Civibus

Biography

Michael Shumway Lee (born June 4, 1971) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Utah, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, Lee has been Utah's senior senator since 2019 and the dean of Utah's congressional delegation since 2021. The son of U.S. Solicitor General Rex E. Lee and brother of Utah Supreme Court justice Thomas Rex Lee, Lee began his career as a clerk for the U.S. District Court for the District of Utah before clerking for Samuel Alito, who was then a judge on the Third Circuit Court of Appeals. From 2002 to 2005, Lee was an assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Utah. He joined the administration of Utah governor Jon Huntsman Jr., serving as the general counsel in the governor's office from 2005 to 2006. Lee again clerked for Alito after he was appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court. Lee was first elected to the Senate in 2010 after defeating incumbent senator Bob Bennett in the Republican primary. Although he refused to endorse Donald Trump during the 2016 Republican presidential primaries and voted for Evan McMullin in the general election, Lee eventually became a Trump ally. He endorsed Trump in 2020 and 2024, and supported the Trump administration's efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, though he did not sign the Texas v. Pennsylvania amicus brief and ultimately voted to certify the outcome. Lee has been reelected twice, in 2016 and 2022, the latter victory over McMullin. Lee also chaired the Joint Economic Committee from 2019 to 2021.

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