The second youngest woman to serve in the U.S. Senate is a part of a trend growing across the country. U.S. Sen. Katie Britt said she is seeing a desire for “new blood” in politics.
Britt (R-Auburn) recently sat down with Fox News to discuss her new role in Washington representing the Yellowhammer State.
While she is the youngest on the Senate floor, Britt’s experience goes beyond her age. Prior to becoming a senator, Britt was chief of staff for former U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby.
She first discussed the transition from being chief of staff to senator.
“To have been an intern, and then now to come back and my name being on the door, the gravity of that is pretty remarkable,” she said. “To have had the opportunity to have learned and to have been here, to have met people, to have built relationships, to have seen things work and then many times not.
“And now to have a shot to be a part of that, a part of making our nation better and stronger, it’s truly an honor of a lifetime.”
She also spoke about a political trend she is observing across the nation.
“I think we’re seeing it across the nation that people are ready for new blood, and so coming in here but realizing the reality that there are not to many of us that are from my generation that are here and the responsibilities that that carries because there are parents and hardworking Americans that are our age all across the nation that want a voice,” she said.
The next topic that came up was how Britt is staying connected with her family while she is in Washington.
“One of the things we’ve committed to is Facetime,” Britt said. “We actually had dinner via Facetime this week. My daughter and I are doing a daily devotion together.”
Britt was also asked if she still gets mistaken as a staffer on Capitol Hill.
“Over the course of the last few weeks, almost every time actually, I have gotten stopped and asked, ‘M’am can I see your badge?’” she said.
And, of course, one of the most important subjects in the state for many Alabamians was brought up – the Alabama-Auburn rivalry.
Britt’s husband played for the Crimson Tide and her colleague Sen. Tommy Tuberville is a former Auburn head coach.
“The very first week that I was on the campaign, I had somebody walk up to me and say, ‘I am so glad that you are running, we are finally going to have both political parties in the state of Alabama represented,'” she said. “We will have a former Auburn football coach and the wife of a former Alabama football player.”
Britt was also asked about her long term hope for serving as a senator is.
“ I hope that people will see me as one of those people that to our conversation earlier is working each and every day to move the ball down the field so that the people of the nation and the state will be better as a result of my service,” she said.
Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News.
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