Who is kirsten gillibrand

Office Representative, Senator. Party Democrat. Congress es th — , th — , th — , th — , th — , th — , th — , th — Congress [ Top ]. Related Links Women in Congress, to Present. Office of the Historian: history mail. Representative U. Second Lady U. Secretary of Commerce U. Secretary of Education U. Secretary of Energy U. Secretary of Health and Human Services U. Secretary of Homeland Security U. Secretary of Labor U. Secretary of State U.

Secretary of the Interior U. Secretary of Transportation U. She worked for a legal firm before entering the world of politics, inspired by the words of Hillary Clinton. During her time as a corporate attorney, she also served as special counsel to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Kirsten Rutnik took on the surname Gillibrand after marrying British venture capitalist Jonathan Gillibrand in They have two children. In , Gillibrand campaigned for a seat on the House of Representatives, running on a Democratic ticket against Republican incumbent John E.

Sweeney for an area of upstate New York that tended to vote Republican. She won the election and cemented her standing with community-based campaigning, which resulted in a reelection landslide.

Gillibrand resigned from her House seat in January Gillibrand won reelection in a special vote, thus becoming the youngest elected member of the Senate at age Gillibrand's record has caused her to be described as both progressive and centrist in her political leanings.

She has been a major supporter of gay rights, advocating same-sex marriage and the repeal of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, thereby allowing gay citizens to serve openly in the military. On the conservative end, during her time in the House Gillibrand opposed amnesty for illegal immigrants and received major endorsements from the National Rifle Association.

As a senator, she later softened her stance on immigration and started to favor gun control. Gillibrand is also known to favor transparency; in her "Sunlight Report," she openly publishes whom she meets with politically—a decision that has not always been welcomed by colleagues. Up for reelection in , Gillibrand faced off against Republican Wendy Long, who had also attended Dartmouth College.

Gillibrand won the race, hence retaining her senate seat. She has since made headlines for seeking to create reform and change around the handling of sexual assaults within the military. Gillibrand has specifically called for commanders to no longer supervise related court-martial proceedings, as military rape cases are handled outside of the purview of the general U.

In March , the Military Justice Improvement Act was supported by 55 senators in a bipartisan show of force, but the numbers weren't sufficient to overcome a filibuster. She has since called for another vote. In , Gillibrand released the bestselling non-fiction work Off the Sidelines: Raise Your Voice, Change the World , which recounts her political ascension and offers her perspective on governmental affairs. Gillibrand was also a staunch supporter of Hillary Clinton's bid for the U.