Mac Thornberry

Mac Thornberry is a U.S. Congressman (R-Texas). His district includes the Texas Panhandle and the city of Amarillo, Texas.

He was born on the family ranch, earned a B.A. in history from Tech in 1980, he went on to the University of Texas Law School where he graduated in 1983. For the next several years, he worked in Washington, including serving as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Legislative Affairs in the State Department under President Reagan. In 1989, he returned to his brothers in the cattle business and practiced law in Amarillo, dealing with the appropriate bulls in both cases.

In Congress, he is on the House Armed Services Committee, Strategic Forces Subcommittee, Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee; House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Tactical and Technical Intelligence Subcommittee; Council on Foreign Relations.

He is known as a national security specialist. Six months before the 9-11 Attacks, he introduced legislation to establish a National Homeland Security Agency to protect the U.S. from terrorism. This was based on the recommendations of the Hart-Rudman Commission, and became the foundation of the formation of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

He participates in national security activites outside the Congress, such as the Transformation Advisory Group to the United States Joint Forces Command, and national-level war gaming. Other involvements include the Smart Power Commission of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, and membership in the Council on Foreign Relations.