In the 118th Congress, the job to keep the government funded will belong to four women lawmakers for the first time in American history.
Democratic Sen. Patty Murray will become the second woman ever to lead the Senate Appropriations Committee; and first female president pro tempore of the Senate, making her third in line to the presidency, alongside Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who will be the highest-ranking Republican on the panel.
In the house, Rep. Kay Granger of Texas will helm the House Appropriations Committee, becoming the first Republican woman to hold the post. The panel’s former chair, Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, who was the second woman ever to chair the panel, will lead Democrats on the committee as the ranking member.
The first woman to lead the appropriations panel was Democrat Rep. Nita Lowey of New York in 2019. In the Senate, it was Democratic Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland in 2013.
In the 118th Congress, lawmakers will grapple with the aftermath of the Dobbs decision that ended a federal right to abortion, which is likely to play out in the appropriations process as abortion riders — policy directives tacked onto spending bills. That could include federal directives to limit or expand access to abortion medications, abortions for women in the military, and more.
“It’s a historic moment for the United States Congress to have women in such powerful leadership positions,” Susan Collins said in a statement.
“In my experience, women tend to bring a more collaborative approach to decision-making. I look forward to working with each of them,” she said.
In her statement, Patty Murray recalled a speech she delivered during her early days in the Senate about the importance of family and medical leave. A man in the Senate told her, “We don’t tell stories on the floor of the Senate.””
I told him that’s exactly why I came to Congress. And times have certainly changed,” Murray said, adding that from her new role she will continue to advocate for American families.
“For the first time in history, four women will be leading the committees responsible for determining how our government spends money—and frankly, it should not have taken so long,” she said. “This moment is a sign of the progress I’ve long fought for, and I am going to keep fighting to make more progress, get more women elected, more diverse voices at the leadership table, and ensure Congress looks more like America.”
Murray’s Democratic counterpart in the House, the longtime appropriator DeLauro, has sought to eliminate the Hyde amendment, which bans federal funding, including Medicaid, to cover abortions. She is also a leading advocate of the expanded child tax credit.
Dem DeLauro praised the other women leading the committees and said she and Republican Granger have “a mutual respect and a long history of bipartisan successes.”
“All of us have a very clear sense of why we have been elected, and that is to be advocates for the people who elected us and to push the edge of the envelope to make this institution work in the way that it should,” DeLauro said in an interview.
“This moment is historic. I’m always taken when people say that women need to have a seat at the table. Women are at the table in this instance,” she said.
Granger, who will make history in her conference leading the appropriations committee, said in a statement that she was “humbled” to be the first Republican woman in the role. A longtime advocate of defense spending, Granger said the role of her committee will be to, “reduce spending where we can and ensure that we prioritize resources on national security.”
Granger’s role will be complicated by the concessions Republican leaders made to secure the chamber’s gavel for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. That includes a promise to not raise the debt ceiling without major cuts to federal spending and to give more power to individual members over the appropriations process.
GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY) is pushing the REIN IN Inflation Act to hold the Biden administration accountable for any action it takes that may contribute to inflation.
Granger is swapping roles with DeLauro after Democrats lost control of the House in November’s midterm elections when the first (2007–2011) and second (2019–2023) female Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, passed the gavel to Kevin McCarthy. Democrat Hakeem Jeffries will be American’s first black minority leader.
