Editing Dick Gephardt (section)

===House leadership===
[[File:Dick Gephardt.jpg|thumb|Portrait of Gephardt from the 1997 ''Congressional Pictorial Directory'']]
[[File:President Bill Clinton meets with Congressional Leaders (42) (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|Gephardt greeting President [[Bill Clinton]] in February 1993]]
[[File:Representative Richard Gephardt Shakes Hands with President George W. Bush in the Oval Office (03) (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|Gephardt greeting President [[George W. Bush]] in January 2001]]

In part due to the visibility gained from his 1988 presidential bid, Gephardt was elected [[Majority Leader of the United States House of Representatives|majority leader]] by his House colleagues in June 1989, making him the second-ranking Democrat in the House, behind then-[[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives|Speaker]] [[Tom Foley]]. Gephardt served in that position until January 1995.

After Foley was unseated in the Republican landslide of 1994 that gave the Republicans a 52-seat majority, Gephardt became the leader of the House Democrats, as [[Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives|minority leader]], initially opposite [[Newt Gingrich]] and then, from 1999 onward, [[Dennis Hastert]]. When Gingrich faced a coup within his own party in 1997, Gephardt could have become Speaker if there had been a floor vote and he gained the support of Republican members dissatisfied with Gingrich, but Gingrich refused to resign and no vote occurred. In the 1996, 1998, and 2000 elections, Gephardt led the Democrats to gains in the House,<ref name="CNN">{{cite news|url=http://articles.cnn.com/2002-11-18/politics/column.shields.opinion.gephardt_1_leader-gephardt-dick-gephardt-caucus?_s=PM:ALLPOLITICS |work=CNN |title=AllPolitics Clinton, Gephardt Share Welfare Event Stage |date=August 12, 1997 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324053623/http://articles.cnn.com/2002-11-18/politics/column.shields.opinion.gephardt_1_leader-gephardt-dick-gephardt-caucus?_s=PM:ALLPOLITICS |archive-date=2012-03-24 }}</ref> although they did not retake the majority until 2006, after Gephardt had left Congress. Therefore, he is the first House Democratic leader who has not served as Speaker since [[Finis J. Garrett]].

Gephardt became a prolific financial supporter of Democrats around the country in the early 1990s, assembling a team of top fundraising staff who helped him support hundreds of candidates for local and federal office. Although Gephardt worked hard for many of President [[Bill Clinton]]'s programs, he and his union supporters strongly opposed NAFTA and other "free trade" programs, so Clinton relied on Republican support to pass those initiatives. During the [[Impeachment of Bill Clinton|impeachment proceedings of President Clinton]], Gephardt led a walkout in the House after a censure motion was ruled irrelevant to the impeachment debate.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/events/clinton_under_fire/latest_news/238784.stm | work=BBC News | title=Clinton impeached | date=December 19, 1998 | access-date=December 20, 2010 | archive-date=April 12, 2011 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110412100113/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/events/clinton_under_fire/latest_news/238784.stm | url-status=live }}</ref>

[[File:Dick Gephardt 1998.jpg|thumb|left|Gephardt speaking at a vigil for [[Matthew Shepard]] in 1998]]
In 2000, Vice President and Democratic presidential nominee [[Al Gore]] named Gephardt to his short list of possible vice presidential candidates. The other names on the short list were Indiana Senator [[Evan Bayh]], North Carolina Senator [[John Edwards]], Massachusetts Senator [[John Kerry]], Connecticut Senator [[Joe Lieberman]], and New Hampshire Governor [[Jeanne Shaheen]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=123200 |title=Gore Down To Short List |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |date=August 3, 2000 |work=ABC News |access-date=August 1, 2015 |archive-date=June 6, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606232119/http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/story?id=123200 |url-status=live }}</ref> Gore eventually selected Lieberman.

In the 2002 Congressional midterm elections, Gephardt campaigned on the economy and Social Security, but the continuing resonance of the [[September 11 attacks]], the momentum for military action against Iraq, and President [[George W. Bush]]'s popularity lead to Republican gains, with the Democrats losing four House seats. [[Harold Ford Jr.]] of Tennessee called the results an "absolute blowout" and called upon Gephardt to step down, saying that it was time for "new ideas and new faces". Due to his previous success, it has been said that Gephardt would have been easily returned as Minority Leader if he had decided to stay on.<ref name="CNN"/><ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/2310717.stm | work=BBC News | title=Dick Gephardt: Home issue campaigner | date=November 7, 2002 | access-date=December 13, 2010 | archive-date=March 27, 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100327043923/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/2310717.stm | url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/2414343.stm | work=BBC News | title=Top Democrat leader resigns | date=November 7, 2002 | access-date=December 13, 2010 | archive-date=February 2, 2010 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100202051014/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/2414343.stm | url-status=live }}</ref> However, Gephardt, who was planning to run for president in 2004, did not run for reelection as House Minority Leader, stepping down in January 2003. His leadership position was contested by the centrist [[Martin Frost]], the outgoing Democratic Caucus Chair, and the liberal [[Nancy Pelosi]], the Minority Whip, who was elected as Gephardt's successor. No longer having Congressional leadership duties freed Gephardt up to concentrate on a 2004 presidential bid.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/234096711.html?dids=234096711:234096711&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Nov+07%2C+2002&author=Nick+Anderson&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=Election+2002+%2F+NATIONAL+RESULTS%3B+Gephardt+to+Leave+Leadership+Post%3B+Resigning+as+minority+chief+of+the+House+could+free+the+Democrat+for+a+presidential+bid.&pqatl=google | first=Nick | last=Anderson | title=Election 2002 / NATIONAL RESULTS; Gephardt to Leave Leadership Post; Resigning as minority chief of the House could free the Democrat for a presidential bid | date=November 7, 2002 | access-date=July 6, 2017 | archive-date=November 4, 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104164203/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/234096711.html?dids=234096711:234096711&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Nov+07,+2002&author=Nick+Anderson&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=Election+2002+%2F+NATIONAL+RESULTS%3B+Gephardt+to+Leave+Leadership+Post%3B+Resigning+as+minority+chief+of+the+House+could+free+the+Democrat+for+a+presidential+bid.&pqatl=google | url-status=dead }}</ref>