The longest serving woman in the history of Congress and one of a dwindling number of Democratic women in the Senate, will retire.
U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, this morning will announce she is retiring at the end of her term and will not seek re-election in 2016. The 78-year old powerful Democrat is the longest serving woman in the history of Congress, having begun in the House of Representatives in 1977, and after a decade, being elected to the Senate in 1986. Since 1976, Mikulski never won less than 60 percent of the vote, and even ran unopposed in her second term.
Mikulski is the Ranking Member of the Appropriations Committee, where she was the first woman to chair the powerful committee. She also sits on the Select Committee on Intelligence and the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
While she voted in favor of DOMA in 1996, she was a co-sponsor for its repeal in 2013.
Sen. Mikulski will hold a press conference at 11 AM today to formally make her announcement.Â
In January, U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer, 74, announced she would not seek re-election next year also.
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Image by NASA via Flickr and a CC license