Biography

atricia Lynn Murray (née Johns; born October 11, 1950) is an American politician who has served as president pro tempore of the United States Senate since 2023. She is the senior United States senator from Washington, a seat she has held since 1993. A member of the Democratic Party, Murray served in the Washington State Senate from 1989 to 1993. She was Washington's first female U.S. senator and is the first woman in American history to hold the position of president pro tempore. Due to her position in the Senate, Murray is third in the United States presidential line of succession. Born and raised in Bothell, Washington, Murray graduated from Washington State University with a degree in physical education. She worked as a pre-school teacher and, later, as a parenting teacher at Shoreline Community College. A long-time advocate for environmental and education issues, Murray ran for the Washington State Senate in 1988, and defeated two-term incumbent Bill Kiskaddon. She served one term before launching a campaign for the United States Senate in 1992. She has been re-elected five times, most recently in 2022. As a senator, Murray has been a part of party leadership since 2001, having served as chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Democratic Conference secretary, and assistant Democratic leader. Before assuming her current roles, Murray previously chaired the Veterans' Affairs, Budget, and Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committees. Murray garnered national attention in 2013, when she and Republican representative Paul Ryan announced that they had negotiated a two-year, bipartisan budget, known as the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2013. Murray is currently the third-most senior senator, the most senior Senate Democrat, the second-longest serving woman to ever serve in the Senate, and the dean of Washington's congressional delegation.