US Senate career of Hillary Clinton

Hillary Rodham Clinton
United States Senator
from New York
In office
January 3, 2001 – January 21, 2009
Serving with Chuck Schumer
Preceded byDaniel Patrick Moynihan
Succeeded byKirsten Gillibrand
Chairwoman of Steering and Outreach Committee
In office
January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2007
LeaderTom Daschle
Harry Reid
Preceded byOffice established
Succeeded byDebbie Stabenow

The United States Senate career of Hillary Rodham Clinton began when she defeated Republican Rick Lazio in the 2000 United States Senate election in New York. She was elected to a second term in 2006. Clinton resigned from the Senate on January 21, 2009, to become United States Secretary of State for the Obama Administration.

Clinton was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 2000, becoming the first female senator from New York and the first First Lady to simultaneously hold elected office. As a senator, she chaired the Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee from 2003 to 2007. She advocated for medical benefits for September 11 first responders. She supported the resolution authorizing the Iraq War in 2002, but opposed the surge of U.S. troops in 2007. Clinton ran for president in 2008, but lost to Barack Obama in the Democratic primaries. She resigned from the Senate to become Obama's secretary of state in 2009.