Dennis served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.
Dennis Hastert . He is the longest-serving Republican Speaker of the House in history , and one of the highest-ranking politicians in U.S. history to have gone to prison . He was first elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1986 , and re-elected every subsequent election until he retired in 2007 . Hastert rose through the Republican ranks in the House , becoming chief deputy whip and eventually Speaker in 1999 . As Speaker of the House , Hastert supported the George W. Bush administration 's foreign and domestic policies .