Richard Mauze Burr (born November 30, 1955) is an American businessman and politician who served as a United States senator from North Carolina from 2005 to 2023.

[2] Burr temporarily stepped down as chair of the Intelligence Committee on May 15, 2020, amid an FBI investigation into allegations of insider trading during the COVID-19 pandemic.

[11] Before running for Congress, Burr worked for 17 years as a sales manager for Carswell Distributing Company, a distributor of lawn equipment.

[16] Burr faced Democratic nominee Erskine Bowles and Libertarian Tom Bailey; he won the election with 52% of the vote.

[12] In 2011, he announced his intention to seek the post of minority whip, the number two Republican position in the Senate,[29] but he dropped out of the race in 2012.

He supported the U.S. Supreme Court decision Citizens United, which allowed political action committees to spend an unlimited amount of money during elections so long as they were not in direct coordination with candidates.

[31] In March 2015, Burr voted for an amendment to establish a deficit-neutral reserve fund to allow employees to earn paid sick time.

[31] He supported lowering federal taxes on alternative fuels and the initiation of a hydropower project on the Yadkin River in Wilkes County, North Carolina.

[31] In February 2020, Burr voted against a measure restricting Trump from initiating military action against Iran without congressional approval.

"[69] Speaking privately on the topic of guns to a group of Republican volunteers in Mooresville, North Carolina, Burr joked that a magazine cover of Hillary Clinton ought to have had a bullseye on it.

[79] In 2014, Burr and Senator Orrin Hatch sponsored the Patient Choice, Affordability, Responsibility and Empowerment Act, which would have repealed and replaced the ACA.

[60] In 2010, he introduced the National Uniformity for Food Act, unsuccessful legislation that would have banned states from forcing manufacturers to include labels other than those required by the FDA on consumables and health and beauty products.

[99][101] In 2015, Burr was one of 11 Senate Republicans to vote in favor of allowing same-sex spouses to have access to federal Social Security and veterans' benefits.

[102][103] Burr supported policies to regulate bathroom access according to sex listed on birth certificates, but sought to distance himself from H.B.

[106] Burr voted against earmarking money for programs aimed at reducing teen pregnancy[107] He has stated he supports giving employers the right to restrict access to birth control coverage of employees if it is for moral reasons.

[112][111] He expressed pride that his actions preventing Timmons-Goodson's confirmation created the longest federal court bench vacancy in U.S.

[31] Two days before Christine Blasey Ford was scheduled to testify before the Senate, Burr issued a statement supporting Kavanaugh's nomination despite her testimony.

[114][115] In 2015, as chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Burr proposed a five-year extension of the Patriot Act, which was set to expire in May 2015.

[116] Though he originally supported legislation which would reauthorize Patriot Act programs without any reforms,[116] he later softened his position in light of House opposition.

[117] Burr was a prominent advocate of retaining language in any reauthorizing legislation to allow the National Security Agency to continue bulk collection of metadata of private telephone records.

[117] Ultimately, the Senate rejected controversial amendments in line with Burr's proposals introduced by then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell,[118] and Congress passed the USA Freedom Act, signed into law in June 2015, which instead allowed the NSA to subpoena the data from telephone companies.

[60] In March 2017, Comey briefed congressional leaders and Intelligence Committee heads on the ongoing investigation into Russian interference in the election.

[132] In early February 2020, just before the COVID-19 market crash, Burr sold more than $1.6 million of stock in 33 transactions during a period when, as head of the Senate Intelligence Committee, he was being briefed daily regarding potential health threats from COVID-19.

[136] According to the FBI, Burr's sales six days before "a dramatic and substantial" downturn in the stock market allowed him to profit more than $164,000 and avoid $87,000 in losses.

[140] When asked for comment, a spokesperson first "express[ed] displeasure with NPR's earlier characterizations” of the February 27 Tar Heel Circle event, and later added, "As the situation continues to evolve daily, he has been deeply concerned by the steep and sudden toll this pandemic is taking on our economy.

[142] The Department of Justice, in coordination with the Securities and Exchange Commission, launched a formal probe into the stock sales made during the early days of the coronavirus epidemic by several legislators, including Burr.

[4] The FBI's search warrant affidavit was partially unsealed in September 2022, after litigation by the Los Angeles Times and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

[136] Burr was one of only three senators to oppose the STOCK Act of 2012, which prohibits members of Congress and congressional staff from using nonpublic information in securities trading.

[134] On May 28, 2021, Burr abstained from voting on the creation of an independent commission to investigate the January 6 United States Capitol attack.

[148] In 2025, Burr introduced Tulsi Gabbard at her confirmation hearing to be Director of National Intelligence, his first visit to the Capitol since his term ended.