Catherine Cortez Masto

Catherine Cortez Masto
Catherine Cortez Masto
United States senator; from Nevada
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; January 3, 2017 Serving with Jacky Rosen
Preceded by	Harry Reid
Chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; January 3, 2019
Leader	Chuck Schumer
Preceded by	Chris Van Hollen
32nd Attorney General of Nevada
	In office; January 1, 2007 – January 5, 2015
Governor	Jim Gibbons; Brian Sandoval
Preceded by	George Chanos
Succeeded by	Adam Laxalt
Personal details
Born	Catherine Marie Cortez; March 29, 1964; Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Paul Masto
Education	University of Nevada, Reno (BS); Gonzaga University (JD)
Website	Senate website

Catherine Marie Cortez Masto (born March 29, 1964) is an American lawyer and politician who is the senior United States senator from Nevada since 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the 32nd attorney general of Nevada from 2007 to 2015.

Cortez Masto graduated from University of Nevada, Reno and Gonzaga University School of Law. She worked four years as a civil attorney in Las Vegas and two years as a criminal prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington, D.C., before being elected Nevada attorney general in 2006, replacing George Chanos. Reelected in 2010, she was not eligible to run for a third term in 2014 because of lifetime term limits established by the Constitution of Nevada.

Cortez Masto narrowly defeated Republican Joe Heck in the U.S. Senate election in Nevada to replace outgoing Democratic senator Harry Reid, becoming the first woman elected to represent Nevada in the Senate and the first Latina elected to serve in the upper chamber.[1] She took office on January 3, 2017, and became Nevada's senior senator when Dean Heller left office in January 2019.

Early life

Cortez Masto was born in Las Vegas, Nevada, the daughter of Joanna (née Musso) and Manny Cortez.[2] Her father was the longtime head of the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority and served as a Clark County Commissioner and as an attorney for the County.[3] Now deceased, Manny Cortez had a longstanding friendship with Harry Reid.[4] Her father is of Mexican descent, and her mother is of Italian.[5][6] Her paternal grandfather, Eduardo Cortez, immigrated to Nevada from Chihuahua, Mexico.[7][8][9]

Education and law career

Cortez Masto earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration in finance from the University of Nevada, Reno in 1986 and a J.D. from Gonzaga University School of Law in 1990.[10]

She was admitted to the State Bar of Nevada in 1990, the U.S. District Court, District of Nevada in 1991, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 1994. She is married to Paul Masto, a former Special Agent in the United States Secret Service.[11]

Cortez Masto's career includes four years as a civil attorney in Las Vegas and two as a criminal prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Washington, D.C. She also served as former Nevada Governor Bob Miller's chief of staff.[4]

In November 2003, Cortez Masto was named executive vice chancellor of the Nevada System of Higher Education. There was some controversy because she was hired directly by the chancellor, not the university system's board of regents; the chancellor said the regents had recommended that he hire an assistant, and in December the board voted unanimously to approve her annual salary of $215,000.[12][13]

Nevada Attorney General

Cortez Masto with then-California Attorney General (and later Senate colleague) Kamala Harris in December 2011.

Cortez Masto was the Democratic nominee for state attorney general in 2006 and defeated Republican nominee Don Chairez 59% to 36%, with 5% for "None of these".[14] She was reelected in 2010, defeating Republican Travis Barrick 52% to 36%, with 8% for Independent American candidate Joel F. Hansen and 4% for "None of these".[15] In 2009 Cortez Masto's office launched an investigation into Brian Krolicki, then Nevada's Republican lieutenant governor. Krolicki faced felony charges related to allegations that he mishandled the Nevada College Savings Trust Fund when he was state treasurer. During the investigation, the Las Vegas Review-Journal discovered that Cortez Masto's husband, Paul, planned to host a fundraising party for Robert S. Randazzo, a Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, four days before the attorney general's office was scheduled to prosecute Krolicki. Cortez Masto said she was unaware of the fundraising party.[16] The charges against Krolicki were ultimately dismissed in Clark County District Court.[17] The dismissal of charges against Krolicki was regarded as a political setback for Cortez Masto, who, according to the Las Vegas Sun, "opened herself to charges of politicizing her office and prosecutorial misconduct."[18]

In 2010, Cortez Masto's office began investigating Bank of America, accusing the company of raising interest rates on troubled borrowers. Her office sought to end Nevada's participation in a loan modification settlement in order to sue the bank over deceptive marketing and lending practices. Bank of America denied any wrongdoing.[19] The lawsuit was settled in 2012 for $750 million for lien reductions and short sales.[20]

Cortez Masto defended the state of Nevada in the lawsuit Sevcik v. Sandoval. The suit challenged Nevada's denial of same-sex marriage as prohibited by the state's constitution and statutory law. After initially defending the same-sex marriage ban,[21] Cortez Masto and the state abandoned their defense in light of a ruling by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.[22]

U.S. Senate

Catherine Cortez Masto being sworn in as U.S. Senator by Vice President Joe Biden.

Elections

Cortez Masto declined to run for Governor of Nevada in the 2014 election.[23] When U.S. Senator Harry Reid decided not to run for reelection in the 2016 election, he endorsed her as his successor.[4] Cortez Masto's campaign relied heavily on the political infrastructure Reid had assembled.[24] Her Republican opponent was U.S. Representative Joe Heck.

Cortez Masto, who supports increased investments in renewable energy technology, was supported by the League of Conservation Voters.[25] She was also financially supported by End Citizens United, a political action committee seeking to overturn Citizens United v. FEC, and pro-choice groups such as EMILY's List and Planned Parenthood.[26]

Cortez Masto won 47% of the vote (520,658 votes) to Heck's 45% (494,427 votes). While Heck carried 16 of Nevada's counties and its equivalents, Cortez Masto won Clark County, home to over 70% of the state's population, by over 82,000 votes, almost three times her statewide margin of 27,000 votes.[1] She took office on January 3, 2017, becoming the first Latina in the U.S. Senate.[27]

Tenure

Committee assignments

Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
- Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Protection
- Subcommittee on Securities, Insurance, and Investment
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
- Subcommittee on Energy
- Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests and Mining
Committee on Rules and Administration
Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation
- Subcommittee on Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet
- Subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety, Insurance and Data Security
Committee on Indian Affairs
Special Committee on Aging

Caucus memberships

Political positions

Foreign policy

In April 2019, Cortez Masto was one of 34 senators to sign a letter to President Trump encouraging him "to listen to members of your own Administration and reverse a decision that will damage our national security and aggravate conditions inside Central America", asserting that he had "consistently expressed a flawed understanding of U.S. foreign assistance" since taking office and that he was "personally undermining efforts to promote U.S. national security and economic prosperity" by preventing the use of Fiscal Year 2018 national security funding. The senators argued that foreign assistance to Central American countries created less migration to the U.S. by helping to improve conditions in those countries.[29]

Environment

Cortez Masto recognizes the existence of human-caused climate change and believes that the federal government should limit power plants' greenhouse gas emissions.[30] She supports the growth of green jobs and increasing Nevada's reliance on solar power and other forms of clean energy. She opposes the use of Yucca Mountain as a nuclear waste repository.[31]

Gun law

The National Rifle Association (NRA) has given Cortez Masto a F grade because of her support for gun control. During the 2016 election, the organization spent $1 million on an attack ad against her. Cortez Masto opposes allowing people on the terrorist watchlist to buy guns, saying that "makes no sense."[32]

In response to the 2017 Las Vegas shooting, She co-sponsored a bill with Dianne Feinstein to ban bump stocks. She said that it can be a start toward decreasing gun violence and mass shootings.[33]

Health care

Cortez Masto does not support the repeal of the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare).[30] She does support improving upon the act, which she has called "imperfect." She has co-sponsored the Marketplace Certainty Act to bring more stability to the health insurance marketplace.[34]

In December 2018, Cortez Masto was one of 42 senators to sign a letter to Trump administration officials Alex Azar, Seema Verma, and Steve Mnuchin arguing that the administration was improperly using Section 1332 of the Affordable Care Act to authorize states to "increase health care costs for millions of consumers while weakening protections for individuals with pre-existing conditions." The senators requested the administration withdraw the policy and "re-engage with stakeholders, states, and Congress."[35]

Housing

In April 2019, Cortez Masto was one of 41 senators to sign a bipartisan letter to the housing subcommittee praising the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Section 4 Capacity Building program as authorizing "HUD to partner with national nonprofit community development organizations to provide education, training, and financial support to local community development corporations (CDCs) across the country" and expressing disappointment that Trump's budget "has slated this program for elimination after decades of successful economic and community development." The senators wrote of their hope that the subcommittee would support continued funding for Section 4 in Fiscal Year 2020.[36]

Immigration

In April 2018, Cortez Masto was one of five senators to send a letter to acting director of ICE Thomas Homan about standards the agency uses to determine how to detain a pregnant woman, requesting that pregnant women not be held in custody except in extraordinary cases after reports "that ICE has failed to provide critical medical care to pregnant women in immigration detention—resulting in miscarriages and other negative health outcomes".[37]

In June 2019, following the Housing and Urban Development Department's confirmation that DACA recipients did not meet eligibility for federal backed loans, Cortez Masto and 11 other senators introduced The Home Ownership Dreamers Act, legislation that mandated that the federal government was not authorized to deny mortgage loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or the Agriculture Department solely due to applicants' immigration status.[38]

In July 2019, Cortez Masto and 15 other Senate Democrats introduced the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act, which mandated that ICE agents get approval from a supervisor ahead of engaging in enforcement actions at sensitive locations except in special circumstances, and that agents receive annual training in addition to being required to report annually on enforcement actions in those locations.[39]

LGBTQ+ Rights

Cortez Masto supports same-sex marriage.[30]

Abortion and birth control

Cortez Masto is pro-choice.[30] In the 2016 election, she was endorsed by Planned Parenthood and funded by their action fund.[40]

Additionally, she does not believe that companies should be allowed to withhold coverage for birth control based on religious beliefs.[30]

Myanmar

In October 2017, Cortez Masto condemned the genocide of the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar and called for a stronger response to the crisis.[41]

Cannabis

She cosponsored the bipartisan STATES Act proposed in the 115th U.S. Congress by Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and Colorado Senator Cory Gardner that would exempt individuals or corporations in compliance with state cannabis laws from federal enforcement of the Controlled Substances Act.[42]

Electoral history

Democratic primary results
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Catherine Cortez Masto	81,944	81.0%
	Democratic	Allen Rheinhart	5,645	6.0%
	Democratic	None of these candidates	5,498	5.0%
	Democratic	Liddo Susan O'Briant	4,834	5.0%
	Democratic	Bobby Mahendra	3,760	3.0%
Total votes			101,681	100.0%

United States Senate election in Nevada, 2016 [43]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Catherine Cortez Masto	521,994	47.10%	-3.19%
	Republican	Joe Heck	495,079	44.67%	+0.12%
	n/a	None of these Candidates	42,257	3.81%	+1.56%
	Independent American	Tom Jones	17,128	1.55%	+1.11%
	Independent	Thomas Sawyer	14,208	1.28%	N/A
	Independent	Tony Gumina	10,740	0.97%	N/A
	Independent	Jarrod Williams	6,888	0.62%	N/A
Total votes			'*1,108,294'*	'*100.0%'*	N/A
	Democratic hold

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