Cathy McMorris Rodgers

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}}{{#if:|{{#ifeq:{{#ifeq:|no|yes}}|yes||}} }}{{#if:|{{#ifeq:{{#ifeq:|no|yes}}|yes||}} }}{{#if:|{{#if:||{{#ifeq:{{#ifeq:|no|yes}}|yes||}}}} }}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Infobox officeholder with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|ignoreblank=y| regexp1 = 1blankname[%d]* | regexp2 = 1namedata[%d]* | regexp3 = 2blankname[%d]* | regexp4 = 2namedata[%d]* | regexp5 = 3blankname[%d]* | regexp6 = 3namedata[%d]* | regexp7 = 4blankname[%d]* | regexp8 = 4namedata[%d]* | regexp9 = 5blankname[%d]* | regexp10 = 5namedata[%d]* | allegiance | alma_mater | regexp11 = alongside[%d]* | alt | regexp12 = ambassador_from[%d]* | regexp13 = appointed[%d]* | regexp14 = appointer[%d]* | regexp15 = assembly[%d]* | awards | battles | battles_label | birth_date | birth_name | birth_place | birthname | regexp16 = blank[%d]* | bodyclass | branch | branch_label | cabinet | candidate | caption | categories | regexp17 = chancellor[%d]* | children | citizenship | regexp18 = co%-leader[%d]* | commands | committees | regexp19 = constituency[%d]* | regexp20 = constituency_AM[%d]* | regexp21 = constituency_MP[%d]* | regexp22 = convocation[%d]* | regexp23 = country[%d]* | regexp24 = data[%d]* | date | death_cause | death_date | death_manner | death_place | demo | regexp25 = deputy[%d]* | regexp26 = district[%d]* | education | election_date | embed | father | regexp28 = firstminister[%d]* | footnotes | regexp29 = governor[%d]* | regexp30 = governor_general[%d]* | regexp31 = governor%-general[%d]* | height | honorific_prefix | honorific-prefix | honorific_suffix | honorific-suffix | image | image name | image_name_alt | image_size | imagesize | image_upright | incumbent | regexp32 = jr/sr[%d]* | regexp33 = jr/sr and state[%d]* | known_for | regexp34 = leader[%d]* | regexp35 = legislature[%d]* | regexp36 = lieutenant[%d]* | regexp37 = lieutenant_governor[%d]* | mainwidth | regexp38 = majority[%d]* | regexp39 = majority_floor_leader[%d]* | regexp40 = majority_leader[%d]* | regexp41 = majorityleader[%d]* | mawards | regexp42 = military_blank[%d]* | regexp43 = military_data[%d]* | regexp44 = minister[%d]* | regexp45 = minister_from[%d]* | regexp46 = minority_floor_leader[%d]* | regexp47 = minority_leader[%d]* | regexp48 = minorityleader[%d]* | regexp49 = module[%d]* | regexp50 = monarch[%d]* | mother | name | nationality | native_name | native_name_lang | nickname | nocat | regexp51 = nominator[%d]* | nominee | occupation | regexp52 = office[%d]* | opponent | regexp53 = order[%d]* | otherparty | parents | regexp54 = parliament[%d]* | regexp55 = parliamentarygroup[%d]* | partner | party | party_election | portfolio | regexp56 = preceded[%d]* | regexp57 = preceding[%d]* | regexp58 = predecessor[%d]* | regexp59 = premier[%d]* | regexp60 = president[%d]* | regexp61 = primeminister[%d]* | regexp62 = prior_term[%d]* | profession | pronunciation | rank | rank_label | relations | relatives | residence | resting_place | resting_place_coordinates | restingplace | restingplacecoordinates | regexp63 = riding[%d]* | runningmate | salary | serviceyears | serviceyears_label | signature | signature_alt | signature_size | smallimage | smallimage_alt | source | speaker | speaker_office | spouse | spouses | regexp64 = state[%d]* | regexp65 = state_assembly[%d]* | regexp66 = state_delegate[%d]* | regexp67 = state_house[%d]* | regexp68 = state_legislature[%d]* | regexp69 = state_senate[%d]* | regexp70 = status[%d]* | regexp71 = suboffice[%d]* | regexp72 = subterm[%d]* | regexp73 = succeeded[%d]* | regexp74 = succeeding[%d]* | regexp75 = successor[%d]* | regexp76 = taoiseach[%d]* | regexp77 = term[%d]* | regexp78 = term_end[%d]* | regexp79 = term_label[%d]* | regexp80 = term_start[%d]* | regexp81 = termend[%d]* | regexp82 = termlabel[%d]* | regexp83 = termstart[%d]* | regexp84 = title[%d]* | unit | unit_label | regexp85 = vicegovernor[%d]* | regexp86 = vicepremier[%d]* | regexp87 = vicepresident[%d]* | regexp88 = viceprimeminister[%d]* | regexp89 = assuming[%d]* | website | width | year }} Cathy Anne McMorris Rodgers (born May 22, 1969) is an American politician who served from 2005 to 2025 as the United States representative for Template:Ushr, which encompasses the eastern third of the state and includes Spokane, the state's second-largest city.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> A Republican, McMorris Rodgers previously served in the Washington House of Representatives. From 2013 to 2019, she chaired the House Republican Conference.

McMorris Rodgers was appointed to the Washington House of Representatives in 1994. She became the minority leader in 2001. In 2004, she was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives. She eventually became the highest-ranking Republican woman in Congress in 2009, when she ascended to leadership as vice chair of the House Republican Conference, and later, chair of the House Republican Conference. She gained national attention in 2014, when she delivered the Republican response to President Barack Obama's 2014 State of the Union Address.

In February 2024, she announced she would not seek reelection for the 2024 elections.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Republican Michael Baumgartner was elected to her seat and succeeded her in the 119th Congress.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Early life and educationEdit

Cathy McMorris was born May 22, 1969, in Salem, Oregon, the daughter of Corrine (née Robinson) and Wayne McMorris.<ref name=timber>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Her family had come to the American West in the mid-19th century as pioneers along the Oregon Trail.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In 1974, when McMorris was five years old, her family moved to Hazelton, British Columbia, Canada. The family lived in a cabin while they built a log home on their farm.<ref name=timber/> In 1984, the McMorrises settled in Kettle Falls, Washington, and established the Peachcrest Fruit Basket Orchard and Fruit Stand. McMorris worked there for 13 years.<ref name=timber/><ref name="mcmorris.house.gov">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 1990, McMorris earned a bachelor's degree in pre-law from Pensacola Christian College, a then-unaccredited Independent Baptist liberal arts college.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> She earned an Executive MBA from the University of Washington in 2002.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

CareerEdit

Washington House of Representatives, 1994–2005Edit

After completing her undergraduate education, McMorris was hired by state representative Bob Morton in 1991<ref name= disbelief/> as his campaign manager, and later as his legislative assistant.<ref name="Morton">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She became a member of the state legislature when she was appointed to the Washington House of Representatives in 1994. Her appointment filled the vacancy caused by Morton's appointment to the Washington State Senate.<ref name="Morton"/> After being sworn into office on January 11, 1994,<ref name= disbelief>Template:Cite news</ref> she represented the 7th Legislative District (parts or all of Ferry, Lincoln, Okanogan, Pend Oreille, Spokane, and Stevens Counties). She retained the seat in a 1994 special election.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 1997, she co-sponsored legislation to ban same-sex marriage in Washington State.<ref name="the Spokesman-Review">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2001, she blocked legislation "to replace all references to 'Oriental' in state documents with 'Asian'", explaining, "I'm very reluctant to continue to focus on setting up different definitions in statute related to the various minority groups. I'd really like to see us get beyond that."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

She voted against a 2004 bill to add sexual orientation to the state's anti-discrimination law, and was a vocal opponent of same-sex marriage.<ref name= timber/> She is credited for sponsoring legislation to require the state reimburse rural hospitals for the cost of serving Medicaid patients, and for her work overcoming opposition in her own caucus to pass a controversial gas tax used to fund transportation improvements.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

From 2002 to 2003, she served as House minority leader,<ref name="mcmorris.house.gov"/> the top House Republican leadership post. She chaired the House Commerce and Labor Committee, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Committee, and the State Government Committee.<ref name="bioguide.congress.gov">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She stepped down as minority leader in 2003 after announcing her candidacy for Congress.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> During her tenure in the legislature, she lived in Colville; she has since moved to Spokane.Template:Citation needed

U.S. House of RepresentativesEdit

ElectionsEdit

In 2004, McMorris ran for the United States House of Representatives in the 5th District; she already represented much of the district's northern portion. She received 59.7%<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> of the vote for an open seat, defeating the Democratic nominee, hotel magnate Don Barbieri. The seat had become vacant when five-term incumbent George Nethercutt retired to run for the U.S. Senate.

TenureEdit

McMorris Rodgers is a member of the Republican Main Street Partnership,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the Congressional Constitution Caucus,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and the Congressional Western Caucus.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

File:Defense.gov photo essay 091104-N-0696M-019.jpg

McMorris, Michael Mullen and Sanford Bishop, 2009

In November 2006, McMorris Rodgers was reelected with 56.4% of the vote, to Democratic nominee Peter J. Goldmark's 43.6%.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2007, she became the Republican co-chair of the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues, which pushed for pay equity, tougher child support enforcement, women's health programs, and laws protecting victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2008, McMorris Rodgers received 211,305 votes (65.28%), to Democratic nominee Mark Mays's 112,382 votes (34.72%).<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> On November 19, 2008, she was elected to serve as vice chair of the House Republican Conference for the 111th United States Congress, making her the fourth-highest-ranking Republican in her caucus leadership (after John Boehner, Minority Whip Eric Cantor, and conference chair Mike Pence) and the highest-ranking Republican woman.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2009, she became vice chair of the House Republican Conference,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and served until 2012, when she was succeeded by Lynn Jenkins.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

File:Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Official Portrait, 112th Congress.jpg

112th Congress portrait, 2011

McMorris Rodgers won the 2010 general election with 150,681 votes (64%), to Democratic nominee Daryl Romeyn's 85,686 (36%).<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Romeyn spent only $2,320, against McMorris Rodgers's $1,453,240.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> On November 14, 2012, she defeated Representative Tom Price to become chair of the House Republican Conference.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

File:Cathy McMorris Rodgers (16690344165).jpg

McMorris Rodgers speaking at the 2015 Conservative Political Action Conference

In the 2012 general election, McMorris Rodgers defeated Democratic nominee Rich Cowan, 191,066 votes (61.9%) to 117,512 (38.9%).<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

McMorris Rodgers sponsored legislation that would speed the licensing process for dams and promote energy production. According to a Department of Energy study, retrofitting the largest 100 dams in the country could produce enough power for an additional 3.2 million homes. The legislation reached President Obama's desk without a single dissenter on Capitol Hill.<ref>Hill, Kip, "Bill eases regulations on hydropower projects" Template:Webarchive, The Spokesman-Review, August 16, 2013.</ref>

In January 2014, it was announced that McMorris Rodgers would give the Republican response to President Barack Obama's 2014 State of the Union Address. House speaker John Boehner and Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell made the decision.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> McMorris Rodgers is the 12th woman to give the response,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and the fifth female Republican, but only the third Republican to do so alone, after New Jersey governor Christine Todd Whitman in 1995<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and the Spanish response by Florida representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, the most senior female Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives, in 2011. Ros-Lehtinen also gave the Spanish response that year, which was largely a translation of McMorris Rogers' remarks.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2014, the Office of Congressional Ethics recommended that the United States House Committee on Ethics initiate a probe into allegations by a former McMorris Rodgers staff member that McMorris Rodgers had improperly mixed campaign money and official funds to help win the 2012 GOP leadership race against Price. McMorris Rodgers denied the allegations.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In September 2015, Brett O'Donnell, who worked for McMorris Rodgers, pleaded guilty to lying to House ethics investigators about how much campaign work he did while being paid by lawmakers' office accounts, becoming the first person to be convicted of lying to the House Office of Congressional Ethics.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The OCE found that McMorris Rodgers improperly used campaign funds to pay O'Donnell for help in her congressional office, and improperly held a debate prep session in her congressional office. A lawyer for McMorris Rodgers denied that campaign and official resources had ever been improperly mixed. The House Ethics Committee did not take any action on the matter.<ref name=":0" />

In 2014, McMorris Rodgers faced Democratic nominee Joe Pakootas, the first Native American candidate to run for Congress in Washington state. McMorris Rodgers defeated Pakootas, 135,470 votes (60.68%) to 87,772 (39.32%).<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

File:Cathy McMorris Rodgers House leadership press conference.jpg

McMorris Rodgers speaking at a press conference with House leadership, in Washington, 2016

In 2016, McMorris Rodgers defeated Pakootas again, 192,959 votes (59.64%) to 130,575 (40.36%).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2018, McMorris Rodgers faced Democratic nominee Lisa Brown, a former majority leader of the state senate and former chancellor of WSU Spokane. In the August blanket primary, McMorris Rodgers received 49.29% of the vote to Brown's 45.36%.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> As of early August, McMorris Rodgers had raised about $3.8 million, and Brown about $2.4 million.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> McMorris Rodgers and Brown participated in a September 2018 debate. Both said they would oppose any cuts to Medicare or Social Security. Both said they supported the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution. An audience member asked how old the candidates believed the earth is; Rodgers said she believed the account in the Bible, and "Brown said she believed in science, but didn't provide a specific age".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> McMorris defeated Brown with 55% of the vote.<ref name="NYT_Wash5_El_18">Template:Cite news</ref> Shortly after the election, McMorris Rodgers announced she would stand down from her position as conference chair. Liz Cheney of Wyoming was elected in January 2019 to succeed her.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On February 8, 2024, McMorris Rodgers announced her intent to not run for reelection.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Committee assignmentsEdit

Committee on Energy and Commerce, Chair<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Caucus membershipsEdit

Republican Main Street Partnership<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Republican Study Committee<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Republican Governance Group<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Rare Disease Caucus<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

United States–China Working Group<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Interest group ratingsEdit

2015	2014	2013	2012	2011	2010	2009	Selected interest group ratings<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
75	72	72	84	80	96	96	American Conservative Union
0	0	5	0	0	0	0	Americans for Democratic Action
58	62	59	70	61	94	82	Club for Growth
—	—	—	–	0	0	22	American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees
92	92	75	83	90	100	–	Family Research Council
—	—	70	76	72	89	84	National Taxpayers Union
100	93	83	100	100	100	80	Chamber of Commerce of the United States
0	5	4	9	7	3	10	League of Conservation Voters

Political positionsEdit

Health careEdit

McMorris Rodgers opposes the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and has voted repeatedly to repeal it.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In late 2013, she wrote a letter accusing Democrats of being "openly hostile to American values and the Constitution", and citing the Affordable Care Act and immigration as evidence that Obama "rule[s] by decree".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She blamed the ACA for causing unemployment, and when FactCheck.org reported studies that proved the opposite and asked her office for evidence to support her claims, "McMorris Rodgers's office got back to us not with an answer, but with a question".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

McMorris Rodgers responded in 2014 to reports that Obama's program had provided coverage to over 600,000 Washington residents by acknowledging that the law's framework would probably remain, and that she favored reforms within its structure.<ref name="spokesman_042514">Template:Cite news</ref> In May 2017, she voted in favor of the American Health Care Act, a Republican health-care plan designed to repeal and replace large portions of the ACA. McMorris Rodgers was the only member of Washington's congressional delegation to vote for the bill, which passed the House by a 217–213 vote.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The bill would have eliminated the individual mandate, made large cuts to Medicaid, and allowed insurers to charge higher rates to people with preexisting conditions.<ref name="Reuters">Template:Cite news</ref>

In her 2018 reelection campaign, McMorris Rodgers did not mention the Affordable Care Act.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2023, McMorris Rodgers led on a health care bill that aimed to increase transparency in health care pricing and ultimately reduce medical costs. The bipartisan piece of legislation passed the House of Representatives with 320-71<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

LGBT rightsEdit

McMorris Rodgers opposes same-sex marriage, and co-sponsored legislation in 1997 that would ban same-sex marriage in Washington state.<ref name="the Spokesman-Review"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She co-sponsored the "Marriage Protection Amendment", an amendment to the Constitution to prohibit same-sex marriage that failed to pass the House in 2006.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

When a bill was introduced in the state legislature in 2004 that would ban discrimination based on sexual orientation, she voted against it; another bill was introduced in 2006, one year after she entered the House of Representatives. This bill was subsequently passed and signed into law by Governor Christine Gregoire.<ref name="timber" />

During an interview with Nick Gillespie in 2014, McMorris Rodgers stated her belief that marriage should be between a man and a woman and her belief that marriage is a state, not federal, issue.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}Template:Cbignore</ref>Template:Better source needed

In 2015, McMorris Rodgers voted against upholding Obama's 2014 executive order banning federal contractors from making hiring decisions that discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity.<ref>upholding President Barack Obama's 2014 executive order banning federal contractors from making hiring decisions that discriminate based on sexual orientation or gender identity.</ref>

In 2016, McMorris Rodgers voted against the Maloney Amendment to H.R. 5055 which would prohibit the use of funds for government contractors who discriminate against LGBT employees.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2019 and 2021, McMorris Rodgers voted against the Equality Act.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> The bill would prohibit "discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity in areas including public accommodations and facilities, education, federal funding, employment, housing, credit, and the jury system."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She issued a statement claiming that the bill "did not do enough to protect religious liberty."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2022, McMorris Rodgers voted against the Respect for Marriage Act, which would establish federal protections for same-sex and interracial marriages.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Foreign policyEdit

In 2019, McMorris Rodgers was appointed as the Republican Representative to the United Nations General Assembly<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2020, McMorris Rodgers voted against the National Defense Authorization Act of 2021, which would prevent the president from withdrawing soldiers from Afghanistan without congressional approval.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2022 during the prelude to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, McMorris Rodgers stated that she opposed sending American soldiers into Ukraine as a means to deter Russia.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> McMorris Rodgers was also the only Washington representative to vote against providing $14 billion in humanitarian aid to the government of Ukraine.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> McMorris Rodgers voted in support of sending aid to Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, a bipartisan effort bill aimed at helping U.S. allies<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2022, McMorris Rodgers helped establish the bipartisan, bicameral Abraham Accords Caucus to support peace in the Middle East.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Marijuana legalizationEdit

McMorris Rodgers has expressed support for the enforcement of federal law in states that have legalized marijuana, saying in 2017: "I think about access to marijuana and the other drugs that I believe it leads to. Right now, it's against the law at the federal level, and until it's changed at the federal level, I would support [Jeff Sessions's] efforts."<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="kxly">Template:Cite news</ref> She later walked back her position, saying that she "lean[s] against" Sessions's move to rescind the 2013 Cole Memorandum.<ref name="angell">Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> McMorris Rodgers also repeatedly voted against the Rohrabacher–Farr amendment, legislation that limits the enforcement of federal law in states that have legalized medical cannabis.<ref name="angell" /><ref name="mmj">Template:Cite news</ref>

School safetyEdit

In 2018, McMorris Rodgers co-sponsored the STOP (Students, Teachers, and Officers Preventing) School Violence Act, which established a federal grant program to "provide $50 million a year for a new federal grant program to train students, teachers, and law enforcement on how to spot and report signs of gun violence", and authorize $25 million for new physical security measures in schools, such as "new locks, lights, metal detectors, and panic buttons". A separate spending bill would be required to provide money for the grant program. The House voted 407–10 to approve the bill.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Donald TrumpEdit

After Donald Trump was elected president in 2016, McMorris Rodgers became the vice-chair of his transition team. She was widely considered a top choice for Secretary of the Interior.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Several papers went so far as to announce she had been chosen.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Instead, Montana congressman Ryan Zinke was nominated.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

McMorris Rodgers supported Trump's 2017 executive order to block entry to the United States to citizens of seven predominantly Muslim nations, calling the order necessary "to protect the American people".<ref name="Blake1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In December 2020, McMorris Rodgers was one of 126 Republican members of the House of Representatives to sign an amicus brief in support of Texas v. Pennsylvania, a lawsuit filed at the United States Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election, in which Joe Biden defeated<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Trump. The Supreme Court declined to hear the case on the basis that Texas lacked standing under Article III of the Constitution to challenge the results of an election held by another state.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In January 2021, McMorris Rodgers announced her intention to object to the certification of the Electoral College results in Congress, citing allegations of fraud.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She reversed her position after pro-Trump rioters stormed the United States Capitol, and said she would vote to certify Biden's win.<ref name=":2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

She was the only member of Washington's congressional delegation to vote against the impeachment of Donald Trump for his actions stoking the January 6, 2021 assault on the Capitol.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

CreationismEdit

McMorris Rodgers rejects the theory of evolution, saying, "the account that I believe is the one in the Bible, that God created the world in seven days."<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Women's rightsEdit

In March 2013, McMorris Rodgers did not support the continuation of the 1994 Violence Against Women Act, but sponsored a clean reauthorization of the bill.<ref name="RodgersRespond">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Electwomen">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Ultimately, her bill failed, and the House adopted the Senate version of the bill.<ref name="RodgersRespond" />

BroadbandEdit

In 2021, McMorris Rodgers introduced legislation to prohibit municipalities from building their own broadband networks.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

ImmigrationEdit

McMorris Rodgers voted against the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2020 which authorizes DHS to nearly double the available H-2B visas for the remainder of FY 2020.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

McMorris Rodgers voted against Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 1158) which effectively prohibits ICE from cooperating with Health and Human Services to detain or remove illegal alien sponsors of unaccompanied alien children (UACs).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Big techEdit

In July 2021, McMorris Rodgers introduced draft legislation that would allow users of Big Tech platforms to sue companies if they think the companies censored speech protected by the First Amendment.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2024, McMorris Rodgers voted in favor of banning TikTok for their ties to the Communist China Party and posing as a national security threat.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> McMorris Rodgers would lead the Energy and Commerce Committee in a hearing with the TikTok CEO Shou Chew, who testified on TikTok's consumer privacy and data security practices, the platforms' impact on kids, and its relationship with the Chinese Communist Party.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Electoral historyEdit

Year	Office	District	Democratic		Republican
2004<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	U.S. House of Representatives	Washington 5th District	Don Barbieri	40% (121,333)	Cathy McMorris Rodgers	60% (179,600)
2006<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	U.S. House of Representatives	Washington 5th District	Peter J. Goldmark	44% (104,357)	Cathy McMorris Rodgers	56% (134,967)
2008<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	U.S. House of Representatives	Washington 5th District	Mark Mays	35% (112,382)	Cathy McMorris Rodgers	65% (211,305)
2010<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	U.S. House of Representatives	Washington 5th District	Daryl Romeyn	36% (101,146)	Cathy McMorris Rodgers	64% (177,235)
2012<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	U.S. House of Representatives	Washington 5th District	Rich Cowan	38% (117,512)	Cathy McMorris Rodgers	62% (191,066)
2014<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	U.S. House of Representatives	Washington 5th District	Joseph (Joe) Pakootas	39% (87,772)	Cathy McMorris Rodgers	61% (135,470)
2016<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	U.S. House of Representatives	Washington 5th District	Joe Pakootas	40% (130,575)	Cathy McMorris Rodgers	60% (192,959)
2018<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	U.S. House of Representatives	Washington 5th District	Lisa Brown	45% (144,925)	Cathy McMorris Rodgers	55% (175,422)
2020<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	U.S. House of Representatives	Washington 5th District	Dave Wilson	39% (155,737)	Cathy McMorris Rodgers	61% (247,815)
2022<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1\|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	U.S. House of Representatives	Washington 5th District	Natasha Hill	40% (125,677)	Cathy McMorris Rodgers	59% (186,459)

Personal lifeEdit

Cathy McMorris married Brian Rodgers on August 5, 2006, in San Diego. Brian Rodgers is a retired Navy commander and a Spokane native. He is a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, and the son of David H. Rodgers, the mayor of Spokane from 1967 to 1977. In February 2007, she changed her name to Cathy McMorris Rodgers.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Having long resided in Stevens County—first Colville, then Deer Park—she now lives in Spokane.

In April 2007, McMorris Rodgers became the first member of Congress in more than a decade to give birth while in office, with the birth of a son.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The couple later announced that their child had been diagnosed with Down syndrome.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> A second child, a daughter, was born in December 2010, and a second daughter in November 2013.<ref name=Barone2011>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

According to the Official Congressional Directory, she is a member of Grace Evangelical Free Church in Colville.<ref name="CongressionalDirectory">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="EvangelicalFree">Template:Cite journal</ref>