Bill Shepherd (Greg Kinnear) is one half of the brother-sister duo that is the Shepherds, the main nemeses for Claire's presidency. Bill, sick and suffering from cancer, hates Claire. After arranging a failed assassination attempt, Bill tries to force Claire's hand (quite literally, by dragging her hand across the paper) to sign a bill that would benefit him. Unsuccessful, he spends the remainder of the season railing against Claire through the media and is largely shunned by his more powerful sister.