Steny Hoyer

Steny Hamilton Hoyer (/ˈstɛni ˈhɔɪər/ STEN-ee HOY-ər; born June 14, 1939) is an American politician and retired attorney who has served as the U.S. representative for Maryland's 5th congressional district since 1981. He also served as House Majority Leader from 2007 to 2011 and again from 2019 to 2023. Hoyer first attained office through a special election on May 19, 1981, and is in his 23rd House term. His district includes a large swath of rural and suburban territory southeast of Washington, D.C. Hoyer is the dean of the Maryland congressional delegation since 2017 when Senator Barbara Mikulski retired and the most senior Democrat in the House.

From 2003 to 2023, Hoyer was the second-ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives behind Nancy Pelosi. He is a two-time House majority leader, having served in the post from 2007 to 2011 under Speaker Pelosi. During two periods of Republican House control (2003–2007 and 2011–2019), Hoyer served as House minority whip, both times under Minority Leader Pelosi. Following the 2018 midterm elections in which the Democrats took control of the House, Hoyer was reelected majority leader in 2019 for the 116th Congress; he remained the number two House Democrat behind Speaker Pelosi. He announced on November 17, 2022, that he, along with Pelosi, would not seek a leadership position in the 118th Congress, though he would remain a member of the House.

Hoyer was born in New York City but grew up in Mitchellville, Maryland, the son of Jean (née Baldwin) and Steen Theilgaard Høyer. His father was Danish and a native of Copenhagen; "Steny" is a variant of his father's name, "Steen". His mother was an American with Scottish, German, and English ancestry and a descendant of John Hart, a signer of the US Declaration of Independence.

Steny Hoyer graduated from Suitland High School in Suitland, Maryland. In 1963, Hoyer received his Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude and graduated Omicron Delta Kappa from the University of Maryland, College Park. He was a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity. He earned his Juris Doctor from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1966.

From 1962 to 1966, Hoyer was a member of the staff of U.S. senator Daniel Brewster; also on Brewster's staff at that time was Nancy Pelosi.

In 1966, Hoyer won a newly created seat in the Maryland State Senate, representing Prince George's County–based Senate district 4C. The district, created in the aftermath of Reynolds v. Sims, was renumbered as the 26th in 1975, the same year that Hoyer was elected president of the Maryland State Senate, the youngest in state history.

From 1969 to 1971, Hoyer served as the first vice president of the Young Democrats of America.

In 1978, Hoyer sought the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor of Maryland as the running mate of then acting Governor Blair Lee III, but lost to Samuel Bogley, 37%–34%. The same year, Hoyer was appointed to the Maryland Board of Higher Education, a position he held until 1981.