Rob Portman

Rob Portman’s career in public service spanned three decades and included service in three presidential administrations as well as two terms in the United States Senate and six terms in the United States House of Representatives.

In the George W. Bush administration he served in two cabinet-level jobs, as Director of the Office of Management and Budget as well as United States Trade Representative. Under President George H.W. Bush, he served as Associate Counsel to the President and Director, White House Office of Legislative Affairs.

Known for his civility, successful bipartisan policy making, work ethic, and grasp of a broad range of complex issues, over 220 of Portman’s bills were signed into law by Presidents Biden, Trump and Obama during his tenure in the Senate. He served as the lead Republican negotiator on the bipartisan infrastructure law that is making historic improvements to our nation’s roads, ports, rails, bridges, broadband and more.

He played a key role in U.S. foreign policy through his seat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, as co-chair and founder of the Senate Ukraine Caucus, and co-chair of the International Conservation Caucus.

Senator Portman first introduced the Tropical Forest Conservation Act as a member of the House of Representatives in 1998. This program, known as a debt-for-nature-swap, allows developing countries that meet certain criteria to be relieved of debt owed to the United States in exchange for protecting and preserving tropical forests and coral reefs. In January 2019, President Trump signed into law Senator Portman’s bipartisan legislation, which reauthorized the Tropical Forest Conservation Act (TFCA) program through FY 2020 and expanded it to include coral reef ecosystems in addition to tropical forests.

Portman currently serves as the Founder and Chair of the Portman Center for Policy Solutions at the University of Cincinnati and is a Distinguished Visiting Fellow in the Practice of Public Policy at the American Enterprise Institute. He also serves on the Board of Directors of The Procter and Gamble Company, the Bechtel Group, Inc. and The Atlantic Council, and as an advisory board member of other non-profits.

Rob was born and raised in Cincinnati, Ohio, where he still lives today with his wife, Jane. Together they have three adult children: Jed, Will, and Sally.