McDonald Rivet, Kristen

Kristen McDonald Rivet is a Democrat representing Michigan's 8th congressional district, which includes Flint and the Tri-Cities area of Saginaw, Midland, and Bay City. She took office on January 3, 2025, becoming the first woman to serve mid-Michigan in the U.S. House. Before her election to Congress, McDonald Rivet served in the Michigan State Senate for the 35th district, where she was assistant majority floor leader and championed the largest tax cut for working families in state history.

In Congress, McDonald Rivet serves on the House Committee on Agriculture and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. On the Agriculture Committee, she is a member of the Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development subcommittee and the General Farm Commodities, Risk Management, and Credit subcommittee. On Transportation and Infrastructure, she serves on the Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management subcommittee. She has co-sponsored the bipartisan FARMLAND Act to expand oversight of foreign purchases of U.S. farmland and introduced the Susan Muffley Act to restore pension benefits to Delphi auto parts retirees.

McDonald Rivet was elected by her peers as Freshman Leadership Representative for the New Democrat Coalition, a group of over 100 middle-of-the-road Democrats committed to bipartisan solutions. Her legislative priorities include expanding affordable housing and financial counseling for service members, improving federal transportation programs, and advancing the Affordable Clean Water Infrastructure Act and Affordable Food and Energy Act of 2026. She grew up in a working-class household in Portland, Michigan, earned a bachelor's degree in history from Michigan State University and a master's degree in public administration from the University of Michigan-Flint, and has spent her career in nonprofit and government roles focused on education and community development.