Kirkpatrick appointed to powerful House Appropriations Committee
U.S. Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, returning to Congress representing a new district, will have a seat on one of the House's most important committees, overseeing spending bills.
Kirkpatrick, elected in November from Southern Arizona's CD 2, will be the first representative from the state since the retirement of U.S. Rep. Ed Pastor to sit on the House Appropriations Committee.
"Arizona representation on the House Appropriations Committee has been long overdue and our state has suffered because of it. With my voice on this committee, I will be in a unique position to fight and deliver, not just for Southern Arizona but for our entire state," said Kirkpatrick in a news release. "This committee holds the 'Power of the Purse' and determines how our government allocates our resources."
Kirkpatrick's office noted that she is the first woman from Arizona to have a seat on the committee.
Kirkpatrick formerly represented the sprawling CD 1, which extends from just north of Tucson up to Flagstaff and beyond to the Utah border. The Democrat lost the U.S. Senate race to John McCain in 2016, and staged a political comeback in CD 2.