DeLay, Tom (Thomas Dale DeLay), 1947–, American politician, b. Laredo, Tex., grad. Univ. of Houston (B.S., 1970). A conservative Republican businessman, he entered politics (1979) as a Texas state legislator, serving until 1984, when he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. He rose quickly in House Republican ranks, becoming majority whip in 1995, and gaining a reputation for his exceptional fund-raising abilities. When Rep. Dennis Hastert was elected Speaker in 1999, many saw DeLay, who has acquired the nickname “the Hammer” because of his strong, sometimes unsubtle efforts to assure and enforce party control of the House, as the greater force among House Republicans. His political tactics, however, have also led to several admonishments from the House ethics committee.

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