She has followed both the letter and spirit of the law and will continue to do so.". Why didn’t Burr provide his assessment to all the constituents he is supposed to serve, as well as the national media? Burr won the election by five percentage points.[14]. [82], Burr supported a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage,[86] but in 2013 said that he believed the law on same-sex marriage should be left to the states. [131] Burr has a known aversion to reporters, once even climbing out of his office window while carrying his dry cleaning to avoid them. Washington (CNN) Republican Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina is stepping aside as chairman of the influential Senate Intelligence Committee … Richard Mauze Burr (born November 30, 1955) is an American politician who is the senior United States Senator from North Carolina, serving since 2005. [19][20] In 2009, Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona, the Senate Republican Whip, appointed Burr to the post of Chief Deputy Whip in the 111th Congress. [63], Some provisions of the Patriot Act, including those enabling the bulk collection of metadata for private telephone records by the National Security Agency, were scheduled to expire at the end of May 2015. A member of the Republican Party, Burr was previously a member of the United States House of Representatives. [104][105][106][107], Burr was a national security adviser to the Donald Trump campaign. [31] He is opposed to raising taxes on businesses or high-income people to fund public services. [30], Burr is a signatory of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, a pledge vowing to oppose to tax increases for any reason. Burr's decision to step down as chairman is a stunning development for the North Carolina Republican, who has led the Senate Intelligence Committee through its three-year investigation into, Shortly after McConnell's announcement, Burr told reporters he was resigning as intelligence chair because "this is a distraction to the hard work of the committee and the members and I think the security of the country is too important to have any distractions.". The Senate's top Democrat, Chuck Schumer, said on CNBC Thursday that it was "premature" for him to comment on the investigation into Burr. Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the committee's top Democrat, declined to comment on Burr's resignation but said he "got a heads up from him.". [4][5][6] He graduated from Richard J. Reynolds High School in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in 1974 and earned a B.A. In March, Burr was caught by ProPublica selling off up to $1.7 million in stocks following classified congressional briefings on the coming pandemic from the novel Wuhan coronavirus. [8] He is a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity. [73] He voted yes to define a pregnancy as carrying an "unborn child" from the moment of conception. In February, as the Senate Intelligence Committee was briefed that Russia was meddling in the 2020 election, Ornstein tweeted this: “This is the ultimate test for Richard Burr, … [41][42] In 2013, Burr voted for a measure expressing opposition to a federal tax or fee on carbon emissions. [93], Burr voted against earmarking money to reduce teen pregnancy (via a requirement that health insurers have equitable birth control coverage, increased funding for family planning services, and funding for education programs that teaches vulnerable teens about contraceptives). [46], In 2017, Burr voted to confirm Betsy DeVos as U.S. education secretary; DeVos was confirmed by 51–50, with Vice President Mike Pence casting a tie-breaking vote after the Senate deadlocked. [55] Burr used the same media consultant as the NRA for ads. When asked on the campaign trail about Trump's offensive remarks regarding women, Burr said Trump should be forgiven for a few mistakes and given time to change. [24], In fall 2008, during the global financial crisis, Burr said he was going to an ATM every day and taking out cash because he thought the financial system was going to soon collapse. Burr said he has been cooperating with investigators "since the beginning" and will let the investigation play out. Burr's fellow North Carolina Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, who is up for reelection in 2020, declined to weigh in on whether Burr should remain chairman in a radio interview Thursday before Burr stepped down. pic.twitter.com/ekLcHfO8jH, — Alex Miller (@AlexMillerNews) May 14, 2020. [50] In 2010, Burr introduced the National Uniformity for Food Act, unsuccessful legislation that would have banned states from forcing manufacturers to include labels other than those that are required by the FDA on consumables and health and beauty products. "[122] Burr's conduct was criticized by the editorial board of the Raleigh News & Observer: "Burr had a clear grasp of the danger ahead. [36] Burr supported renewal of the 1965 Land and Water Conservation Fund. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement Thursday that Burr "contacted me this morning to inform me of his decision to step aside as Chairman of the Intelligence Committee during the pendency of the investigation." The Point: How much trouble is Sen. Richard Burr actually in? Trump's allies are still unhappy with Burr for issuing a subpoena to Donald Trump Jr. last year as part of the committee's Russia probe. [50] In 2002, Burr voted for the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002, which authorized the U.S. invasion of Iraq. [24] He votes against the majority of his party rarely (in about 1.5% of votes). Burr defeated Democratic nominee Deborah K. Ross in the November 2016 general election by a margin of 51–45. [15] Burr was a campaign advisor for the presidential election bid of Donald Trump. Sen. Richard Burr stepped down as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee amid a federal investigation into his stock sales. [24] He has supported the lowering of federal taxes on alternative fuels and the initiation of a hydropower project on the Yadkin River in Wilkes County, North Carolina. [86][88] In 2015, Burr was one of 11 Senate Republicans to vote in favor of allowing same-sex spouses to have access to federal Social Security and veterans' benefits. Federalist Senior Editor Mollie Hemingway wrote in March that the recent scandal is only the latest reason Burr should be stripped of his powerful chairmanship after perpetuating the grand Russian collusion conspiracy theory implicating President Donald Trump was an agent of the Kremlin. [24], In 2012, Burr co-sponsored a plan to overhaul Medicare; his bill would have raised the eligibility age from 65 to 67 over time and shifted more seniors to private insurance.