Hassan, Margaret Wood

Margaret Wood Hassan serves as the junior United States senator from New Hampshire and holds the ranking member position on the Joint Economic Committee, where she leads Democratic efforts on economic policy, fiscal strategy, and labor market oversight. As ranking member of the minority party, she shapes committee investigations, questions witnesses during hearings, and advances alternative legislative proposals on the committee's core issues. Hassan brings substantial legal and executive experience to this economic policy role. She practiced corporate law for over a decade at Boston firms before serving as associate general counsel at Brigham and Women's Hospital, giving her familiarity with healthcare economics and business operations. Most significantly, she served as New Hampshire's 81st governor from 2013 to 2017, where she managed state budgets, economic development, and workforce issues—direct preparation for evaluating national economic conditions and fiscal policy.

Hassan's legislative record reflects consistent focus on economic security for working families and healthcare affordability. She has sponsored major bills including the Medication Affordability and Patent Integrity Act, the Child Care Tax Benefit Outreach and Assistance Act, and the Stronger Start for Working Families Act, demonstrating her priorities around healthcare costs, family support, and economic opportunity. Her committee assignments span Finance, Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, and Homeland Security, positioning her to influence taxation, healthcare policy, and workforce development. Hassan won her 2016 Senate race by an exceptionally narrow margin—roughly 1,000 votes—and secured reelection in 2022. She represents a rare cohort: only three women in U.S. history have been elected both governor and U.S. senator, and Hassan is among them alongside her New Hampshire colleague Jeanne Shaheen.