics violations.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sforza |first=Lauren |date=2024-07-09 |title=Dem senators ask DOJ to investigate Clarence Thomas for tax law violations |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/4761924-democratic-senators-request-special-counsel-thomas/ |access-date=2024-08-18 |website=The Hill |language=en-US}}</ref>
==Personal life==
In 1986, Whitehouse married Sandra Thornton, a [[marine biologist]] and granddaughter of [[James Worth Thornton]] and Elena Mumm Thornton Wilson. Her step-grandfather was prominent essayist and critic [[Edmund Wilson]]. They live in [[Rhode Island]] with their two children. Whitehouse is [[Episcopal Church (United States)|Episcopalian]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Religious Affiliation of Members of 117th Congress |url=https://www.pewforum.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2021/01/01.04.21_faith_on_the_hill_detailed.table_.update.pdf}}</ref>
Whitehouse is a great-great-grandson of Episcopal Bishop [[Henry John Whitehouse]], [[Minneapolis]] Mayor [[Alonzo Cooper Rand]], and businessmen [[Tobias Mealey]] and [[Charles Crocker]]. Among his distant ancestors are [[William Bradford (Plymouth governor)|William Bradford]], governor of [[Plymouth Colony]], and theologian [[Archibald Alexander]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jacpac.org/index.php/jac-candidates/senate-candidates/item/47-sheldon-whitehouse |title=Coming Soon |publisher=Jacpac.org |access-date=April 13, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140413155948/http://www.jacpac.org/index.php/jac-candidates/senate-candidates/item/47-sheldon-whitehouse |archive-date=April 13, 2014 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~battle/senators/whitehouse.htm |title=Sheldon Whitehouse ancestry |publisher=Freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com |access-date=September 1, 2014}}</ref>
===Membership in Bailey's Beach Club===
Whitehouse's longtime ties to the elite private club [[Bailey's Beach]] have attracted scrutiny. ''The New York Times'' called the club a haven for members of America's "ruling class" and various media outlets have said it has an all-white membership.<ref>{{cite news |title=U.S. Senator Whitehouse Won't Quit All-White Exclusive Private Club |url=https://www.golocalprov.com/news/VIDEO-Senator-Whitehouse-Wont-Quit-All-White-Exclusive-Private-Club |access-date=23 June 2021 |publisher=GoLocalProv |date=August 31, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Stableford |first1=Dylan |title=Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse defends membership in exclusive beach club: 'A long tradition in Rhode Island' |url=https://news.yahoo.com/sen-whitehouse-exclusive-beach-club-long-tradition-baileys-beach-newport-ri-191548576.html |access-date=23 June 2021 |work=news.yahoo.com |date=June 21, 2021}}</ref> In June 2021, Whitehouse defended his family's membership in the club.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sonmez |first1=Felicia |author1-link=Felicia Sonmez |title=Sen. Whitehouse defends family's membership in private beach club amid questions about whether it is all-White |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/senate-rhode-island-all-white-club-whitehouse/2021/06/21/95018cd8-d2b7-11eb-ae54-515e2f63d37d_story.html |access-date=23 June 2021 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=June 22, 2021}}</ref> Asked whether the club had any nonwhite members, he replied, "I think the people who are running the place are still working on that, and I'm sorry it hasn't happened yet." Asked whether such clubs should continue to exist, he said, "It's a long tradition in Rhode Island." A spokesperson for Whitehouse said the club did not have any restrictive racial policies and that it had members of color. Whitehouse declined to provide details of the club's membership, and the club initially refused to answer questions about its policies or membership.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Serfaty |first1=Sunlen |last2=Schlegel |first2=Chandler |title=Rhode Island Democratic senator faces questions over private beach club membership |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/22/politics/sheldon-whitehouse-beach-club-membership/index.html |access-date=23 June 2021 |work=CNN |date=June 22, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Wu |first1=Nicholas |title=Whitehouse defends affiliation with elite Rhode Island club |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2021/06/21/whitehouse-defends-rhode-island-club-495388 |access-date=23 June 2021 |work=Politico |date=June 21, 2021 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Scott |first1=Eugene |last2=Sonmez |first2=Felicia |author2-link=Felicia Sonmez |title=Black leaders in Rhode Island divided over Sen. Whitehouse's family ties to exclusive club |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/senate-whitehouse-rhode-isalnd-club/2021/06/22/9b00419e-d387-11eb-ae54-515e2f63d37d_story.html |access-date=23 June 2021 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=June 22, 2021}}</ref> The club ultimately put out a statement saying reports that all its members were white were "inaccurate and false". The club's president urged members to use "restraint" when speaking to the media. Whitehouse said he would not ask his family members to resign from the club because "they are on the right side of pushing for improvements" and "my relationship with my family is not one in which I tell them what to do".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Swanson |first1=Ian |title=The weird story behind Sheldon Whitehouse's beach club furor |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/560400-the-weird-story-behind-sheldon-whitehouses-beach-club-furor/ |access-date=28 June 2021 |work=TheHill |date=2021-06-27 |language=en}}</ref>
Whitehouse later acknowledged belonging to the [[Ida Lewis Yacht Club]], which he said lacked diversity, saying, "Failing to address the sailing club's lack of diversity is squarely on me, and something for which I am sorry."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Nobles |first1=Ryan |author1-link=Ryan Nobles |last2=Cole |first2=Devan |title=Whitehouse defends family's beach club ties but apologizes for 'lack of diversity' at sailing club |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/23/politics/sheldon-whitehouse-beach-club-response/index.html |access-date=28 June 2021 |work=CNN |date=June 23, 2021}}</ref>
==Depictions in media==
[[John Rothman]] portrayed Whitehouse in the 2019 film [[The Report (2019 film)|''The Report'']].<ref>{{cite web |title=The Report |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8236336/ |publisher=IMDb |access-date=1 February 2021 |date=7 November 2019}}</ref>
[[Pete Davidson]] portrayed Whitehouse in the [[cold open]] of the [[Saturday Night Live (season 44)|season 44]] premiere of ''[[Saturday Night Live]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Evans |first1=Greg |title='SNL': Matt Damon Opens Season & A Beer As Judge Brett Kavanaugh |url=https://deadline.com/2018/09/matt-damon-snl-saturday-night-live-brett-kavanaugh-cold-open-season-premiere-1202473750/ |website=[[Deadline Hollywood|Deadline]] |access-date=1 February 2021 |date=30 September 2018}}</ref>
== Publications ==
* ''Captured: The Corporate Infiltration of American Democracy''. Sheldon Whitehouse, Melanie Wachtell Stinnett. New Press, New York, 2019 {{ISBN|978-1620974766}}
* ''The Scheme: How the Right Wing Used Dark Money to Capture the Supreme Court.'' Sheldon Whitehouse, Jennifer Mueller. New Press, New York, Oct. 2022. {{ISBN|978-1-62097-738-5}}
==Electoral history==
{{Election box begin no change
| title = Rhode Island gubernatorial Democratic primary results, 2002<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |url=http://www.elections.state.ri.us/elections/results/2002/statewideprimary/summary.php | title=Rhode Island Board of Elections: Elections & Voting | access-date=August 2, 2019 | archive-date=September 28, 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928133420/http://www.elections.state.ri.us/elections/results/2002/statewideprimary/summary.php | url-status=dead }}</ref>
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Myrth York
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 46,806
| percentage = 39.16
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Sheldon Whitehouse
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 45,880
| percentage = 38.39
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Antonio J. Pires
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 26,838
| percentage = 22.45
}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes = 119,524
| percentage = 100.00
}}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin no change
| title = United States Senate Democratic primary results, 2006<ref name="auto"/>
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Sheldon Whitehouse
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 69,290
| percentage = 81.53
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Christopher F. Young
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 8,939
| percentage = 10.52
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Carl Sheeler
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 6,755
| percentage = 7.95
}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes = 84,984
| percentage = 100.00
}}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin
| title = United States Senate election in Rhode Island, 2006<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://clerk.house.gov/member_info/electionInfo/2006/2006Stat.htm#39 |title = 2006 Election Statistics}}</ref>}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| candidate = Sheldon Whitehouse
| votes = 206,043
| percentage = 53.52%
| change = +12.37%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
| party = Republican Party (United States)
| candidate = [[Lincoln Chafee]] (incumbent)
| votes = 178,950
| percentage = 46.48%
| change = -10.40%
}}
{{Election box majority
| votes = 27,093
| percentage = 7.04%
| change = -8.69%
}}
{{Election box turnout
| votes = 384,993
| percentage =
| change =
}}
{{Election box gain with party link
|winner = Democratic Party (United States)
|loser = Republican Party (United States)
|swing =
}}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin no change
| title = United States Senate Democratic primary results, 2012
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Sheldon Whitehouse (incumbent)
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 60,223
| percentage = 100
}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes = 60,223
| percentage = 100
}}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin | title=United States Senate election in Rhode Island, 2012<ref name="apresults">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ri.gov/election/results/2012/general_election/|title=RI.gov: Election Results|website=www.ri.gov|access-date=September 10, 2019}}</ref>}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| candidate = Sheldon Whitehouse (incumbent)
| votes = 271,034
| percentage = 64.81%
| change = +11.29%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Republican Party (United States)|candidate=Barry Hinckley|votes=146,222|percentage=34.97%|change=-11.51%}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|party=n/a|candidate=Write-ins|votes=933|percentage=0.22%|change=N/A}}
{{Election box total
| votes = ''418,189''
| percentage = ''100.0%''
| change = N/A
}}
{{Election box hold with party link no swing
| winner = Democratic Party (United States)
}}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin no change
| title = United States Senate Democratic primary results, 2018<ref name="United States Senate primary election in Rhode Island, 2018">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ri.gov/election/results/2018/statewide_primary/|title=RI.gov: Election Results|website=www.ri.gov|access-date=September 10, 2019}}</ref>
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Sheldon Whitehouse (incumbent)
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 89,140
| percentage = 76.79%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change
| candidate = Patricia J. Fontes
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| votes = 26,947
| percentage = 23.21%
}}
{{Election box total no change
| votes = 116,087
| percentage = 100%
}}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin | title=United States Senate election in Rhode Island, 2018<ref name="United States Senate general election in Rhode Island, 2018">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ri.gov/election/results/2018/general_election/|title=RI.gov: Election Results|website=www.ri.gov|access-date=September 10, 2019}}</ref>}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| candidate = Sheldon Whitehouse (incumbent)
| votes = 231,477
| percentage = 61.45%
| change = -3.36%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Republican Party (United States)|candidate=Robert Flanders|votes=144,421|percentage=38.33%|change=+3.36%}}
{{Election box write-in with party link
| votes = 840
| percentage = 0.22%
| change = N/A
}}
{{Election box total
| votes = ''376,738''
| percentage = ''100%''
| change = N/A
}}
{{Election box hold with party link no swing
| winner = Democratic Party (United States)
}}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin no change|title=United States Senate Democratic primary results, 2024<ref name="prim1">{{cite web |title=2024 Statewide Primary |url=https://www.ri.gov/election/results/2024/statewide_primary/ |website=State of Rhode Island - Board of Elections}}</ref>}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change|candidate=Sheldon Whitehouse (incumbent)|party=Democratic Party (United States)|votes=49,401|percentage=83.77%}}
{{Election box candidate with party link no change|candidate=Michael Costa|party=Democratic Party (United States)|votes=9,572|percentage=16.23%}}
{{Election box total no change|votes=58,973|percentage=100.0%}}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin | title=United States Senate election in Rhode Island, 2024<ref name="United States Senate general election in Rhode Island, 2024">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ri.gov/election/results/2024/general_election/|title=RI.gov: Election Results|website=www.ri.gov|access-date=December 19, 2024}}</ref>}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link
| party = Democratic Party (United States)
| candidate = Sheldon Whitehouse (incumbent)
| votes = 294,665
| percentage = 59.90%
| change = -1.54%
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Republican Party (United States)|candidate=[[Patricia Morgan]]|votes=196,039|percentage=39.85%|change=+1.52%}}
{{Election box write-in with party link
| votes = 1,244
| percentage = 0.25%
| change = +0.03%
}}
{{Election box total
| votes = ''491,948''
| percentage = ''100%''
| change = N/A
}}
{{Election box hold with party link no swing
| winner = Democratic Party (United States)
}}
{{Election box end}}
==References==
{{reflist|30em}}
==External links==
{{sister project links|d=Q652066|b=no|commons=Category:Sheldon Whitehouse|v=no|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|n=no|wikt=no|species=no}}
* [https://whitehouse.senate.gov Senator Sheldon Whitehouse] official U.S. Senate website
* [https://www.whitehouseforsenate.com/ Campaign website]
* {{C-SPAN|60599}}
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[[Category:1955 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century American lawyers]]
[[Category:21st-century United States senators]]
[[Category:American Episcopalians]]
[[Category:American prosecutors]]
[[Category:Candidates in the 2002 United States elections]]
[[Category:Democratic Party United States senators from Rhode Island]]
[[Category:Dismissal of U.S. attorneys controversy]]
[[Category:Episcopalians from Rhode Island]]
[[Category:Lawyers from New York City]]
[[Category:Lawyers from Providence, Rhode Island]]
[[Category:Politicians from New York City]]
[[Category:Politicians from Providence, Rhode Island]]
[[Category:Rhode Island attorneys general]]
[[Category:Rhode Island Democrats]]
[[Category:St. Paul's School (New Hampshire) alumni]]
[[Category:United States attorneys for the District of Rhode Island]]
[[Category:University of Virginia School of Law alumni]]
[[Category:Whitehouse family]]
[[Category:Yale College alumni]]
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