Summary
Cindy Hyde-Smith was born in 1959 is currently serving as the junior United States Senator from Mississippi. Senator Hyde-Smith was elected in 2018 and her seat will be up for election in 2024.
Cindy Hyde-Smith was appointed on April 9, 2018 by Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant to fill the U.S. Senate seat vacated by long-time Senator Thad Cochran, who resigned in April 2018. Prior to her appointment to the Senate, Hyde-Smith was elected as Mississippi Commissioner of Agriculture and Commerce in 2011 and was reelected to that position in 2015.
Senator Hyde-Smith is currently serving on the Appropriations Committee; the Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee; the Energy and Natural Resources Committee; and the Rules and Administration Committee.
Below is Senator Hyde-Smith’s voting record and public positions on issues important to the Jewish community.
She responded to the American Jewish Congress 2018 Senate Candidate Questionnaire and her answers are reflected on this page.
Senator Hyde-Smith cosponsored and supported the United States-Israel Security Authorization Act of 2018, a legislation that supported full funding of security assistance to Israel as outlined in the 2016 U.S.-Israel Memorandum of Understanding. She expressed her support for the U.S. embassy move to Jerusalem. Senator Hyde-Smith opposed the Iran nuclear deal and greeted the decision of the administration to abandon the deal.
In our 2018 Senate Candidate Questionnaire, Senator Hyde-Smith responded that she supported the Israel Anti-Boycott Act and the Combating BDS Act of 2017, two pieces of legislation that aim to fight the boycott movement against Israel.
Senator Hyde-Smith did not answer the question about her position on school-sponsored prayers in public schools.
In 2019, Senator Hyde-Smith voted for the Strengthening America’s Middle East Security Act which, among other things strengthens Israel’s security, and allows a state or local government to adopt measures to divest its assets from entities that boycott Israel.
