U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith has been appointed to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, filling a vacancy created by the death of U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham.
Graham, a Republican from South Carolina, died July 11 after suffering a tear in the inner wall of his aorta, according to a preliminary medical examiner’s report. A leading voice on national security and foreign policy under President Donald Trump, Graham used his position on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee to influence military spending and defense policy.
Hyde-Smith, a Mississippi Republican, announced Wednesday that she had been appointed to the panel as part of a broader reorganization of Senate Appropriations Committee assignments following Graham’s death.
“I undertake this new assignment on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee with a measure of sadness for my dear colleague Lindsey Graham, but I am also resolved to serve as he did in support of our men and women in uniform,” Hyde-Smith said.
Hyde-Smith becomes the first Mississippi senator to serve on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee since former U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran, who represented the state from 1978 to 2018 and chaired both the full Senate Appropriations Committee and the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee.
“I am proud to follow in the footsteps of our own Sen. Thad Cochran, who chaired and served on this subcommittee so well, ensuring that states like Mississippi can contribute ably to our nation’s defense,” Hyde-Smith said.
Hyde-Smith will retain her chairmanship of the Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee. She also serves on the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies; Energy and Water Development; Homeland Security; and Labor, Health, and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies appropriations subcommittees.
As part of the reorganization, Hyde-Smith relinquished her seat on the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee.