She may be a freshman and newbie in the United States Senate, but Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) has found herself assigned to two committees with a lot of power and sway: the Committee on Appropriations and the Committee on Rules & Administration.
Britt is the first woman from Alabama elected to the United States Senate.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky announced the committee assignments on Feb. 1.
Britt has also been named to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
The Senate Republican Conference Committee ratified the assignments, and they now go to the full Senate for ratification.
“I have always said that my mission is to ensure Alabama has the best possible seat at the table, and these committee assignments will strongly position me to fight effectively for our great state’s people, interests, and values during my first two years in the United States Senate,” Britt, an attorney, said in a press release put out by the U.S. Senate.
Powerful Committees
With 30 members, the Appropriations Committee is the largest committee in the Senate and holds the purse strings on federal spending. Its role, as defined by the Constitution, is to approve “appropriations made by law” before the federal government can spend the money. It writes legislation that allows for the annual appropriation of funds to government departments, agencies, and organizations.‘Mama on a Mission’
In November, Britt won the race for the seat vacated by Richard Shelby, who had served Alabama as a U.S. senator for 35 years.Britt, 40, held the position of chief of staff for Shelby before she left to take the top job with a state business advocacy group.
She is married to former University of Alabama football star and New England Patriots player Wesley Britt, with whom she has two school-age children.
Britt identifies as a conservative, and has called herself a “mama on a mission.”