Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington, became the Senate’s first female president pro tempore on Tuesday, the chamber’s second-highest ranking position.
The president pro tempore is the Senate’s second in command, after the president, and presides over the floor when the vice president is absent.
Out of tradition, the president pro tempore has been the senior member of the majority party since the mid-twentieth century.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., is the senior Democrat in the Senate, having served since 1992, but she declined the position of president pro tempore following the November midterm elections. Murray, 72, is the Senate’s next most senior Democrat, having served since 1993.
Murray had previously served as the Senate’s assistant Democratic leader since 2017.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., praised Murray’s historic achievement on Tuesday.
“Making history today: Senator Patty Murray is now the Senate President Pro Tempore, the first woman in the history of the U.S. Senate to hold this title!”Schumer took to Twitter.
Murray replaces Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who retired from Congress at the end of the year after serving in the Senate since 1975.
