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Meet the 5 most bipartisan politicians in Congress

These five politicians were ranked as the most bipartisan members of Congress by The Lugar Center’s 2015 Bipartisan Index.

4. Sen. Joe Donnelly (D) of Indiana

Joe Raymond/AP
Joe Donnelly, Indiana Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, casts his vote Tuesday Nov. 6, 2012 in South Bend, Ind.

This summer, Senator Donnelly and Sen. Ben Sasse (R) of Nebraska led a bipartisan coalition of 70 senators to address federal regulators’ approach to credit unions and community banks. In a letter to Richard Cordray, director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Donnelly and his colleagues urged the bureau to treat credit unions and community banks “differently from the largest financial institutions,” just as federal regulators do.

And in 2015, Donnelly partnered with Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R) of New Hampshire to address heroin and prescription drug abuse in the US.

“This bipartisan legislation would help support and strengthen local and state efforts to tackle this urgent public health issue,” said Donnelly in a press release. “I am proud to continue working with my friend Senator Ayotte to help address this epidemic affecting Indiana and our country.”

Donnelly is often seen as walking in Richard G. Lugar’s footsteps. Mr. Lugar, A former Indiana senator himself, is the president of The Lugar Center and the inspiration for its Bipartisan Index.

“We weren’t hired to help our party,” Sen. Donnelly said last year. “We were hired to do what’s right for the United States of America.”

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Mark Sappenfield
Editor

Dear Reader,

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