Joseph Simon Donnelly Sr. (born September 29, 1955) is an American attorney, politician, and diplomat who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2007 to 2013 and as a U.S.

In 2004, he won the Democratic nomination for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, losing to Republican incumbent Chris Chocola in the general election.

In May 2011, Donnelly announced his intention to run for the U.S. Senate, winning the Democratic nomination one year later in an uncontested primary.

[6] On October 8, 2021, President Joe Biden announced he would nominate Donnelly to serve as the United States ambassador to the Holy See.

[10] He practiced at the law firm Nemeth, Feeney and Masters until 1996, when he opened Marking Solutions, a printing and rubber-stamp company.

[13] On May 2, 2006, Donnelly defeated Steve Francis for the Democratic nomination for U.S. Congress from Indiana's 2nd district, setting up a rematch against incumbent Chris Chocola.

Chocola returned fire by attacking Donnelly over a late tax filing and attempting to link him to Democratic House leader Nancy Pelosi.

[24] On May 8, 2011, Donnelly ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate[25] after acknowledging the difficulty of winning reelection in his new home district drawn per the 2010 census.

[36] After the election, Donnelly stated that the debacle his fellow Democrats created during the confirmation hearings of Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court was a contributing factor to his defeat.

[37][38] On January 3, 2013, Donnelly was sworn into the United States Senate in the 113th Congress by Vice President Joe Biden.

[40][41] Donnelly was considered a moderate Democrat who "sometimes bucks his party on issues such as abortion, defense spending and the environment".

[42][43][44] According to Politico, "Donnelly is constantly dogged by Republicans aiming to unseat him" while also facing "disgruntled Democrats who think he's far too conservative".

[48] According to GovTrack, Donnelly was the second most conservative Democrat, after Joe Manchin, and to the right of moderate Republican Senator Susan Collins.

[59] In a speech at the 2012 Indiana Democratic Convention, Donnelly said that he would support a temporary one-year extension of all Bush-era tax cuts.

[64] A March 2012 letter signed by Donnelly and other Democratic members of the House and Senate, urged Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Gary Gensler to curb oil speculation in the commodity market through new provisions in the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.

[79] In 2013, Donnelly proposed changing the Affordable Care Act's definition of full-time work from 30 hours a week to 40.

[85] In January 2018, Donnelly was one of six Democrats to join Republican senators in voting to confirm Alex Azar, Trump's nominee for Health Secretary.

"[87] In 2011, Donnelly voted to allow Department of Defense funds to be used for military actions as part of the NATO Intervention in Libya.

[90] In 2011, Donnelly aligned himself with Republicans and seven other members of the Blue Dog Coalition in a 204–215 House vote against an accelerated withdrawal from the war in Afghanistan.

[96] Donnelly also voted against the failed Polis amendment, which would have cut $640 million in a 2% across-the-board reduction in spending from the 2012 United States Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill.

Civil liberties advocates have criticized Donnelly for voting for Section 1021, expanding the president's authority to detain suspected al-Qaeda, Taliban, or associated forces (including U.S. citizens) without a trial.

43, which, when signed by President Trump,[119] nullified a pending federal regulation that would have disallowed states to withhold money from abortion providers.

[120] In November 2017, Donnelly was criticized by pro-life groups when he did not speak out against the DNC's presentation of a lifetime achievement award to the CEO of Planned Parenthood.

"Donnelly is making it clear that he's willing to get in line with the party on abortion to maintain his support from Washington Democrats," complained the NRSC.

[133] Having opposed same-sex marriage during his 2012 senatorial campaign, Donnelly announced in April 2013, five months after his election, that he had changed his position.

[142] In March 2019, Donnelly joined Washington, D.C. law firm Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld as a partner.

[143] In April 2019, with fellow former Senator Heidi Heitkamp (who also lost reelection in 2018), Donnelly launched One Country Project, an organization dedicated to helping Democrats reconnect with rural voters.

[155] In July 2017, the AP reported that despite Donnelly's vocal criticism of free-trade policies and outsourcing to Mexico, he had financial ties to a family business, Stewart Superior Corp., which utilized Mexican labor for its operations.

Donnelly, who previously owned company stock and served as a corporate officer and general counsel, faced criticism from trade experts for what they perceived as hypocrisy in light of his opposition to NAFTA.

[157] In August 2017, the NRSC hired a mariachi band to play at a campaign stop as a way of reminding voters about the issue of exporting jobs to Mexico in relation to this accusation.