Peter Francis Welch (born May 2, 1947) is an American lawyer and politician serving since 2023 as the junior United States senator from Vermont.

Born in Springfield, Massachusetts, Welch graduated from the College of the Holy Cross and the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law.

In 1988, Welch gave up his seat to run for the United States House of Representatives and lost the Democratic primary to Paul N. Poirier.

[6] Welch spent a year in Chicago as a fellow at the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, then enrolled in the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, earning his Juris Doctor (J.D.)

He worked for an organization that was affiliated with the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and its activities included attendance at an SCLC national convention in Atlanta.

Participants there strategized and heard remarks from Ralph Abernathy, Hosea Williams, and Martin Luther King Jr.[10] Welch worked for Lloyd Cutler, who later was White House Counsel during the administrations of presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton, at a Washington law firm.

In 1990, Welch won the Democratic nomination for governor of Vermont but lost the general election to Republican Richard Snelling.

[7] Welch did not run for another office for more than a decade; in 2001, Governor Howard Dean appointed him to fill a vacant Vermont Senate seat in Windsor County.

[citation needed] Welch was reelected to a fifth term with 64.4% of the vote, defeating Republican Mark Donka, Matthew Andrews of the Liberty Union Party and Independents Cris Ericson, Randall Meyer and Jerry Trudell.

[16] Welch was reelected to an eighth term with 67.3% of the vote, defeating Republican nominee Miriam Berry and Independent candidate Peter Becker.

[18] Welch worked with former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor on a bill to increase funding at the National Institutes of Health for pediatric research and with Representative Paul Ryan to reverse proposed regulations that would have banned the use of wooden shelves for ageing cheese wheels.

He bucked his party leadership by voting against arming and training Syrian rebels and opposes "boots on the ground" in dealing with ISIL.

He believes climate change is a "glaring problem", opposed travel bans in response to the Ebola epidemic and supports immigration reform that addresses border concerns but does not close them.

[19] In his first term, Welch attracted attention for his partnership with Senator Charles Grassley in challenging colleges and universities with substantial endowments to spend more of those funds on operating expenses (including, perhaps, lower tuition).

Welch spoke directly after Jordan, saying, "I say to my colleague, I'd be glad to have the person who started it all come in and testify", adding, "President Trump is welcome to take a seat right there.

[41] In January 2024, Welch voted for a resolution, proposed by Bernie Sanders, to apply the human rights provisions of the Foreign Assistance Act to U.S. aid to Israel's military.