Senator Carl Levin
Michigan
Elected to the U.S. Senate in 1978
Senator Levin has served in the Senate since 1979 and has been Michigan’s senior senator since 1995.
He has served as the senior Democrat on the Armed Services Committee since January 7, 1997. Levin chaired the committee when the Democrats were the majority party in the Senate, January 3-20, 2001 and June 6, 2001 - January 6, 2003. He has pushed for less secrecy in government, working to declassify many documents, particularly where claims of ties between Iraq and Al-Qaeda are concerned.
Senator Levin also serves as the ranking Democrat of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. For the last six years, he has directed his staff in a comprehensive money laundering investigation, which has led to strengthened U.S. anti-money laundering. In addition, Levin's work has supported international efforts to detect and stop money laundering and terrorist financing.
Levin is also a member of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee and the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
He was state assistant attorney general and general counsel for the Michigan civil rights commission from 1964-67. He was special assistant attorney general for the State of Michigan and chief appellate defender for the city of Detroit from 1968-69. He was a member of the Detroit City Council 1969-77, the last four years as council president. He was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1978, defeating Senate Minority Whip Robert P. Griffin. He was subsequently reelected in 1984, 1990, 1996, and 2002. He is the longest-serving Senator in Michigan history.