Chambliss, Saxby, 1943-

Clarence Saxby Chambliss (born November 10, 1943) is an American lawyer and retired politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as a U.S. Representative from Georgia's 8th congressional district between 1995 and 2003 and as a U.S. Senator from Georgia from 2003 to 2015.

Born in Warrenton, North Carolina, he graduated from C.E. Byrd High School in Shreveport, Louisiana and attended Louisiana Tech University before earning a B.A. from the University of Georgia and a J.D. from the University of Tennessee College of Law. After finishing his education, Chambliss practiced law in Moultrie, Georgia. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's 8th congressional district in 1994 as one of the new conservative Republican congressmen whose elections caused the party to gain a majority in both houses of Congress. During his four terms in the House, Chambliss served on the United States House of Representatives Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and chaired the House Intelligence Subcommittee on Terrorism and Homeland Security.

Upon urging from Karl Rove and the Bush administration who viewed the Democratic party of Georgia as vulnerable, Chambliss ran for the Senate in 2002, facing freshman Democratic incumbent Max Cleland, defeating Cleland by seven points. He would be re-elected in a runoff election in 2008. As a senator, he chaired the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry during the 109th Congress (2005–2007). During the 112th Congress (2011–2012), he was the ranking Republican on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Although Chambliss had a conservative voting record, he participated in bipartisan legislation—such as the 2007 Farm Bill, the bipartisan immigration reform (led by John McCain and Ted Kennedy) in 2007 and the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. He was also the Republican leader of the Gang of 10, a bipartisan group which worked to create a compromise surrounding the energy policy of the United States. In December 2011, the Washington Post named Chambliss as one of the Best Leaders of 2011 for his attempts to craft a bipartisan deficit reduction package.

Chambliss did not seek reelection in 2014. Days after his retirement from the Senate in 2015, it was announced he was joining DLA Piper as a partner.