Tom Coburn
American politician and physician (1948–2020) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Thomas Allen Coburn (March 14, 1948 – March 28, 2020) was an American politician and physician who served as a United States senator from Oklahoma from 2005 to 2015. A Republican, Coburn previously served as a United States representative from 1995 to 2001.
Tom Coburn | |
---|---|
United States Senator from Oklahoma | |
In office January 3, 2005 – January 3, 2015 | |
Preceded by | Don Nickles |
Succeeded by | James Lankford |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oklahoma's 2nd district | |
In office January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2001 | |
Preceded by | Mike Synar |
Succeeded by | Brad Carson |
Personal details | |
Born | Thomas Allen Coburn (1948-03-14)March 14, 1948 Casper, Wyoming, U.S. |
Died | March 28, 2020(2020-03-28) (aged 72) Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S. |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse |
Carolyn Denton (m. 1968) |
Children | 3, including Sarah |
Education | Oklahoma State University–Stillwater (BS) University of Oklahoma (MD) |
Tom Coburn speaks at the Supreme Court confirmation hearing for Elena Kagan Recorded June 28, 2010 | |
Coburn was an obstetrician who operated a private medical practice in Muskogee, Oklahoma. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1994 as part of the Republican Revolution. After being re-elected twice, Coburn upheld his campaign pledge to serve no more than three consecutive terms and did not seek re-election in 2000. In 2004, he returned to political life with a successful run for the United States Senate. Coburn was re-elected to a second Senate term in 2010 and kept his pledge not to seek a third term in 2016.[1] In January 2014, Coburn announced that he would resign before the expiration of his final term due to a recurrence of prostate cancer.[2] He submitted a letter of resignation to Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin, effective at the end of the 113th Congress.[3]
Coburn was a fiscal and social conservative known for his opposition to deficit spending, pork barrel projects,[4][5][6] and abortion. Described as "the godfather of the modern conservative austerity movement",[7] he supported term limits, gun rights and the death penalty,[8] and opposed same-sex marriage and embryonic stem cell research.[9][10] Many Democrats referred to him as "Dr. No" due to his frequent use of technicalities to block federal spending bills.[11][12]
After leaving Congress, Coburn worked with the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research on its efforts to reform the Food and Drug Administration,[13] becoming a senior fellow of the institute in December 2016.[14] Coburn also served as a senior advisor to Citizens for Self-Governance, where he was active in calling for a convention to propose amendments to the United States Constitution.[15][16][17]