U.S. Senate

Background

Cindy Hyde-Smith (born May 10, 1959) is an American politician serving as the junior United States Senator from Mississippi. First appointed to the seat in April 2018 and subsequently elected, she is the first woman to represent Mississippi in the United States Congress. A member of the Republican Party, she previously served as Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce from 2012 to 2018 and represented the 39th District in the Mississippi State Senate from 2000 to 2012. Born in Brookhaven, Mississippi, and raised in Monticello, Hyde-Smith earned an Associate of Arts degree from Copiah-Lincoln Community College and a Bachelor of Arts in criminal justice and political science from the University of Southern Mississippi. She is one of the few U.S. senators to have attended community college. Before entering elected office, she worked in government affairs, serving as state director for Mississippi, Louisiana, and Tennessee for the National Coalition for Healthcare. Hyde-Smith was first elected to the Mississippi State Senate in 1999 and represented the 39th District for three terms. During her tenure she chaired the state Senate Agriculture Committee, and 79 bills she introduced became law. She led a 2009 effort to restrict the use of eminent domain for private economic development purposes. Originally elected as a Democrat, she joined the Republican Party in December 2010. In 2011, Hyde-Smith was elected Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce, becoming the first woman elected to that office. She was reelected in 2015. As commissioner she oversaw the regulation and promotion of agriculture, Mississippi's largest industry. On March 21, 2018, Governor Phil Bryant announced his intention to appoint Hyde-Smith to the United States Senate seat vacated by the resignation of Senator Thad Cochran. She was sworn into office on April 9, 2018, won the November 2018 special election for the remainder of the term, and was elected to a full six-year term in 2020. Her current term runs through January 2027, placing her seat on the 2026 general-election ballot. In the Senate, Hyde-Smith serves on the Committee on Appropriations; the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry; the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources; the Committee on Rules and Administration; and the Joint Committee of Congress on the Library. She chairs two subcommittees: the Agriculture Committee's Subcommittee on Commodities, Derivatives, Risk Management, and Trade, and the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies. She also serves on Appropriations subcommittees covering agriculture and rural development, homeland security, energy and water development, military construction and veterans affairs, and labor, health, and education. Her committee portfolio concentrates on the policy areas most tied to Mississippi's economy: farm and commodity policy, rural development, transportation and housing infrastructure, and federal appropriations. Through her Appropriations assignments she participates in directing federal funding decisions that affect Mississippi priorities, including agriculture programs, waterway and flood-control projects, military installations, and rural infrastructure. This summary is compiled from public records, including the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, official Senate committee rosters, and Wikipedia.