Ranking Member

Maria Cantwell currently serves as a United States Senator for the State of Washington. As a respected leader – both in public service and in the private sector – Maria has always embraced the values she first learned growing up in a strong, working-class family. With the help of Pell Grants, Maria was the first member of her family to graduate college. Later, a successful businesswoman in Washington's hi-tech industry, she helped build a company that created hundreds of high-paying jobs from the ground up.

Maria was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2000, 2006, 2012 and again in 2018, pledging to honor the hard work, aspirations and faith of the people of Washington state. She is working to create affordable opportunities for consumers, businesses and families, to make our nation more secure today, to foster innovation for tomorrow, and to stand with parents as they educate and care for their children.

By channeling her home state of Washington’s culture of innovation, Maria gets results. She cut taxes for the middle-class by ensuring that Washington taxpayers can deduct state and local taxes from their federal returns. Maria has fought to protect an open Internet, which she views as essential for job creation. She also worked with both Democrats and Republicans to strengthen preparedness and resilience to energy-sector cyber-attacks. Maria has protected countless jobs in Washington's aerospace industry by cracking down on foreign companies' unfair trade practices and has worked to create still more well-paying jobs through effective investments in new technology and valuable job training.

She has been a proud advocate for better educational opportunities for our children and less expensive, more accessible health care for our families. She has fostered economic growth by working to ensure that Washington has a modern, efficient and reliable transportation network. Maria continues to build new growth and strong partnerships, insisting on responsibility and making life more affordable for all of Washington's families.