Bill Hagerty (politician)
William Francis Hagerty IV is a former businessman, diplomat, and candidate for United States Senate who served as the 30th United States Ambassador to Japan. He was national finance Chair for the Mitt Romney presidential campaign. He was previously the managing director and co-founder of Hagerty Peterson & Company, a private equity investment firm. On March 27, 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Hagerty to serve as United States Ambassador to Japan, succeeding Caroline Kennedy. On July 27, 2017, Vice President Mike Pence administered the oath of office to Hagerty, who became the 30th United States Ambassador to Japan. On September 9, 2019, Hagerty announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by the retiring Lamar Alexander after the 2020 election.
Early life and education
Hagerty is a native of Gallatin, in Sumner County, Tennessee. He became an Eagle Scout, and was awarded the Distinguished Eagle Scout Award in 2017. He is a 1977 graduate of Madisonville North Hopkins High School in Kentucky. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1981 from Vanderbilt University and a Juris Doctor from Vanderbilt Law School in 1984.Career
He began his career at Boston Consulting Group, culminating in a three-year assignment to Tokyo. Hagerty served as an economic advisor and White House Fellow under President George H. W. Bush, and then began a career in private equity, initially at Trident Capital in Silicon Valley. He served as a national finance chairman in the Mitt Romney 2008 presidential campaign.From 2011 to 2014, Hagerty served as commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development in the cabinet of Governor Bill Haslam, where he played a role in investments by Bridgestone, Calsonic Kansei, and Nissan in Tennessee.
Hagerty has served on the board of CyMed, NEW Customer Services, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Ryman Hospitality, Pinnacle Financial Partners, and R.J. O'Brien.
Major League Soccer Steering Committee
Prior to his confirmation as U.S. Ambassador to Japan, Hagerty founded and led the Nashville MLS Steering Committee, a coalition seeking to bring a Major League Soccer franchise to Nashville, Tennessee. That effort was successful, with Nashville being officially selected and named the first of two new MLS expansion markets on December 20, 2017.2016 presidential election
During the early stages of the 2016 presidential election, Hagerty was nominated to serve on the ballot as a delegate for Jeb Bush. Bush dropped out of the race before the Tennessee primary on March 1, 2016. Following the Tennessee primary, Hagerty served as Trump Victory Chair for Tennessee. After Donald Trump became the Republican nominee, he was selected in August of 2016 as director of appointments for Trump's presidential transition team.United States Ambassador to Japan
Hagerty was nominated to be the United States Ambassador to Japan by President Donald Trump on March 27, 2017. He was confirmed on July 13, 2017 by the United States Senate in an 86–12 vote. He was sworn in as the 30th U.S. Ambassador on July 27, 2017.Prior to his confirmation, Hagerty was reportedly also under consideration for the post of United States Trade Representative, based on his prior international trade and U.S. foreign investment experience. The job eventually went to Robert Lighthizer, an attorney and former Reagan Administration official.
On July 16, 2019, Hagerty announced he would resign as Ambassador to Japan with President Donald J. Trump's endorsement of his 2020 Senate campaign.
2020 U.S. Senate campaign
On July 12, 2019 President Trump announced that Hagerty would resign as Ambassador to Japan, so that he could run in the U.S. Senate election in Tennessee in 2020, also in the tweet, Trump endorsed his run for Senate.At the same time, amid reports that Mike Pompeo was considering a run for an open US Senate seat in Kansas, some considered Hagerty to be a possible contender to replace him as Secretary of State, according to a CNN source familiar with the situation.
Hagerty officially launched his Senate campaign on September 9, 2019. By September 30, Hagerty had raised $1.9 million for his campaign. By April 6, Hagerty had raised more than $7 million for the campaign in seven months, with $1.2 million raised in the first quarter of 2020.
In a poll by Vanderbilt University, released on December 17, 2019, Bill Hagerty held a clear name ID advantage at 41% followed by potential primary opponents James Mackler at 9% and Manny Sethi at 6%.
On January 28, 2020 Donald Trump Jr. and Kimberly Guilfoyle spoke at a fundraiser for Bill Hagerty's U.S. Senate campaign in Gallatin, Tennessee. Trump Jr. and Guilfoyle endorsed Bill Hagerty and spoke of President Donald Trump's endorsement for Hagerty's campaign.
On February 18, Nikki Haley spoke at a fundraiser for Bill Hagerty's U.S. Senate campaign in Nashville, Tennessee. Haley endorsed Bill Hagerty's campaign.
On April 14, 2020, President Donald Trump appointed Bill Hagerty to the Great American Economic Revival Industry Groups as a thought leader.
Beginning in late May of 2020, news outlets began circulating an article, originally published by Roger Sollenberger in Salon, discussing allegations of campaign finance misconduct by Hagerty. The article focuses largely on an loan given to the Hagerty Campaign by Pinnacle Financial Partners almost immediately following the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act.
Political views
Hagerty is a self-described conservative. His views have been characterized as more populist and in line with the views of Donald Trump, and less in line with the Republican establishment and moderates. He often expresses criticism of moderate Republicans, such as Mitt Romney.Hagerty supports the death penalty for people convicted of engaging in human trafficking acts. He is strongly opposed to illegal immigration and supports Trump's proposed expansion of the Mexico–United States barrier. He is also opposed to amnesty for illegal immigrants and sanctuary cities, and believes that Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals should be repealed and that undocumented immigrants who commit crimes should be deported. He also supports reforming U.S. immigration policies into a merit-based system. Hagerty believes that Sharia Law is a national security threat to the United States and believes that the United States should continue to support Israel.
He supports free trade, and believes that a better trade deal should be negotiated between the US and China. He supports rolling back regulations that he believes are unnecessary and believes that doing so would return jobs to the U.S. that have been outsourced. Hagerty supports Second Amendment rights, and is opposed to a national gun registry, universal background checks, and red flag laws. Hagerty is opposed to abortion rights and self-identifies as pro-life. Hagerty supports reducing taxes and supports enacting a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution of the United States. He opposes raising the federal minimum wage. Hagerty is opposed to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and believes that the federal government should reduce its involvement in healthcare. He supports efforts to prevent the closure of rural hospitals. He is opposed to the Common Core State Standards Initiative and the No Child Left Behind Act, and supports reallocating funding from the United States Department of Education to the states. Hagerty supports increased investment and development of fossil fuels, and supports repealing renewable energy and energy efficiency standards. He also supports the American energy independence.