John Ensign received his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree in 1985 and began his veterinary practice in Las Vegas. His political career began in 1994 when he won the Republican nomination for Nevada’s 1st Congressional District in Las Vegas, re-elected in 1996. Defeated by Harry Reid (D-NV) in 1998 for a seat in the U.S. Senate, but successful in 2000 and re-elected in 2006. Resigned with the disclosure of his extramarital affair in May 2011, amid an ongoing ethics investigation. Ensign served on the following Senate Committees: Budget; Finance; Armed Services; Commerce, Science, and Transportation; Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP); Veterans Affairs; Homeland Security and Government Affairs; Small Business and Entrepreneurship; Rules and Administration; and Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. He also served in a variety of subcommittees within those committees, most notably as the chairman of the Republican High Tech Task Force (HTTF), vice chairman of the Republican Steering Committee, and chairman of the Republican Policy Committee. The collection covers John Ensign's career as a U.S. Senator from Nevada from 2001 until his resignation on May 3, 2011. Files are only from his Washington D.C. office, with the bulk coming from Ensign's first term during the 107th to 109th congresses (2001-2006) and includes correspondence, speeches, schedules, legislative work on bills and hearings, newspaper clippings, reports, some audio/visual records and a few photographs and memorabilia.
