It’s been a hot mess in the House all week, where Republicans remain Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) humiliated the public in his failed attempt to become a speaker.
But across the building, with little fanfare, the Senate quietly made history: It elected Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) to be the first female president pro tempore. The position is the second highest ranking in the Senate, after the vice president, and makes this senator third in line to the presidency.
The role was established 234 years ago, and is held by men to this day.
“Ridiculous, isn’t it? Am I the first?” Murray told HuffPost in an interview Tuesday. “I mean, what happened for so many years?”
Asked how it felt to be third in the presidency, the Washington Democrat replied, “Well, today I’m second because Kevin McCarthy is not speaker.”
Jacquelyn Martin/Associated Press
Murray, who has served in the Senate since 1993, was elected to this position because of his seniority. He is the second most senior Democrat in his caucus, after Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), who passed in the role. His new responsibilities include signing all bills coming out of the Senate and running the day-to-day session, as well as overseeing floor operations. She clearly wants to use her role as an inspiration to girls.
“I hope my election as president pro tem is a message to girls everywhere: Work hard, believe in yourself, don’t let anyone tell you you can’t do something, plow on, and you can make it too difference,” she said.
Murray, 72, takes his role in the line of succession very seriously, too.
“When that horrible moment comes that no one wants to happen, I have to be ready,” he said. “I’m trying to make sure that I can speed up all the domestic issues, the international issues, make sure that if it has to happen, I can go in and the country can be confident.”
Murray will now have a US Capitol Police security detail and beefed-up staff budget.
Washington Democrats say the Senate has come a long way in welcoming women into its ranks. He said he will never forget a speech he gave on the Senate floor in 1993 in support of a family leave bill, when he talked about a friend whose boss told him he would be fired if he took time off to care. his son, who was recently diagnosed with leukemia.
After Murray left the floor, he was surprised when a male Republican senator came up and said, “We don’t have stories on the Senate floor.”
“I just looked at him and said, ‘I came here to tell the story because it’s happening in the country. If we don’t tell the story, how will people understand?'” he said. “I think things have changed a lot. I know how important this relationship is to people…. The whole dynamic of how we speak in the Senate and get things done has changed.
Murray declined to reveal which senator, but he said he is no longer in the Senate. Is he still alive? “I don’t know. I haven’t been keeping track.
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In addition to being president pro tem, Murray will chair the Senate Appropriations Committee in the new Congress. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) will be her GOP counterpart on the panel. In the House, the partners are Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Kay Granger (R-Texas). That means the top four appropriators in Congress will be women.
Asked if she thought it would make a difference to have a woman in charge of spending in Congress, Murray said she and Collins didn’t agree on everything, but they understood how to work together. All four women have known each other for years, too.
Murray said his personal priority is getting more funding for child care.
“We know you can sit in the room,” he said. “If there are two different numbers, there is a way to reach an agreeable number.”
Democrats have certainly elevated women to Senate leadership roles in recent years. In the new Congress, Sen. Debbie Stabenow (Mich.) will chair the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) will chair the Steering Committee, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (Mass.) will serve as vice chair of the Senate Democratic caucus and Sen. Tammy Baldwin (Wis.) will serve as the committee’s Democratic Policy and Communications vice chair.
That’s in addition to several female chairperson committees.
“Well, I’m second today because Kevin McCarthy is not the speaker.”
– Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) is third in line for president
But that doesn’t mean the Senate’s history as a good ol’ boy network — where some are in charge and expect to stay in charge — is gone.
In recent years, some Democrats has grumbled about concentration power and lack of upward mobility in the caucus, especially for women. Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), for one, frustrated some in his caucus last year in an effort to maintain his leadership role while also chairing the powerful Judiciary Committee. Murray considered Durbin’s challenge for the post of whip in 2016, but Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (NY) intervened and created a position for him, the assistant leader of the Democrats, which he holds until now.
On Tuesday, Murray just smiled when HuffPost asked if he thought longtime male senators in his caucus were reluctant to relinquish some of their power to clear the way for emerging leaders in the party, including women.
“I will stay out of that fight,” she said. “I’m sure there are people like that here, and I’m sure there are equally strong Democratic women in our caucus who will continue to be a critical part of that discussion.”
But he claims, “Wnot yet.”