Former Chamber of Commerce CEO Thomas Donohue died Monday at the age of 86, three years after stepping down as head of the powerful business group.
Donohue became head of the group in 1997 and built up the group into a powerful lobbying force in Washington, D.C., with a statement from the Chamber of Commerce hailing him as having “gave business a seat at the table and a voice in the debate in a way it never had before.”
“It is no exaggeration to say he resurrected the Chamber, taking the institution from good to great and from productive to powerful—and standing up for business from the nation’s capital to every corner of the globe,” the group said in a statement Monday honoring Donohue.
“He never backed down from a fight that was necessary for a cause he believed in, leading the American business community and building the Chamber into the largest and most effective business organization in the world. He did it with high energy and absolute integrity, always keeping his promises and keeping his word. Tom’s mantra was simple: ‘If you can, you must,’” the statement continued.
Prior to helming the Chamber of Commerce, he led the American Trucking Associations for 13 years, also boosting their power in Washington, D.C., during his tenure.
Donohue was widely viewed as a titan of lobbying in the capital, even from those who rarely agreed with him. Biden White House adviser John Podesta told the New York Times in 2009 that, “he took a kind of sleepy organization and turned it into one of the most aggressive lobbying groups in town.”
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Throughout his time at the Chamber of Commerce he pushed for lower taxes and regulations for business, but at the end of Donohue’s tenure, he clashed with then-President Donald Trump over trade and immigration policy. He announced in 2019 that he would step down in 2022, ahead of the Wall Street Journal releasing a story detailing him using a private jet for business and personal flights while head of the group.
He officially stepped down in 2021 and was replaced as CEO by Suzanne Clark.