John Tower

John Goodwin Tower (September 29, 1925 – April 5, 1991) was the first Republican United States senator from Texas since Reconstruction. He served from 1961 until his retirement on January 3, 1985, after which time he was appointed as the chairman of the Reagan-appointed Tower Commission that investigated the Iran-Contra Affair. He was George H. W. Bush's nominee for Secretary of Defense in 1989 but was rejected by the Senate, 53–47.