Tommy Thompson facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Tommy Thompson
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Official portrait, c. 2001
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| President of the University of Wisconsin System | |
| In office July 1, 2020 – March 18, 2022 |
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| Preceded by | Raymond W. Cross |
| Succeeded by | Jay Rothman |
| 19th United States Secretary of Health and Human Services | |
| In office February 2, 2001 – January 26, 2005 |
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| President | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Donna Shalala |
| Succeeded by | Mike Leavitt |
| Chair of the National Governors Association | |
| In office August 1, 1995 – July 16, 1996 |
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| Preceded by | Howard Dean |
| Succeeded by | Bob Miller |
| 42nd Governor of Wisconsin | |
| In office January 5, 1987 – February 1, 2001 |
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| Lieutenant | Scott McCallum |
| Preceded by | Tony Earl |
| Succeeded by | Scott McCallum |
| Minority Leader of the Wisconsin State Assembly | |
| In office December 17, 1981 – January 5, 1987 |
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| Preceded by | John C. Shabaz |
| Succeeded by | Betty Jo Nelsen |
| Member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 42nd district |
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| In office January 2, 1967 – January 5, 1987 |
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| Preceded by | Louis C. Romell |
| Succeeded by | Ben Brancel |
| Constituency | Adams–Juneau–Marquette district (1967–1973) 79th district (1973–1983) 87th district (1983–1985) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Tommy George Thompson
November 19, 1941 Elroy, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse |
Sue Mashak
(m. 1968) |
| Relatives | Ed Thompson (brother) |
| Education | University of Wisconsin–Madison (BA, JD) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch/service | United States Army Wisconsin Army National Guard United States Army Reserve |
| Years of service | 1966–1972 (ARNG) 1972–1976 (USAR) |
| Rank |  Captain |
Tommy George Thompson (born November 19, 1941) is an American politician from Juneau County, Wisconsin. He has held many important jobs in government. From 2001 to 2005, he was the 19th United States secretary of Health and Human Services for President George W. Bush.
Before that, he was the 42nd governor of Wisconsin from 1987 to 2001. He is the longest-serving governor in Wisconsin's history, as he was elected four times. He also led the Republican party in the Wisconsin State Assembly from 1981 to 1987.
After working for President Bush, Thompson joined a law firm and a health solutions center. He also served as the interim president of the University of Wisconsin System from 2020 to 2022. He ran for President of the United States in 2008 and for the U.S. Senate in 2012, but he did not win those elections.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Childhood and Family
Tommy Thompson was born in Elroy, Wisconsin. His mother, Julie, was a teacher. His father, Allan, owned a gas station and a country grocery store.
His brother, Ed Thompson, was the mayor of Tomah, Wisconsin. Ed also ran for Governor of Wisconsin in 2002 for the Libertarian Party. Tommy Thompson has a daughter, Kelli Thompson, who works as a lawyer in Wisconsin.
College and Law School
Thompson went to the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He earned his first degree in 1963 and his law degree in 1966. While studying law, he was chosen to lead the Madison Young Republicans group.
Military Service
During the Vietnam War, Thompson was allowed to delay his military service while he was in law school. In 1966, after finishing law school, he joined the National Guard.
He served for six years in the National Guard. After that, he spent four more years in the Army Reserves. He reached the rank of Captain.
Early Political Career
Serving in the Wisconsin Assembly
Right after law school in 1966, Thompson ran for the Wisconsin State Assembly. He won against the person who was already in office.
In 1973, Thompson became the assistant minority leader in the Assembly. By 1981, he was the minority leader. He was known for using special rules to stop bills he didn't like. This earned him the nickname "Dr. No" from those who disagreed with him.
American Legislative Exchange Council
As a state lawmaker, Thompson was involved with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). This is a group that helps conservative lawmakers share ideas. Thompson once said he would take ideas from ALEC, change them a little, and use them in Wisconsin as his own. ALEC gave him an award in 1991.
Running for Congress
In 1979, Thompson ran for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. This was a special election to replace a congressman who had passed away. Thompson was one of seven Republican candidates, but he did not win the election.
Governor of Wisconsin (1987–2001)
Thompson served as the 42nd Governor of Wisconsin. He was elected four times, which was a record. He held the office for 14 years, from January 1987 to February 2001.
Winning Elections
- 1986: Thompson ran for governor against the current Democratic governor, Anthony Earl. He won the Republican primary and then defeated Earl in the general election.
- 1990: He won his second term, beating Thomas Loftus, who was the Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly.
- 1994: Thompson won his third term by a large margin against Democratic State Senator Chuck Chvala. He won almost every county in Wisconsin.
- 1998: He won his fourth term, defeating Democrat Ed Garvey.
Key Actions as Governor
Thompson became well-known for changing Wisconsin's welfare system. Welfare is government help for people in need. Under his leadership, the number of people receiving welfare dropped a lot. At the same time, he increased money for child care and health care for low-income working families.
He was seen as a leader for two big ideas:
- Welfare Reform: Called "Wisconsin Works" (or W-2), this program changed how people received welfare.
- School Vouchers: In 1990, he started the country's first program that gave money (vouchers) to families in Milwaukee. This money helped them send their children to private or public schools of their choice.
Thompson also created the BadgerCare program. This program helps families get health insurance if their jobs don't offer it and they earn too much for other programs like Medicaid.
Thompson often used his power to veto parts of bills. Wisconsin governors had a special power to remove words, numbers, or even whole sentences from spending bills. In his first two terms, he used this power 1,500 times to cut $150 million in spending. None of these vetoes were overturned.
Some people criticized Thompson's welfare changes. They said that many poor families were still struggling, even after leaving welfare. Also, some of the state's poorest children had less health insurance than before.
Focus on Transportation
While governor, Thompson was appointed to the Amtrak Board of Directors. Amtrak is the national passenger rail service. He even had an Amtrak locomotive named after him for several years. Thompson was very interested in trains and public transportation.
Taxes During His Time
Thompson often said he never raised taxes in Wisconsin. He claimed to have cut taxes 91 times. This included getting rid of the estate tax and cutting income tax rates.
However, a fact-checking group called PolitiFact-Wisconsin looked into his claim in 2012. They found examples of taxes that did increase during his time as governor. PolitiFact said that while he did cut many taxes, he also raised some specific ones. Overall, they found that Wisconsin's tax burden generally went down under his leadership.
Changes in Government Power
As governor, Thompson made big changes to shift power. He moved decision-making from elected officials and independent agencies to people he appointed. For example, he moved responsibilities from the Secretary of State's office to a new department led by his appointee. He also moved consumer protection from the Attorney General to another appointed department.
Some of his actions were later found to be against the state's constitution by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. For example, his plan to include church schools in the school voucher program was ruled unconstitutional.
Ojibwa Spearfishing Rights
In 1983, a court ruled that the Ojibwa tribe in Wisconsin had a treaty right to fish using spears off their reservations. This meant Wisconsin could not control their fishing on Ojibwa land. The U.S. Supreme Court agreed with this decision.
When Thompson became governor, he suggested changing these rights. His administration tried to get two Ojibwa tribes to sell their fishing rights for millions of dollars. They also tried to challenge the court's decision, saying that the Native Americans were in danger from protesters.
In 1989, a federal judge ruled against Thompson's administration. The judge said the state should not punish the Ojibwa because of threats from non-Native American protesters. In 1991, Thompson's administration announced they would no longer try to fight the 1983 court decision.
Other Leadership Roles
While governor, Thompson also led several other important groups. These included the National Governors Association and the Education Commission of the States.
Secretary of Health and Human Services
Thompson left his job as governor when President George W. Bush chose him to be the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). The Senate approved his appointment in January 2001. He resigned in December 2004 and left office in January 2005.
As Secretary, he worked on many important health issues:
- He increased money for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which does medical research.
- He reorganized the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to make them more efficient.
- He helped 1.8 million lower-income Americans get health insurance.
- After the 9/11 attacks, he worked to make the nation ready for a bioterrorism attack. This included storing smallpox vaccines.
- He was also chosen to lead the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in 2003.
Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit
Thompson was a key person in creating the Medicare Modernization Act in 2003. This law helped provide money for prescription drugs for people on Medicare starting in 2006. This was a very important health care law during President Bush's first term.
There was some debate about how much this new drug benefit would cost. Critics said Thompson's department might have made the cost seem lower than it would be. However, later reports found that the program actually cost less than expected.
2001 Anthrax Scare
Early in his time as Secretary, Thompson faced a crisis with the 2001 anthrax attacks. Some people felt he seemed unprepared and that his early statements were confusing. For example, he once suggested that a person who died from anthrax might have gotten it from drinking creek water, which was later criticized.
Science and Politics
In 2001, Thompson's office rejected some scientists recommended for an advisory board at the NIH. Some of these scientists were very well-known, including a Nobel Prize winner. The director of the unit said that some were rejected because they had criticized President Bush. This led to accusations that politics were influencing science decisions.
Resignation and Warnings
Thompson resigned in December 2004. At his press conference, he warned about the dangers of avian flu and how easy it would be for terrorists to poison the U.S. food supply. He said he had tried to resign earlier but stayed at the President's request.
Work After Government
After leaving government, Thompson joined a law firm and a consulting firm. He also joined the boards of directors for many private companies and non-profit groups.
In 2011, he earned a lot of money from these roles. His work with these companies helped him build a net worth of $13 million. Some of the companies he worked with faced problems, like claims of faulty medical products.
Thompson became a partner at Akin Gump, a law firm that works with the government. He gave advice on how to talk to government officials about health care. He also became a senior advisor at Deloitte, a professional services firm, and led their Center for Health Solutions.
Later Political Activities
2008 Presidential Campaign
Thompson announced he would run for President in 2007. During a debate, he was asked if a private employer should be allowed to fire a gay worker. He first said it was up to the business. The next morning, he apologized, saying he misunderstood the question and that there should be no discrimination in the workplace.
He also made some comments about Jewish people and money that he later apologized for. He said he meant to compliment their business skills, but his words were seen as using old stereotypes.
Thompson said he would drop out of the race if he didn't do well in a straw poll in Iowa. He finished sixth and then announced he was leaving the race. He later supported Rudy Giuliani and then John McCain for president.
2012 U.S. Senate Election
In 2011, Thompson announced he would run for the U.S. Senate seat in Wisconsin. He won the Republican nomination in a tough four-way primary election.
He faced Democratic Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin in the general election. Even though polls showed Thompson ahead for a while, he lost to Baldwin. This was his first loss in a statewide election.
During the campaign, Thompson spoke to a Tea Party group. He said, "who better than me, that's already finished one of the entitlement programs, to come up with programs that do away with Medicaid and Medicare?" When this video came out, he clarified that he did not want to eliminate Medicare. Instead, he wanted a system where people would get money to help them buy private health insurance.
He also supported making the Bush tax cuts permanent and having a 15 percent flat tax.
Later Political Involvement
For the 2016 presidential election, Thompson first supported Scott Walker. After Walker dropped out, he supported Jeb Bush, then John Kasich. Finally, he endorsed Donald Trump and was a delegate at the Republican National Convention.
Thompson thought about running for Wisconsin governor again in 2022. He even met with former President Trump. But in April, he said he would not run because his family did not want him to. He later supported Tim Michels, the Trump-backed candidate, in the Republican primary.
In 2022, Thompson joined a project called the Council for Responsible Social Media. This group works to address the negative effects of social media on mental health and society.
Thompson was a delegate to the 2024 Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. He gave a speech there, saying it was his twelfth time being a delegate. In the 2024 presidential election, Thompson again supported Donald Trump and campaigned with him in Wisconsin.
President of the University of Wisconsin System (2020–22)
In 2019, the president of the University of Wisconsin System announced he would retire. After a search, the board chose Thompson to be the interim president. He served for almost two years. In January 2022, he announced he would step down on March 18, 2022.
Images for kids
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Thompson as governor.
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