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Senator Catherine Marie Cortez Masto is an American politician and lawyer. She has been serving as a senior U.S. Senator from Nevada under the Democrats since 2017. She also served as the state’s Attorney General from 2007 to 2015.

Cortez Masto was born in las Vegas, Nevada, on March 29, 1964. She earned her B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Nevada in 1986. She furthered and earned a J.D. from the Gonzaga University School of Law in 1990. In the same year, she was admitted to the State Bar.

In 1991, Senator Catherine Cortez Masto was admitted to the U.S. District Court, District of Nevada. Moen 1994, she got into the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. Cortez Masto worked as a civil attorney in Las Vegas for four years. She became the chief of staff for Governor Bob Miller from 1995 to 1999.

Senator Catherine Cortez Masto worked in Washington as a criminal prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney’s Office from 1999 to 2001. She also worked as an assistant manager of Clark County from 2002 to 2005.

Senator Catherine Cortez Masto Career

Senator Catherine Cortez Masto started her political career as the Democratic nominee for the state’s attorney general. She won the election in 2006 and served two full terms till 2015.

In 2015, Senator Harry Reid announced he would not be seeking re-elected. Yet, he endorsed Cortez Masto as his successor in the Senate. Fortunately, she defeated Republican nominee Joe Heck in the general election. She assumed office in 2017 to become the first Latina in the U.S. Senate. She announced she would be seeking reelection in 2022.

Senator Catherine Cortez Masto Accomplishments

(Catherine Cortez Masto Wins Nevada to Become First Latina Senator. Source: The New York Times) During her service as the Attorney General, she led the push to end trafficking in the state. She also passed laws to curb the menace of human and sex trafficking.

In the Senate, Cortez Masto continues her advocacy for human rights protection. She is also a strong advocate for women and children. She co-sponsored the Healthy Maternal and Obstetric Medicine Act. The Act aimed at ensuring women and their babies have access to quality health care before and after birth. She is also instrumental in fixing the nation’s immigration system. She is an unrelenting supporter of comprehensive immigration reforms. She co-sponsored the Dream Act. She was also part of the Senators that introduced the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act. The Act aimed at mandating ICE officials to get approval before operating at sensitive locations.

She also fostered economic growth and innovative energy production. She introduced the Innovative State Initiative, a key legislative program to strengthen the American economy. She is also a key figure in the legislature aimed at improving America’s science, tech and energy production.

Cortez Masto’s administration also fostered community and infrastructural development. She was one of the Senators that requested increased funding for capacity building. She also worked towards finding a long-lasting solution to affordable housing in the state. She introduced the Home Loan Quality Transparency Act.

She also worked towards ensuring affordable and quality healthcare for all Americans. She is a strong advocate for the improvement of Medicare and Medicaid. She also introduced Acts to strengthen and stabilize the healthcare market.

Senator Catherine Cortez Masto Criticisms

Senator Cortez Masto was criticized in ads released by Freedom Partners Action Fund in 2016. One of the ads accused Masto of reaping thousands of dollars in campaign donations from a firm. The group also tagged her as a special interest politician.

Cortez Masto also got under fire for supporting infanticide. Even though there is still debate on the legalization of abortion in some states, some politicians still believe a child can be killed after birth. One of them was Cortez Masto.