43 Facts About Ken Mehlman

1.

Kenneth Brian Mehlman was born on August 21,1966 and is an American social entrepreneur and businessman.

2.

Ken Mehlman serves as a member, global head of public affairs, and co-head of KKR global impact at investment firm Kohlberg Kravis Roberts.

3.

Ken Mehlman oversees the firm's responsible investment efforts, leading the firm's Environmental Social Governance programs.

4.

In January 2017, Ken Mehlman announced that he would act as chairman of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Policy Advisory Board.

5.

Ken Mehlman managed Bush's 2004 re-election campaign, and was 62nd Chairman of the Republican National Committee from 2005 to 2007.

6.

In 2010, Ken Mehlman came out as gay in an interview with journalist Marc Ambinder, which made him one of the few prominent openly-gay figures in the Republican Party.

7.

Ken Mehlman told Ambinder that he was aware that the Republican Party emphasized an anti-gay agenda but felt that he could not "go against the party consensus" when he held leadership positions.

8.

Ken Mehlman is one of two sons born to Judith and Arthur Mehlman.

9.

Ken Mehlman's father was director of MuniMae and a former partner at KPMG, for which he was the head of the firm's auditing department in the Baltimore-Washington Metropolitan Area.

10.

Ken Mehlman received his undergraduate degree in 1988 from Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where he became a member of Phi Kappa Tau's Xi chapter.

11.

Ken Mehlman received his JD from Harvard Law School in 1991, where he was a classmate of future President Barack Obama.

12.

Ken Mehlman served as Smith's legislative director from 1994 to 1996, and then as chief of staff to Representative Kay Granger of Texas's 12th congressional district from 1996 to 1999.

13.

When Bush became president, Ken Mehlman became director of the White House Office of Political Affairs.

14.

Ken Mehlman leads KKR's Environmental Social Governance programs for the firm and its portfolio companies.

15.

Ken Mehlman is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, serves as chairman of the American Investment Council, and is co-Chairman of the American Enterprise Institute's National Council.

16.

Ken Mehlman is a trustee and board member of Sponsors for Educational Opportunity.

17.

Ken Mehlman was appointed to the board of directors of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board in June, 2016.

18.

On March 4,2021, Ken Mehlman was elected to the board of directors of the United Negro College Fund.

19.

Ken Mehlman was Bush's choice to replace Ed Gillespie as the chair of the Republican National Committee and was elected to the post on January 19,2005.

20.

Ken Mehlman announced after the November 2006 general election that he would not seek re-election to another term as Republican National Chairman.

21.

Ken Mehlman addressed the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People a full year before Bush addressed the civil rights organization.

22.

Ken Mehlman voluntarily stepped down as chairman of the RNC at the end of 2006.

23.

Ken Mehlman was succeeded by Mike Duncan and Mel Martinez.

24.

In 2016, Ken Mehlman was a vocal opponent of Donald Trump's in the primary and general election, and he publicly vowed to vote for Hillary Clinton.

25.

The day after Maher's comments, Ken Mehlman announced he would step down as chairman of the RNC.

26.

Almost four years later, in an article in The Atlantic, Ken Mehlman stated that he is in fact gay, and that he planned to be an advocate for legalizing same-sex marriage.

27.

Ken Mehlman stated he could not have gone against party consensus, but acknowledged that, had he come out of the closet earlier, he might have been able to impact Republican efforts to pass state initiatives and referendums banning same-sex marriage.

28.

Marc Ambinder, who interviewed Ken Mehlman and wrote The Atlantic article, said that Ken Mehlman's roles with the RNC and the Bush campaign "coincided with the Republican Party's attempts to exploit anti-gay prejudices and cement the allegiance of social conservatives".

29.

In June 2011, Ken Mehlman lobbied Republican members of the New York state legislature to support the legalization of same-sex marriage in New York and reached out to conservative donors and operatives.

30.

Ken Mehlman often spoke with undecided GOP senators, including three of the four who eventually voted in favor of the bill.

31.

Ken Mehlman, who gained the support of many gay-rights backers, discussed the political and ideological reasons why lawmakers should vote for the bill.

32.

Ken Mehlman emphasized that polls showed a significant shift toward voter support of same-sex marriage.

33.

Ken Mehlman was honored in Out Magazine 2011's Out100 list partially because of his work on the campaign.

34.

Ken Mehlman has been active in Maryland, New Hampshire and Washington State, helping to raise almost $3 million for these campaigns between August 2010 and March 2012.

35.

Ken Mehlman continued to campaign for same-sex marriage, before United States v Windsor, the 2013 United States Supreme Court decision which held that same-sex marriage is constitutional, by aiming to show GOP leaders why same-sex marriage "is consistent with Republican and conservative principles", and speaking on that topic throughout the country.

36.

In January 2013, before United States v Windsor, Mehlman spoke with political activist David Kochel in Iowa about how supporting same-sex marriage is a conservative value.

37.

In February 2013, Ken Mehlman helped organize an amicus curiae brief to the Supreme Court in the case of California Proposition 8 signed by dozens of prominent socially moderate Republicans, including Jon Huntsman, Jr.

38.

In November 2013, Ken Mehlman launched a non-profit organization called Project Right Side focused on convincing more Republicans to support marriage equality.

39.

In February 2014, Ken Mehlman was a keynote speaker at the first campus-wide Harvard LGBTQ conference on the 45th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots where he was interviewed by Baruch Shemtov.

40.

Ken Mehlman supported the repeal of the "Don't ask, don't tell" military policy introduced during President Bill Clinton's tenure.

41.

In 2010, Ken Mehlman lobbied ten US Senators to repeal the policy.

42.

Ken Mehlman actively helped Congressional leaders pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act in the Senate in 2013.

43.

In July 2019, Ken Mehlman filed an amicus brief, joined by close to three dozen other Republican leaders, arguing in support of the rights of LGBT people in the workplace.