Newton Leroy Gingrich is an American politician and author who served as the 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999.
121 Facts About Newt Gingrich
2.
In 2012, Gingrich unsuccessfully ran for the Republican nomination for president of the United States.
3.
Newt Gingrich served as House Minority Whip from 1989 to 1995.
4.
Newt Gingrich played a key role in several government shutdowns, and impeached President Bill Clinton on a party-line vote in the House.
5.
Newt Gingrich resigned altogether from the House on January 3,1999.
6.
Political scientists have credited Newt Gingrich with playing a key role in undermining democratic norms in the United States and hastening political polarization and partisanship.
7.
Since leaving the House, Newt Gingrich has remained active in public policy debates and worked as a political consultant.
8.
Newt Gingrich founded and chaired several policy think tanks, including American Solutions for Winning the Future and the Center for Health Transformation.
9.
Newt Gingrich ran for the Republican nomination for president in the 2012 presidential election, and was considered a potential frontrunner at several points in the race.
10.
Newt Gingrich later emerged as a key ally of President Donald Trump, and was reportedly among the finalists on Trump's short list for running mate in the 2016 election.
11.
Since 2020, Newt Gingrich has supported Trump's false claims of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
12.
Newt Gingrich is of English, German, Scottish and Scots-Irish descent.
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In 1946, his mother married Robert Newt Gingrich, who adopted him.
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Robert Newt Gingrich was a career Army officer who served tours in Korea and Vietnam.
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Newt Gingrich has three younger half-siblings from his mother, Candace and Susan Newt Gingrich, and Roberta Brown.
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Newt Gingrich was raised in Hummelstown and on military bases where his adoptive father was stationed.
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Newt Gingrich has a half-sister and half-brother, Randy McPherson, from his biological father's side.
18.
In 1961, Newt Gingrich graduated from Baker High School in Columbus, Georgia, where he met, and later married, his math teacher.
19.
Newt Gingrich had been interested in politics since his teen years.
20.
Newt Gingrich received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Emory University in Atlanta in 1965.
21.
Newt Gingrich received deferments from the military during the years of the Vietnam War for being a student and a father.
22.
Newt Gingrich left the college in 1977 after being denied tenure.
23.
Newt Gingrich was the southern regional director for Nelson Rockefeller in the 1968 Republican primaries.
24.
In 1974, Newt Gingrich made his first bid for political office as the Republican candidate in in north-central Georgia.
25.
Newt Gingrich lost to 20-year incumbent Democrat Jack Flynt by 2,770 votes.
26.
Flynt had never faced a serious challenger; Newt Gingrich was the second Republican to ever run against him.
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Newt Gingrich did well against Flynt although 1974 was a disastrous year for Republican candidates nationally due to fallout from the Watergate scandal of the Nixon administration.
28.
In 1981, Newt Gingrich co-founded the Military Reform Caucus and the Congressional Aviation and Space Caucus.
29.
Newt Gingrich supported a proposal to ban loans from the International Monetary Fund to Communist countries and he endorsed a bill to make Martin Luther King Jr.
30.
In 1983, Newt Gingrich founded the Conservative Opportunity Society, a group that included young conservative House Republicans.
31.
Newt Gingrich had not emphasized these during his first term.
32.
In March 1988, Newt Gingrich voted against the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987.
33.
In May 1988, Newt Gingrich brought ethics charges against Democratic Speaker Jim Wright, who was alleged to have used a book deal to circumvent campaign-finance laws and House ethics rules.
34.
In March 1989, Newt Gingrich became House Minority Whip in a close election against Edward Rell Madigan.
35.
Newt Gingrich said his intention was to "build a much more aggressive, activist party".
36.
Early in his role as Whip, in May 1989, Newt Gingrich was involved in talks about the appointment of a Panamanian administrator of the Panama Canal, which was scheduled to occur in 1989 subject to US government approval.
37.
Newt Gingrich was outspoken in his opposition to giving control over the canal to an administrator appointed by the dictatorship in Panama.
38.
Newt Gingrich himself was among members of the House who had written NSF checks on the House bank.
39.
Newt Gingrich had overdrafts on twenty-two checks, including a $9,463 check to the Internal Revenue Service in 1990.
40.
In 1990, after consulting focus groups with the help of pollster Frank Luntz, GOPAC distributed a memo with a cover letter signed by Gingrich titled "Language, a Key Mechanism of Control", that encouraged Republicans to "speak like Newt".
41.
Newt Gingrich led a revolt that defeated the initial appropriations package and led to the 1990 United States federal government shutdown.
42.
The deal was supported by the President and Congressional leaders from both parties after long negotiations, but Newt Gingrich walked out during a televised event in the White House Rose Garden.
43.
However, the Democratic-controlled Georgia General Assembly, under the leadership of fiercely partisan Speaker of the House Tom Murphy, specifically targeted Newt Gingrich, eliminating the district Newt Gingrich represented.
44.
Much of the southern portion of Newt Gingrich's district, including his home in Carrollton, was drawn into the Columbus-based 3rd district, represented by five-term Democrat Richard Ray.
45.
Newt Gingrich sold his home in Carrollton and moved to Marietta in the new district.
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Newt Gingrich was re-elected three times from this district against nominal Democratic opposition.
47.
In 1997 Speaker Newt Gingrich visited Taiwan as well as Beijing in mainland China.
48.
Newt Gingrich frequently questioned the patriotism of Democrats, called them corrupt, compared them to fascists, and accused them of wanting to destroy the United States.
49.
Newt Gingrich is a key figure in the 2017 book The Polarizers by Colgate University political scientist Sam Rosenfeld about the American political system's shift to polarization and gridlock.
50.
Boston College political scientist David Hopkins writes that Newt Gingrich helped to nationalize American politics in a way where Democratic politicians on the state and local level were increasingly tied to the national Democratic party and President Clinton.
51.
Newt Gingrich elevated junior and more ideologically extreme House members to powerful committees, such as the Appropriations Committee, which over time led to the obliteration of internal norms in the committees.
52.
Newt Gingrich accused Clinton of stalling on welfare, and proclaimed that Congress could pass a welfare reform bill in as little as 90 days.
53.
Newt Gingrich insisted that the Republican Party would continue to apply political pressure on the President to approve their welfare legislation.
54.
Newt Gingrich praised Habitat for Humanity for sparking the movement to improve people's lives by helping them build their own homes.
55.
Newt Gingrich has been credited with creating the agenda for the reduction in capital gains tax, especially in the "Contract with America", which set out to balance the budget and implement decreases in estate and capital gains tax.
56.
Some Republicans felt that the compromise reached with Clinton on the budget and tax act was inadequate, however Newt Gingrich has stated that the tax cuts were a significant accomplishment for the Republican Congress in the face of opposition from the Clinton administration.
57.
Newt Gingrich shut down the highly regarded Office of Technology Assessment, and relied instead on what the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists called "self-interested lobbyists and think tanks".
58.
That perception developed after the trip when Newt Gingrich, while being questioned by Lars-Erik Nelson at a Christian Science Monitor breakfast, said that he was dissatisfied that Clinton had not invited him to discuss the budget during the flight.
59.
Newt Gingrich complained that he and Dole were instructed to use the plane's rear exit to deplane, saying the snub was "part of why you ended up with us sending down a tougher continuing resolution".
60.
Newt Gingrich was widely lampooned for implying that the government shutdown was a result of his personal grievances, including a widely shared editorial cartoon depicting him as a baby throwing a tantrum.
61.
In 1998, Newt Gingrich said that these comments were his "single most avoidable mistake" as Speaker.
62.
On January 21,1997, the House officially reprimanded Newt Gingrich and "ordered [him] to reimburse the House for some of the costs of the investigation in the amount of $300,000".
63.
The Ethics Committee's Special Counsel James M Cole concluded that Gingrich had violated federal tax law and had lied to the ethics panel in an effort to force the committee to dismiss the complaint against him.
64.
Newt Gingrich explained that under no circumstance would he step down.
65.
Newt Gingrich accepted Paxon's resignation and directed Paxon to immediately vacate his leadership office space.
66.
Newt Gingrich announced his intended and eventual full departure from the House a few weeks later.
67.
When relinquishing the speakership, Newt Gingrich referred to other Republicans when he said he was "not willing to preside over people who are cannibals".
68.
In December 1997, Newt Gingrich flirted with a potential run for president in the 2000 election, but his party's midterm performance and his subsequent resignation led to him drop any plans to do so.
69.
Newt Gingrich has since remained involved in national politics and public policy debate.
70.
Newt Gingrich supported the Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003, which created the Medicare Part D federal prescription drugs benefit program.
71.
In 2005, with Hillary Clinton, Newt Gingrich announced the proposed 21st Century Health Information Act, a bill which aimed to replace paperwork with confidential, electronic health information networks.
72.
Newt Gingrich co-chaired an independent congressional study group made up of health policy experts formed in 2007 to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of action taken within the US to fight Alzheimer's disease.
73.
For over two decades, Newt Gingrich has taught at the United States Air Force's Air University, where, as of 2010, he was the longest-serving teacher of the Joint Flag Officer Warfighting Course.
74.
Newt Gingrich is a guiding coalition member of the Project on National Security Reform.
75.
Newt Gingrich founded and served as the chairman of American Solutions for Winning the Future, a 527 group established in 2007.
76.
Newt Gingrich is a former member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
77.
Newt Gingrich is a fellow at conservative think tanks the American Enterprise Institute and Hoover Institution.
78.
Newt Gingrich sometimes serves as a commentator, guest or panel member on cable news shows, such as the Fox News Channel.
79.
Newt Gingrich is listed as a contributor by Fox News Channel, and frequently appears as a guest on various segments; he has hosted occasional specials for the Fox News Channel.
80.
Newt Gingrich has signed the "Strong America Now" pledge committing to promoting Six Sigma methods to reduce government spending.
81.
Newt Gingrich founded Advocates for Opioid Recovery together with former Rep.
82.
The Newt Gingrich Group was organized in 1999 as a consulting company.
83.
In 2011, when Newt Gingrich became a presidential candidate, he sold his interest in the business and said he would release the full list of his clients and the amounts he was paid, "to the extent we can".
84.
Between 2001 and 2010, Newt Gingrich consulted for Freddie Mac, a government-sponsored secondary home mortgage company, which was concerned about new regulations under consideration by Congress.
85.
Between 2005 and 2007, Newt Gingrich expressed interest in running for the 2008 Republican presidential nomination.
86.
On October 13,2005, Newt Gingrich suggested he was considering a run for president, saying, "There are circumstances where I will run", elaborating that those circumstances would be if no other candidate champions some of the platform ideas he advocates.
87.
Newt Gingrich was heavily criticized for this endorsement, with conservatives questioning his candidacy for president in 2012 and even comparing him to Benedict Arnold.
88.
On March 3,2011, Gingrich officially announced a website entitled "Newt Exploratory 2012" in lieu of a formal exploratory committee for exploration of a potential presidential run.
89.
On May 11,2011, Newt Gingrich officially announced his intention to seek the GOP nomination in 2012.
90.
On January 3,2012, Newt Gingrich finished in fourth place in the Iowa Republican caucuses, far behind Rick Santorum, Romney, and Ron Paul.
91.
Some factors that contributed to this outcome include two strong debate performances by Romney, the wide margin by which the Newt Gingrich campaign was outspent in television ads, and a widely criticized proposal by Newt Gingrich to have a permanent colony on the moon by 2020 to reinvigorate the American Space Program.
92.
On Super Tuesday Newt Gingrich won his home state, Georgia, which has the most delegates, in "an otherwise dismal night for him".
93.
Santorum took Tennessee and Oklahoma, where Newt Gingrich had previously performed well in the polls, though Newt Gingrich managed a close third behind Romney.
94.
Newt Gingrich supported Donald Trump more quickly than many other establishment Republicans.
95.
Newt Gingrich reportedly figured among Trump's final three choices to be his running mate; the position ultimately went to Governor of Indiana Mike Pence.
96.
Newt Gingrich stated that he didn't have the interest in serving in any role related to the Trump administration, stressing that as a private citizen he would engage with individuals for "strategic planning" rather than job-seeking.
97.
Newt Gingrich attended his wife's swearing-in as US ambassador to the Holy See at the White House in October 2017.
98.
Newt Gingrich called for the arrest of poll workers in Pennsylvania following the election.
99.
Newt Gingrich is most widely identified with the 1994 Contract with America.
100.
Newt Gingrich is a founder of American Solutions for Winning the Future.
101.
Newt Gingrich has taken a dim view of internationalism and the United Nations.
102.
In 2007, Newt Gingrich authored a book, Rediscovering God in America.
103.
Newt Gingrich has identified education as "the number one factor in our future prosperity", and has partnered with Al Sharpton and Education Secretary Arne Duncan on education issues.
104.
In 2014, Newt Gingrich sent a letter to Dr John Koza of National Popular Vote, Inc endorsing the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, under which participating states would award their Electoral College votes to the winner of the national popular vote of the United States.
105.
On July 14,2016, Newt Gingrich stated that he believes that Americans of Muslim backgrounds who believe in Sharia law should be deported, and that visiting websites that promote the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant or Al-Qaeda should be a felony.
106.
On July 21,2016, Newt Gingrich argued that members of NATO "ought to worry" about a US commitment to their defense.
107.
Newt Gingrich stated that, in the context of whether the United States would provide aid to Estonia in the event of a Russian invasion, he "would think about it a great deal".
108.
In January 2022, Newt Gingrich characterized the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack as "basically a lynch mob" that was violating laws and trampling on civil liberties, suggesting committee members might be jailed if Republicans took control of the House in that year's election.
109.
In September 1980, according to friends who knew them both, Newt Gingrich visited Jackie in the hospital the day after she had undergone surgery to treat her uterine cancer; once there, Newt Gingrich began talking about the terms of their divorce, at which point Jackie threw him out of the room.
110.
Newt Gingrich claimed not to be able to afford any more.
111.
In 1981, six months after his divorce from Jackie was final, Newt Gingrich wed Marianne Ginther.
112.
Newt Gingrich did not want to have the public life of a politician's wife.
113.
In 1993, while still married to Marianne, Newt Gingrich began an affair with House of Representatives staffer Callista Bisek, more than two decades his junior.
114.
Newt Gingrich was having this affair even as he led the impeachment of Bill Clinton for perjury related to Clinton's own extramarital affair.
115.
Newt Gingrich filed for divorce from Marianne in 1999, a few months after she had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
116.
Newt Gingrich converted to Catholicism, the faith of his third wife Callista Bisek, on March 29,2009.
117.
Newt Gingrich said: "over the course of several years, I gradually became Catholic and then decided one day to accept the faith I had already come to embrace".
118.
Newt Gingrich authored the introduction to America's Best Zoos and claims to have visited more than 100.
119.
Newt Gingrich wants the US to pursue new achievements in space, including sustaining civilizations beyond Earth, but advocates relying more on the private sector and less on the publicly funded NASA to drive progress.
120.
Newt Gingrich has described James H Cromartie's painting of the US Capitol as "an exceptional and truly beautiful work of art"; in Norman Rockwell's work, he saw the embodiment of an America circa 1965, at odds with the prevailing sentiment of the modern day "cultural elites".
121.
CNN announced on June 26,2013, that Gingrich would join a new version of Crossfire re-launching in fall 2013, with panelists S E Cupp, Stephanie Cutter, and Van Jones.