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Sen. Barbara Mikulski to retire after 4 decades of breaking barriers

Sen. Barbara Mikulski to retire after 4 decades of breaking barriers

Longtime Senator Barbara Mikulski will not be seeking reelection, capping her historic congressional career after 40 years. Assuring reporters at a press conference Monday morning that “there is nothing gloomy about this announcement,” Mikulski explained that her decision had nothing to do with health problems or frustrations with the Senate, but instead was based on a desire to spend the last two years of her term campaigning for her constituents rather than herself.

“Do I spend my time raising money, or do I spend my time raising hell?” said Mikulski, explaining her thought process.

It’s exactly the kind of statement that’s become characteristic of the small but mighty Maryland politician. The first woman elected to serve on Capitol Hill in the House of Representatives in 1976, Mikulski is the longest serving female member of Congress. The long list of accomplishments that define her illustrious tenure include mandating employer coverage for mammograms and other preventive services for women through an amendment to the Affordable Care Act, pushing through a major overhaul of the federal government’s childcare program for low-income families and becoming the first woman to chair the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee.

Mikulski’s influence on Capitol Hill isn’t limited to legislation. When she first arrived in the Senate in 1986 as one of only two females, she fought for access to the gym — which had until then only accommodated male senators.

“I’m not much of a jock anyway, but that’s where they networked, and that’s where they bonded,” Mikulski told CNN in 2010.

She was also the first woman to wear pants on the Senate floor — a groundbreaking move the significance of which is difficult to appreciate today. And of course, she paved the way for female senators to go from novelty to norm.

“When I came to the Senate, I was the only Democratic woman, the first elected in her own right, but I didn’t want to be the last,” Mikulski said Monday. “I am so excited that there are now 20 women in the Senate.”

At 4 feet 11 inches, the diminutive powerhouse has at times seemed larger than life. Her impassioned reaming of the Republicans who prevented the passage of her Paycheck Fairness Act last year is a perfect example.

“It brings tears to my eyes to know how women every single day are working so hard and are getting paid less. It makes me emotional to hear that,” she said. “Then when I hear all  these phony reasons — some are mean, and some are meaningless — I do get emotional. I get angry, I get outraged, I get volcanic.”

It’s this kind of fire that has made Mikulski both feared and revered on either side of the aisle.

A 2014 Associated Press article quoted a number of colleagues who credited Mikulski’s fierceness with her success at the helm of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

“Her BS quotient is very, very low. She doesn’t tolerate BS, and she doesn’t dish it out,” said former Appropriations Chairman Sen. David Obey.

“She’s no-nonsense … and that really gives her the credibility to work with her colleagues that other people wish they had,” said former Senator and Democratic Majority Leader Tom Daschle.

Even the Senate’s senior Republican gave Mikulski her props. “I think she’s terrific,” Mitch McConnell told the AP.

At Monday’s press conference, Mikulski declined to speculate on who might take her place, joking that it would only be a matter of minutes before some of Maryland’s finest started vying for her seat. Former Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley and Democratic Representatives Chris Van Hollen and Donna Edwards are among the names that have already been floated in the wake of Mikulski’s announcement.

As for her plans for retirement, Mikulski said she hasn’t thought beyond the next two years. One can only hope the social worker turned politician might return to her short-lived career as a political mystery novelist. Until then, she insisted, “I’m still Senator Barb.”