Elected in 1993 as a “mom in tennis shoes,” Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray, D-Wash., has risen to be second in line for the presidency amid the House’s speaker battle.
After Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., was ousted from the speakership on Tuesday, the job passed temporarily to House Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry, R-N.C.
Typically, the presidential line of succession goes from the vice president to the speaker of the House, then passes to the president pro tempore of the Senate before going down the list of Cabinet officials.
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However, as the interim speaker, McHenry is not counted in the presidential line of succession – meaning the list moves up a spot for everyone on it.
Murray, as president pro tempore of the Senate, is currently second in line to take the presidential oath of office, if President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris were unable to perform their duties.
Fox News Digital reached out to Murray’s office but did not receive a response.
“Patty first got involved in politics to fight back against politicians who were trying to cut a preschool program that her kids counted on,” the senator’s campaign website reads.
Patty Murray, as president pro tempore of the Senate, currently follows Vice President Kamala Harris in the line of succession. (Mandel Ngan/Getty Images)
“When one legislator told her that she couldn’t make a difference because she was ‘just a mom in tennis shoes,’ she realized that if she wanted change, she was going to have to lace up those tennis shoes and fight back,” her website continues.
“So she called other moms and dads, she organized rallies and phone banks, she fought, and she won,” it reads.
Murray was chosen last year to be the Senate president pro tempore by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who skipped over Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., for the role.
The president pro tempore is a position laid out by the Constitution to chair the Senate when the vice president is not present. It’s a largely powerless office as Senate party leaders control legislative traffic on the floor.
After Kevin McCarthy was ousted from the speakership on Tuesday, the job passed temporarily to House Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
The Presidential Succession Act, however, makes the president pro tempore third in the line of succession, following the vice president and House speaker.
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Traditionally, the president pro tempore job goes to the most senior senator in the majority party.
On Tuesday, McCarthy was ousted as speaker with every Democrat in the chamber at the time, along with several Republicans led by Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida. voting to remove.
Fox News Digital’s Caroline McKee and Tyler Olson contributed reporting.
