Coats, Dan (1943-…), served as the director of national Intelligence in the administration of President Donald J. Trump from 2017 to 2019. Coats had earlier served as a United States senator from Indiana. Coats, a Republican, first joined the Senate in 1989. That year, he was appointed to fill the seat of Senator Dan Quayle, who had been elected vice president. In 1992, Coats won election to his first full term in the Senate, and he served until 1999. In 2010, voters again elected Coats to the Senate, where he served until 2017. Coats also served in the U.S. House of Representatives and as an ambassador.
Daniel Ray Coats was born in Jackson, Michigan, on May 16, 1943. He received a bachelor’s degree from Wheaton College, in Illinois, in 1965. Coats served in the U.S. Army from 1966 to 1968. He earned a degree from Indiana University School of Law-Indianapolis in 1971. He then went to work as attorney for an insurance company in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
In 1976, Coats became a director on the staff of Dan Quayle , who at that time represented a district in northeastern Indiana in the House of Representatives. In 1980, Quayle won election to the Senate, and Coats was elected to Quayle’s seat in the House. In 1988, Quayle was the vice presidential running mate of Republican presidential nominee George H. W. Bush. Bush and Quayle won the election, and Indiana Governor Robert D. Orr appointed Coats to fill Quayle’s Senate seat. Coats officially took the seat in January 1989.
In 1990, Coats won a special election to a two-year term in the Senate. He won a full six-year term in 1992. As a senator, Coats was known as a conservative. However, he voted against many members of his party to pass new gun control laws. He worked on a number of measures related to national security, energy, and the federal budget.
From 1999 to 2001, and from 2005 to 2010, Coats worked as a lobbyist for law firms in Washington, D.C. A lobbyist is a person who tries to influence lawmakers to support particular legislation. From 2001 to 2005, Coats served as U.S. ambassador to Germany during the administration of President George W. Bush. Coats was elected again to the Senate in 2010. He did not seek reelection in 2016. In 2017, the Senate confirmed Coats to lead the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The office oversees a host of U.S. intelligence agencies. Coats resigned from the position in August 2019.
