The newest member of the Senate, Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi, will serve on two committees, Agriculture and Appropriations, that her predecessor, Thad Cochran, chaired during his 40 years in the Senate. The committee assignments were announced on Tuesday, and Smith-Hyde attended an Appropriations hearing on the USDA budget on Wednesday.
A cattle farmer, Hyde-Smith, as state agriculture commissioner, was the first woman elected to statewide office in Mississippi. “Senators from Mississippi have a proud tradition of serving on the Appropriations Committee, and I look forward to being a good steward of taxpayer dollars as the committee works on fiscal year 2019 bills,” Hyde-Smith said in a statement.
The Agriculture Committee is expected to draft its version of the 2018 farm bill in coming weeks.
A special election on Nov. 6, with Republicans and Democrats running in a single field, will decide who will serve the final two years of Cochran’s term. If no one wins a majority, the top two finishers will be in a runoff.