Maxine Waters

Maxine Waters
Waters in 2012
Ranking Member of the House Financial Services Committee
Assumed office
January 3, 2023
Preceded byPatrick McHenry
In office
January 3, 2013 – January 3, 2019
Preceded byBarney Frank
Succeeded byPatrick McHenry
Chair of the House Financial Services Committee
In office
January 3, 2019 – January 3, 2023
Preceded byJeb Hensarling
Succeeded byPatrick McHenry
Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus
In office
January 3, 1997 – January 3, 1999
Preceded byDonald M. Payne
Succeeded byJim Clyburn
Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from California
Assumed office
January 3, 1991
Preceded byAugustus Hawkins
Constituency29th district (1991–1993)
35th district (1993–2013)
43rd district (2013–present)
Member of the California State Assembly
from the 48th district
In office
December 6, 1976 – November 30, 1990
Preceded byLeon D. Ralph
Succeeded byMarguerite Archie-Hudson
Personal details
Born
Maxine Moore Carr

(1938-08-15) August 15, 1938 (age 86)
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouses
Edward Waters
(m. 1956; div. 1972)
(m. 1977)
Children2
EducationCalifornia State University, Los Angeles (BA)
WebsiteHouse website

Maxine Moore Waters (née Carr; born August 15, 1938) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for California's 43rd congressional district since 1991. The district, numbered as the 29th district from 1991 to 1993 and as the 35th district from 1993 to 2013, includes much of southern Los Angeles, as well as portions of Gardena, Inglewood and Torrance.

A member of the Democratic Party, Waters is in her 17th House term. She is the most senior of the 13 black women serving in Congress, and chaired the Congressional Black Caucus from 1997 to 1999.[1] She is the second-most senior member of the California congressional delegation, after Nancy Pelosi. She chaired the House Financial Services Committee from 2019 to 2023 and has been the ranking member since 2023.[2]

Before becoming a U.S. representative, Waters served seven terms in the California State Assembly, to which she was first elected in 1976. As an assemblywoman, she advocated divestment from South Africa's apartheid regime. In Congress, she was an outspoken opponent of the Iraq War and has sharply criticized Presidents George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump.[3][4]

Waters was included in Time magazine's list of "100 Most Influential People of 2018."[5]

  1. ^ "Membership". Congressional Black Caucus. Retrieved March 7, 2018.
  2. ^ Neukam, Stephen (January 10, 2023). "New Congress: Here's who's heading the various House Committees". The Hill. Retrieved January 11, 2023.
  3. ^ Gstalter, Morgan (May 29, 2019). "Maxine Waters: Trump should resign and 'free us' from impeachment proceedings". The Hill. Retrieved May 31, 2019.
  4. ^ Williams, Joseph Williams (October 20, 2011), " Obama learns perils of roiling Waters", Politico, October 20, 2011.
  5. ^ "Maxine Waters: The World's 100 Most Influential People". Time. Retrieved September 23, 2020.