FORA.tv Speaker - Cathy McMorris Rodgers

Cathy McMorris Rodgers represents Washington state’s fifth congressional district, currently serving her fourth term in the House of Representatives. She is the Vice Chair of the House Republican Conference, making her the highest-ranking Republican woman in Congress, and is also a member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

While working in a family-owned orchard, Rep. McMorris Rodgers was appointed and later elected to the Washington state legislature, where she served for 10 years and eventually rose to become the state’s first female minority leader. In 2004, she was elected to Congress and became the freshman representative to the Republican Steering Committee. Rep. McMorris Rodgers is the co-chair of seven congressional caucuses, including the Congressional Down Syndrome Caucus, which she co-founded. She was the first person in her family to attend and graduate from college, earning a BA from Pensacola Christian College in Florida and later an MBA from the University of Washington. She and her husband reside in Spokane with their two young children.