Paul F. McHale, Jr.

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For the Scottish footballer, see Paul McHale (footballer).

Paul F. McHale, Jr. (born July 26, 1950 in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania) is the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense. From 1993 to 1999, he represented the 15th district of Pennsylvania in the U.S. House of Representatives.

McHale was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, where he graduated from Bethlehem's Liberty High School.

He received a B.A. from Lehigh University in 1972 and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center in 1977. He served in the United States Marine Corps from 1972 to 1974, and in the Marine Corps Reserve since 1974. He served in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. He remains a member of the reserves with the rank of Colonel.

McHale was a member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1983 to 1991, resigning in order to volunteer for active duty in the Gulf War. He was then elected as a Democrat to the 103rd and the two succeeding Congresses. He was not a candidate for reelection in 1998.

McHale gained prominence in 1998 when he called for Bill Clinton to resign. He voted for three of the four articles of impeachment against Clinton, and was the only Democrat with a moderate-to-liberal voting record to support impeachment.

He assumed his current position as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Homeland Defense on February 7, 2003.

In October 2006, McHale was recalled to active Marine Corps duty to deploy to Afghanistan.[1]

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Preceded by Don Ritter	Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 15th congressional district 1993-1999	Succeeded by Patrick J. Toomey