The Honorable C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger

Former U.S. Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger served Maryland’s 2nd District, which includes much of Baltimore and Carroll counties and part of Baltimore City, from 2003-25. He was a longtime member of the House Appropriations Committee and served a record 12 years on the House Intelligence Committee, including four as ranking member, during numerous high-profile national security moments including the capture of Osama bin Laden, diplomatic attacks in Benghazi and Edward Snowden leaks. He and the then-committee chairman, Republican Rep. Mike Rogers, became the first dual recipients of the William Oliver Baker Award from the Intelligence and National Security Alliance for their bipartisan and pragmatic leadership.

A champion for veterans and their families, Ruppersberger served as chairman of the U.S. Naval Academy Board of Visitors and cochair of the bipartisan House Army Caucus. In 2003, after learning deployed troops paid out of pocket for connecting flights home, he created Operation Hero Miles, enabling patriotic Americans to donate frequent flyer miles. Operated by the nonprofit Fisher House, the program today provides airline tickets to wounded and ill servicemembers who are undergoing treatment at a military or Veterans Affairs medical center, as well as tickets for their families. In 2011, he authored legislation creating the Hotels for Heroes offshoot allowing Americans to donate hotel reward points for the same purpose.

Ruppersberger decided to run for office after a near-fatal car accident while working as a Baltimore County assistant state’s attorney. Thanks to the dedication of doctors at the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland, he survived and campaigned to support the health care system that saved his life. He served as longtime vice chairman of the center’s board of visitors.

Ruppersberger was elected to the Baltimore County Council in 1985 and 1989, and chosen twice as chairman. He was elected Baltimore County executive in 1994 and 1998, and under his leadership, Governing Magazine named the county among the nation’s four best-managed. In 2016, he created the bipartisan House Municipal Finance Caucus to advocate for the tools state and local governments need to fund community projects.

A Baltimore City native, Ruppersberger attended Baltimore City College and the University of Maryland, where he played lacrosse. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Baltimore Law School.

He has been married for 55 years to his high school sweetheart, the former Kay Murphy. They have two children and five grandchildren.