Members in the News: Donna Shalala, Francis Rooney and Xavier Becerra
Dialogue members Donna Shalala and Francis Rooney were elected to Congress on November 6, 2018. Dialogue member Xavier Becerra was elected as attorney general of California.
Francis Rooney
United States | Member, US House of Representatives (R-FL)
Former US Ambassador to The Holy See
Francis Rooney is a Republican Member of Congress from Florida who was appointed vice chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. A successful businessman, Rooney brings decades of private sector experience to Washington. He and his family started Rooney Holdings, Inc., a diversified, international group of companies based in Naples, Florida. Notable Southwest Florida projects include Fort Myers’ downtown streetscape, the Lee County Jail, and a number of improvements on Florida Gulf Coast University’s campus, including a solar power plant. Significant projects around the United States include the Presidential Libraries for both George H. W. Bush in College Station and George W. Bush in Dallas, the Dallas Cowboys stadium, the US Capitol Visitors’ Center, the Walter Reed Army Institute for Research, and the International Terminal at Hartsfield-Jackson Airport in Atlanta.
In addition to his business career, Rooney was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as US ambassador to The Holy See from 2005 to 2008. Rooney has served on numerous public and private boards, including Naples Community Hospital, the Florida Gulf Coast University Foundation, Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress, and the Advisory Commission of the Panama Canal.
Rooney joined the Dialogue as a Member in 2017.
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