Gina Raimondo

Gina Raimondo
Official portrait, 2021
40th United States Secretary of Commerce
Incumbent
Assumed office
March 3, 2021
PresidentJoe Biden
DeputyDon Graves
Preceded byWilbur Ross
75th Governor of Rhode Island
In office
January 6, 2015 – March 2, 2021
LieutenantDan McKee
Preceded byLincoln Chafee
Succeeded byDan McKee
30th Treasurer of Rhode Island
In office
January 4, 2011 – January 6, 2015
GovernorLincoln Chafee
Preceded byFrank Caprio
Succeeded bySeth Magaziner
Personal details
Born
Gina Marie Raimondo

(1971-05-17) May 17, 1971 (age 53)
Smithfield, Rhode Island, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Andrew Moffit
​
(m. 2001)​
Children2
EducationHarvard University (BA)
New College, Oxford (MA, DPhil)
Yale University (JD)
Signature
Raimondo's voice
Raimondo on workforce development
Recorded September 9, 2022

Gina Marie Raimondo (/rəˈmɒndoʊ/; born May 17, 1971) is an American businesswoman, lawyer, politician, and venture capitalist who has served since 2021 as the 40th United States secretary of commerce. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as the 75th governor of Rhode Island from 2015 to 2021, and was the first woman to serve in the role.[1][2]

Born and raised in Rhode Island, Raimondo began her career in venture capital after law school. In 2000, she co-founded Point Judith Capital, Rhode Island's first venture capital firm. Raimondo entered politics in 2010, when she was elected general treasurer of Rhode Island.[3] During her first year in office, she prioritized reforming Rhode Island's public employee pension system.[4]

In 2014, Raimondo was elected governor in a three-way contest with 41% of the vote.[5] While in office, Raimondo was elected to serve as vice chair of the Democratic Governors Association (DGA) for the 2018 election cycle.[6] Reelected in 2018, Raimondo was tasked with overseeing the state's initial response to the COVID-19 pandemic.[7][8] In the 2020 presidential election, she served as co-chair of Michael Bloomberg's 2020 presidential campaign.[9]

Described as a "moderate technocrat" in The Washington Post,[10] Raimondo is often characterized as a centrist within her party.[11][12][13] Chosen to serve as Secretary of Commerce by President Joe Biden,[1] she played a leading role in negotiations for the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in 2021.[14]

  1. ^ a b Anderson, Patrick; Gregg, Katherine (March 2, 2021). "Raimondo resigns after winning Senate confirmation as U.S. commerce secretary; McKee sworn in as RI governor". The Providence Journal. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
  2. ^ Herbst-Bayliss, Svea (November 5, 2014). "Democrat Gina Raimondo becomes Rhode Island's first female governor". Yahoo! News. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference 2010 General Election Statewide Summary was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Corkery-2011 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Sullivan, Sean (December 18, 2013). "Raimondo launches campaign for Rhode Island governor". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 13, 2015. Retrieved August 29, 2017.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Gregg was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Moreno, J. Edward (March 28, 2020). "Cuomo threatens to sue RI over new policy to find New Yorkers in the state". The Hill. Archived from the original on March 29, 2020. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  8. ^ "Cuomo threatens to sue Rhode Island if it doesn't ease up on New Yorkers during coronavirus pandemic". The Week. March 28, 2020. Archived from the original on March 29, 2020. Retrieved March 29, 2020.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Bloomberg12 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ "Want to glimpse the Democrats' future? Look at Gina Raimondo". Washington Post. January 12, 2022.
  11. ^ "Could Rhode Island's Gina Raimondo Be the Next Centrist Democrat to Fall?". Washington Examiner. September 8, 2018. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
  12. ^ Bruni, Frank (January 26, 2019). "Opinion | The Loneliness of the Moderate Democrat". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
  13. ^ "Biden's Pick To Run the Commerce Department Is No Progressive". Reason.com. January 13, 2021. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference Barrón-López-2021 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).