Waters, Maxine

Maxine Waters represents California's 43rd congressional district and serves as Ranking Member of the House Committee on Financial Services, one of Congress's most powerful committees. In this role, she leads the Democratic opposition on the committee, which oversees the entire financial services industry including banking, insurance, securities, and housing, as well as federal financial regulators like the Federal Reserve and Securities and Exchange Commission. Waters previously chaired the committee from 2019 to 2023, making history as the first woman and first African American to hold that position.

Waters brings decades of experience in public service and advocacy to her committee role. Born in St. Louis in 1938, she earned a sociology degree from California State University, Los Angeles in 1970 and worked as a teacher with the Head Start program in Watts. Before her election to Congress in 1990, she served seven terms in the California State Assembly beginning in 1976, where she championed groundbreaking legislation including the nation's first statewide Child Abuse Prevention Training Program and the nation's first plant closure law. She has built a reputation as an outspoken advocate for women, children, people of color, and low-income communities.

As Ranking Member, Waters has focused on strengthening financial regulation and consumer protection. She has introduced legislation addressing banking system vulnerabilities, including bills to strengthen prudential standards for large banks and to limit executive compensation. She earned an "A" grade from the nonpartisan Lugar Center's Congressional Oversight Hearing Index for her oversight work during her tenure as chair. Waters is also a founding member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and served as chair of the Congressional Black Caucus from 1997 to 1999. She is the most senior African American woman serving in Congress and the second-most senior member of the California delegation.