[4] He was appointed to the Virginia Law Enforcement Officers Training and Standards Commission in 1976 and at age 29 in November was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, winning reelection in 1978 and 1980.

[4] In 1982, the 35-year-old Trible received the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Harry F. Byrd Jr., defeating Lieutenant Governor Dick Davis in the general election.

[8][9] In 1989, between his retirement from the Senate, and his run for governor, Trible was a teaching fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

In late 2006, CNU’s Board of Visitors announced that a new library and a merit scholarship with a $500,000 endowment would be named in honor of President Trible and his wife in recognition of their leadership and contributions to the university.

Shortly after, it was announced that he would temporarily be succeeded by Adelia Thompson, current chief of staff at CNU, as Interim President for the 2022–2023 school year, and his successor would take office in the summer of 2023.