--- title: Who is Cathy McMorris Rodgers? | TIME description: Washington Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers is giving the GOP’s official response to President Obama’s State of the Union address Tuesday, but just who is the House’s top ranking female member? canonical: https://time.com/video/wnhtOEqU/ og:title: Who is Cathy McMorris Rodgers? og:description: Washington Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers is giving the GOP’s official response to President Obama’s State of the Union address Tuesday, but just who is the House’s top ranking female member? og:url: https://time.com/video/wnhtOEqU/ og:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/wnhtOEqU/poster.jpg?width=720 og:type: video.other twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Who is Cathy McMorris Rodgers? twitter:description: Washington Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers is giving the GOP’s official response to President Obama’s State of the Union address Tuesday, but just who is the House’s top ranking female member? twitter:image: https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/wnhtOEqU/poster.jpg?width=720 --- # Who is Cathy McMorris Rodgers? > Sponsored content. 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Washington Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers is giving the GOP’s official response to President Obama’s State of the Union address Tuesday, but just who is the House’s top ranking female member?_ --- Jul 27, 2023 4:08 PM UTC --- ## More From This Series [All Videos](https://time.com/video/) [Three Sheriff’s Deputies Shot in Northern Illinois Home Shootout](/video/2ec0lQLt/) ### Three Sheriff’s Deputies Shot in Northern Illinois Home Shootout [TIME100 | See Everyone on the 2021 TIME100 List](/video/ZgB6AGK2/) ### TIME100 | See Everyone on the 2021 TIME100 List [TIME100 | Cathy Park Hong](/video/zToUPCSb/) ### TIME100 | Cathy Park Hong --- ## Transcript [00:00] Washington Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers is [00:03] giving the GOP's official response to President Obama's [00:05] State of the Union Address Tuesday, but just who is [00:08] the House's top ranking female member. Despite her [00:11] leadership role in the GOP, her name is one unfamiliar [00:14] to many Americans outside of Washington's district, but [00:17] that's likely to change after Tuesday. Now, serving her [00:20] fifth term in the House, McMorris Rodgers hails from [00:23] Eastern Washington State where she grew up on a farm [00:25] in the small town of Kattle Falls. Under the advice of [00:28] her father, she would save her money to become the [00:30] first in her family to attend and graduate college. She [00:33] said she also worked odd jobs in a motel and local [00:36] McDonald's to help pay her way. After earning an MBA [00:39] from the University of Washington, she would rise to [00:41] become the House Minority Leader in the Washington [00:43] State Legislature before being elected to the U. S. [00:45] Congress in 2005. In Congress, she serves on the [00:48] House energy in Commerce Committee, securing a [00:50] party leadership position in 2009. She also met her [00:53] husband, Brian Rodgers, a retired navy commander [00:56] during that time and became the first woman in the [00:58] history of congress to have three children while serving [01:01] an office. One of whom has Down syndrome. Her back [01:04] story and her claimed strong family values are traits [01:07] the GOP believes will resonate with female voters. [01:09] House Speaker John Boehner said as much in a recent [01:12] statement about Rodger's State of the Union response. [01:14] He wrote, " Through the lens of her family's [01:16] experiences, Cathy will share our vision for better [01:19] America built on a thriving middle class ." Republican [01:22] lost big with women voters in the 2012 election as [01:25] President Obama won their overall support by more [01:27] than 10 points over challenger Mitt Romney. The GOP [01:30] says closing that gap is a big priority. It's been nearly [01:33] 15 years since a female lawmaker delivered a [01:36] Republican city the union response. Like Morris [01:39] Rodgers, we'll give her a bottle directly following the [01:41] President's speech Tuesday evening. 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