Martin Frost

Personal life

Frost was born to a Jewish family in Glendale, California, the son of Doris (nee Marwil) and Jack Frost. He has one sister, Carol Frost Wagner.

After graduating, Frost worked as a newspaper reporter, including positions at The News Journal of Wilmington, Delaware. He received his Juris Doctor degree from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1970. Following his graduation he worked as a law clerk for Federal Judge Sarah T. Hughes of the Northern District of Texas, after which he practiced law in the Dallas–Fort Worth area. In addition, Frost was a legal commentator on KERA-TV.

Frost served in the United States Army Reserve from 1966 to 1972.

Political career

Frost ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the House in 1974. He tried again successfully in 1978, becoming the first Jewish U.S. congressman from Texas. Frost was reelected 12 times without serious opposition. In 1980, he defeated an African American Republican opponent, Clay Smothers.{{Citation

On October 10, 2002, Martin Frost was among the 81 House Democrats who voted in favor of authorizing the invasion of Iraq.{{Citation

He served two terms as the chairman of the House Democratic Caucus from 1999 to 2003, the number three post in the Democrats' House leadership after the minority leader and minority whip. As Democratic Caucus Chair, Frost was often at odds with another prominent Dallas-area Congressman, Dick Armey, who was the Republican House Majority Leader.{{Citation |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121025012748/http://wwsg.com/the-honorable-martin-frost |archive-date = 2012-10-25

Due to term limits as Democratic Caucus Chair, Frost made a bid for Minority Leader after Dick Gephardt resigned in the wake of losing four seats in the 2002 Congressional midterm elections, but Frost dropped out of the race and supported eventual winner Nancy Pelosi.

Frost was the ranking member of the House Rules Committee during his last term in the House.{{Citation |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120124064336/http://www.polsinelli.com/mfrost/ |archive-date = 2012-01-24

Due to his strong fundraising ability for fellow Democrats,{{Citation

Retirement

In 2005, Frost was a candidate for chairman of the Democratic National Committee. He dropped out of the race on February 1. On February 15, Frost was hired by Fox News as a political commentator.

Frost is now an attorney at the Polsinelli law firm and president of America Votes. He is also a member of the ReFormers Caucus of Issue One.

In a July 2011 op-ed regarding the debt ceiling crisis, Frost wrote, "We now have a group of U.S. politicians seeking political purity, who seem to have much in common with the Taliban. They are tea party members."

Frost co-authored with Tom Davis, Richard E. Cohen, and David Eisenhower the 2014 book The Partisan Divide in which they attempt to explain the reasons behind an increasingly polarized U.S. Congress and offer possible solutions.

After leaving office, he became involved in political reform efforts, including joining nine other former members of Congress to co-author a 2021 opinion editorial advocating reforms of Congress.

Personal

In 1976, Frost married Valerie H. Hall in Dallas. They divorced in 1998. Later that year he married Kathryn Frost, a major general in the United States Army. She died in 2006, and in 2008, Frost married Jo Ellen Ronson.

Notes

References

1. [http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/sanantonio/obituary.aspx?n=doris-marwil-frost&pid=88855681 San Antonio Express-News: "Doris Marwil Frost Obituary (August 3, 1918 - May 22, 2005)"] May 24, 2005
2. His grandfather, Joe Frost, was co-founder of [[Frost Bros.
3. "House Standing Committee Chairs and Ranking Members: 104th-117th Congresses".
4. (February 2005). "Frost drops out of race for Democratic Party chairman".
5. [http://www.polsinelli.com/mfrost/ Attorney Bio] {{webarchive. link. (2012-01-24)
6. (June 3, 2007). "Former Congressman to Head Efforts to Bring Liberals to the Polls". The Washington Post.
7. (2023). "Issue One – ReFormers Caucus".
8. Frost, Martin. (29 July 2011). "The tea party Taliban". Politico.
9. (13 August 2021). "We Know Congress Needs Reform". West Virginia Gazette.