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Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith Bio
U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith is a public servant committed to conservative principles as she works for all Mississippians. She is the first woman elected to represent Mississippi in Washington, D.C. She won a six-year term in November 2020, following her April 2018 appointment to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by long-time U.S. Senator Thad Cochran and subsequent November 2018 special election victory to complete his term.
In the 118th Congress, Hyde-Smith serves on the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, and Committee on Rules and Administration.
As Senator, Hyde-Smith has been active and successful in the legislative process to improve the overall quality of life for all Mississippians, using her committee assignments to support policies and legislation to benefit the state and nation.
The first bill she introduced as a Senator in 2018—the Migratory Bird Framework and Hunting Opportunities for Veterans Act to extend duck season to January 31 and establish a special weekend for youth, veterans, and active military—ultimately became law in March 2019 as part of a larger legislative package. Senator Hyde-Smith continues to be a strong advocate for protecting the constitutional Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens.
In her role on the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, Hyde-Smith has used her subcommittee positions and influence to benefit Mississippians and its economy in a variety of ways whether it involves shipbuilding on the Gulf Coast, Mississippi’s strong defense and aerospace sectors, agriculture, rural broadband and rural health, infrastructure, or other priority issues.
As a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, Hyde-Smith was influential in the crafting and passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, which included provisions she authored pertaining to rural economic development, better crop insurance for flood-prone regions, Chronic Wasting Disease research, and forest health. The Senator will apply those lessons in working to develop the 2023 Farm Bill.
In early 2019, Hyde-Smith reinitiated the effort to address the catastrophic flooding in the Yazoo Backwater Area by securing commitments from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Environmental Protection Agency to revisit the previously vetoed project. Hyde-Smith continues the work on the Backwater Area pump issue, while working to secure funding for the Corps of Engineers to build and maintain its extension flood control system in Mississippi.
Hyde-Smith established herself as a leader in support for rural healthcare, helping to secure funding to support rural hospitals and resources to expand telehealth for Medicare beneficiaries. She also worked to secure support for agriculture producers, food banks, and small businesses.
Hyde-Smith has a strong social conservative voting record. She assumed the leadership of the Senate Pro-Life Caucus for the 118th Congress, giving her a broader forum for the continued fight to protect life and to battle efforts to expand mail-order and do-it-yourself abortions.
Prior to becoming a U.S. Senator for Mississippi, Hyde-Smith served as the Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce, elected in 2011 and reelected in 2015.
As Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce, Hyde-Smith worked to ensure fairness and equity in the marketplace and protect Mississippians through sound regulatory practices. Highlights of her tenure were her efforts to reopen foreign markets for American beef exports, advocate for country-of-origin food labeling, and ensure that imported catfish meet USDA food safety standards. Under her leadership, the department was recognized as a “model agency” for effectiveness and budget control. Hyde-Smith held agency spending growth below one percent her entire tenure.
Before leading the Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce, Hyde-Smith served 12 years in the Mississippi State Senate, including eight years as chairman of the Agriculture Committee. As a legislator, Hyde-Smith championed policies to promote and protect all facets of the agriculture industry. She fought to protect private property rights, supported tort reform, and earned respect for her advocacy of conservative budget and pro-business initiatives.
As a U.S. Senator, Hyde-Smith has received the Award for Conservative Achievement from the American Conservative Union Foundation, the Spirit of Enterprise Award from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and Champion of Small Business – National Federation of Independent Business. Among other commendations, the National Rural Health Association gave the Senator its Rural Health Champion Award, and she received National Legislator of the Year honors from the Mississippi Rural Health Association.
Additionally, Hyde-Smith has received the Agriculture Legislator of the Year Award from the Mississippi Association of Conservation Districts, the Ambassador Award from the Mississippi Farm Bureau Federation, the Achievement Award from Delta Council, and the Outstanding Service to Small Farmers Award from Alcorn State University.
Hyde-Smith is a graduate of Copiah-Lincoln Community College and the University of Southern Mississippi.
Hyde-Smith and her husband Mike have a daughter, Anna-Michael. They reside in Brookhaven and are active members of Macedonia Baptist Church. A fifth-generation farming family, the Senator’s family raises beef cattle and are partners in a local stockyard auction market in Brookhaven.