ABSTRACT
George J. Mitchell, majority leader from 1989 to 1995, rapidly rose to that position in nine years. His service in the Senate came through an appointment to fill a vacancy left by Senator Edmund S. “Ed” Muskie’s (D-ME) departure to serve as Secretary of State in the Carter administration. Mitchell benefitted from reforms in the Senate that gave powers to subcommittees, and from the mentoring he received from key senators. As Chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), he brought back majority control to the Democrats after six years of Republican control, adding 11 new members to his Conference. His intelligence, integrity, ability to find common ground, communication skills, fairness, and work with Republicans and Democrats in the White House and Senate left a legacy of what could be accomplished both with bipartisanship and by drawing from the norms and folkways long associated with the Senate. Legislation becoming law included the 1990 Budget Agreement, the 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act, the 1991 Authorization for the Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution, and the 1993 Omnibus Budget-Reconciliation Act.
