Katie Britt
Katie Elizabeth Boyd Britt (born February 2, 1982 in Enterprise, Dale County) is the junior United State Senator for Alabama. She has been employed previously as an attorney, as chief of staff to U.S. Senator Richard Shelby, and as CEO of the Business Council of Alabama. She won the U.S. Senate seat left open by Shelby's retirement in the 2022 general election.
Early life and career
Britt is the daughter of Julian and Debra Boyd of Enterprise and grew up working in their hardware store. She was a cheerleader at Enterprise High School, twice named "Cheerleader of the Year" at the World Cheerleading Association's National Championships. She also competed in beauty pageants and won the Little Miss National Peanut Festival sash, and was later crowned Alabama's Junior Miss, representing Coffee County in 2000. In the national pageant she performed a jazz aerobic dance to "The Electric Horsemen" and discussed her appreciation of The Dixie Chicks in the interview session. She was first runner-up to America's Junior Miss winner Jesika Henderson of Utah.
She served as president of the Student Government Association at the University of Alabama and co-founded the Alabama Youth Summit. She completed her bachelor of science in political science and government in 2004. After graduating she took a job as press secretary to Senator Shelby and also worked as an advisor to University president Robert Witt in 2007. She married former Alabama and then-New England Patriots offensive tackle Wesley Britt on March 8, 2008. He was released from the Patriots' roster in 2009 and joined Alabama Power Company as an economic development representative. The couple have two sons, Bennett and Ridgeway.
Katie Britt completed a juris doctorate at the University of Alabama School of Law in 2013 and began practicing with the firm of Johnston Barton Proctor & Rose. When that firm went bankrupt in 2014 she moved with several colleagues to the Birmingham office of Ridgeland, Mississippi-based Butler Snow. She was transferred to the firm's Montgomery office to work in state governmental affairs before leaving in 2016 to serve as Deputy Campaign Manager and Spokeswoman for Shelby's re-election campaign. She was subsequently made his chief of staff.
In December 2018 Britt was chosen to succeed Billy Canary as president and CEO of the Business Council of Alabama. She resigned that position before announcing her candidacy for Shelby's seat after he announced his retirement from the Senate.
Shelby endorsed Britt as his successor, and her campaign fund ballooned in the early summer, provoking attacks from Brooks and former President Donald Trump. As the campaign continued, she embraced Trump's false claims regarding the presidential election being "rigged", and visited with him at Mar-a-Lago to seek his support.
Britt faced five other candidates in the Republican primary, winning 48% of the votes and defeating Mo Brooks in the runoff. She easily outpolled Democrat Will Boyd and Libertarian John Sophocleus in the general election.
As Senator
After taking office, Republican Senate leaders assigned Britt to serve on the Senate Appropriations Committee and as ranking member of its Homeland Security Subcommittee; on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Development; and on the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration. In January 2023 she joined Senators Marsha Blackburn and Cindy Hyde-Smith on a tour of the Del Rio Sector of the U.S.-Mexico border.
In early 2023, Britt was among the leaders of a Senate coalition that drafted a package of proposed legislation to address what she called "an unprecedented humanitarian and national security crisis at our southern border." Those proposals were negotiated and incorporated to various degrees into the bipartisan Homeland Security Appropriations Act of 2024. In July she voted in committee not to advance that package to the full Senate, saying that it did "makes significant strides" toward addressing budget needs, it did not do enough to end the ongoing crisis.
In September 2023 Britt co-sponsored James Lankford's proposed "Prevent Government Shutdowns Act of 2023" to require members of Congress to attend daily floor sessions until all appropriations bills had passed the legislature and provide for automatic continuing resolutions to avoid government shutdowns during debate. That legislation was referred to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, but did not advance.
In December 2023 she announced her endorsement of Trump in the 2024 election.
In March 2024 Britt was chosen by party leaders in Congress to deliver a televised "Republican Response" to President Joe Biden's "State of the Union" address to Congress. Her speech, broadcast from her kitchen in Montgomery, roundly criticized the President. Her delivery was broadly panned, and was parodied by Scarlett Johansson on NBC's "Saturday Night Live." Her vivid description of incidents of sexual violence which took place in Mexico between 2004 and 2008, implying that they resulted from Biden's border policies, was criticized as dishonest. Among the critics was Karla Jacinto Romero, who had suffered that violence and shared her story publicly.
| Preceded by: Billy Canary |
CEO Business Council of Alabama 2018–2022 |
Succeeded by: Helena Duncan |
| Preceded by: Richard Shelby |
U.S. Senator from Alabama 2023– |
Succeeded by: ' |
References
- Brand, Carole (June 29, 2000) "Enterprise Claims Proud Daughter: Katie Boyd wins first runner-up in America's Junior Miss." The Southeast Sun
- Faulk, Kent (March 14, 2014) "Turn out the lights: Birmingham's Johnston Barton Proctor and Rose law firm shutting down." The Birmingham News
- Cason, Mike (December 7, 2018) "Katie Britt chosen as first woman to lead Business Council of Alabama." The Birmingham News
- "Shelby endorses Britt in Alabama Senate race." (June 11, 2021) Associated Press
- Britt, Bill (July 11, 2021) "Trump attack aims to slow Britt’s momentum; Brooks in panic." Alabama Political Reporter
- Britt, Bill (February 18, 2022) "Former president Trump meets with U.S. Senate candidate Katie Britt at Mar-a-Lago." Alabama Political Reporter
- Orr, Gabby & Melanie Zanona (February 25, 2022) "Trump may offer help to Katie Britt in Alabama Senate primary -- even though he's already endorsed Mo Brooks." CNN.com
- Whites-Koditschek, Sarah (March 23, 2022) "Katie Britt sees ‘fraud’ in Trump’s election loss, vows to work for Alabama if elected to Senate." The Birmingham News
- Holmes, Jacob (February 10, 2023) "Sen. Britt, colleagues introduce border security legislation." Alabama Political Reporter
- "Sen. Katie Britt named ranking member of Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee." (February 16, 2023) Alabama Political Reporter
- Thornton, William (September 22, 2023) "Katie Britt co-sponsoring bill to end government shutdowns over ‘budgetary political brinksmanship’." AL.com
- Thornton, William (December 6, 2023) "Katie Britt endorses Trump for president just hours before Alabama GOP debate." AL.com
- Jalonick, Mary Clare (March 8, 2024) "Katie Britt calls Biden a ‘diminished leader’ in GOP response to the State of the Union." Associated Press
- Pettus, Emily Wagster (March 10, 2024) "Katie Britt used decades-old example of rapes in Mexico as Republican attack on Biden border policy." Associated Press
External links
- Katie Britt campaign website