Dean Arthur Heller (born May 10, 1960) is an American businessman and politician who served as a United States senator representing Nevada from 2011 to 2019.

[9] In the general election, Heller defeated Democratic nominee and University of Nevada Regent Jill Derby, by a 49% to 46% margin.

[12] In 2009, Heller was rumored to be a candidate to challenge embattled incumbent Republican Governor Jim Gibbons or Democratic United States Senator Harry Reid in 2010.

[20] In his bid for a full Senate term, Heller faced Nevada's 1st congressional district U.S. Representative Shelley Berkley in November 2012.

[21] In August 2017, Las Vegas businessman Danny Tarkanian, a strong supporter of President Donald Trump, announced that he would mount a primary challenge to Heller.

Tarkanian stated that "we are never going to make America great again unless we have Senators in office that fully support President Trump and his America-First agenda" and explained that he wanted to "repeal Obamacare and end illegal immigration.

"[22] In September 2017, NBC News reported that Heller was "widely considered the most endangered Senator up for reelection in next year's midterm cycle."

He was described as facing "substantial opposition from both conservatives within his own party and a general electorate trending Democratic" and as having "a difficult relationship with President Donald Trump."

Tarkanian said that he would instead run for the United States House of Representatives in Nevada's 3rd congressional district with Trump's full support and the incumbent Democrat Jacky Rosen retiring to challenge Heller.

Regarding the vote, Heller said: "I wanted to be able to support a deal, but this proposal makes no underlying structural changes that will prevent this exact same crisis from happening again in the very near future.

Considering this legislation does nothing to place our nation on sound fiscal footing or cultivate a growth economy that will produce jobs in the long term, I cannot support it.

"[31][32] Heller campaigned to be elected Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee for the 114th U.S. Congress, but was defeated by Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker on November 13, 2014.

[41] Heller supported the initiative by President Barack Obama to normalize relations with Cuba, and was part of a bipartisan delegation to Havana.

[42] Heller opposed the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 that created the Troubled Asset Relief Program[43] characterizing the bill as "a massive bailout of Wall Street".

[46] Heller has confronted the former Trump administration "over its plans to reopen" the Yucca Mountain facility, a large nuclear waste repository near Las Vegas, Nevada.

Specifically, Heller is against Trump seeking $47.7 billion in his administration's budget request for fiscal year 2019 "to restart the licensing process for Yucca Mountain".

In the past he has supported more restrictive background checks but voted against them due to fear that a national gun registry could be created.

[54][55] In March 2018, Trump endorsed Heller in his Senate bid, convincing primary challenger Danny Tarkanian to drop out of the race.

[54][56] In 2018, Heller repeatedly confronted the Trump administration over its plans to reopen the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste repository.

[60] Heller questioned the constitutionality of the law following its passage, and called on Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto to join a multi-state lawsuit challenging it.

[73] In September 2017, Senators Graham, Cassidy, Heller, Johnson and Santorum proposed another health care reform bill, commonly referred to as "Graham-Cassidy" or "Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson".

Had that legislation become law, states could have opted to once again allow carriers to base premiums on a person's medical history and to sell skimpier policies that don't cover Obamacare's 10 essential health benefits.

Those with pre-existing conditions could have found themselves unable to afford insurance or able to only buy bare bones policies that wouldn't have covered all the treatments they need.

[81] Heller opposed Trump's 2017 executive order to impose a temporary ban on entry to the U.S. to citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries, saying: "I agree that better vetting and border protection measures are necessary to our current immigration system.

"[83][84] In 2015, Heller authored an amendment which provided training for airport security and border patrol personnel to identify victims of human trafficking.

Heller advocates for American assistance to Israel so that the country will have the ability to defend itself and supports punishments for Iran's pursuit of weapons of mass destruction.

Senators Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) in introducing a new Jerusalem Embassy and Recognition Act shortly after being sworn into the new 115th Congress.

The bill would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) to increase the federal minimum wage for employees to $10.10 per hour over the course of a two-year period.

"[99] In April 2014, Heller led a successful effort to pass legislation in the Senate extending emergency unemployment benefits to 2 million Americans.

[102] After the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, Heller was the first Republican senator to break with party leader Mitch McConnell and say that President Barack Obama should nominate a replacement.