Lawmaker Profile

Sen. Deb Fischer

[R, NE]
A lifelong Nebraskan, Deb Fischer is the senior senator from Nebraska. In November 2012, Fischer was first elected to the U.S. Senate becoming the first Nebraska woman elected to a full term and the first Nebraska state senator elected directly after service in the state legislature. Six years later, in November 2018, Nebraskans overwhelmingly voted to send her back to the U.S. Senate for a second term.

Fischer is committed to working with Republicans and Democrats alike to advance sensible policies that will promote strong Nebraska families and communities. 

Senator Fischer believes the first duty of Congress is to defend the nation. As a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, she is committed to defending against growing threats to our homeland and our allies. In her capacity as chairman of the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, she is focused on ensuring that our nation has a nuclear deterrent that is modern and effective. This subcommittee also has direct oversight of U.S. Strategic Command, which is located in Nebraska.

Fischer also serves on the Senate's Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee and serves as chairman of the Subcommittee on Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security. This chairmanship enables her to continue leading on transportation issues, which have been one of her top priorities dating back to her chairmanship of the Nebraska Legislature's Transportation and Telecommunication Committee.

In addition to the Armed Services and Commerce Committees, Senator Fischer sits on the Senate Agriculture Committee, a vital committee to Nebraska where agriculture is the economic engine of the state. Fischer is a Nebraska cattle rancher with over 40 years of real-life experience working with agriculture producers and rural and economic development groups across the state. As Nebraska's voice on this committee, she works to cut regulations negatively affecting agriculture and open up new trade opportunities for farmers and ranchers.

Senator Fischer is a member of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's leadership team, serving as counsel to the Majority Leader. In this position, which she has held since 2015, she presents the concerns of Nebraskans directly to the Republican Senate leadership.

Before her election to the U.S. Senate, Fischer served in the Nebraska Unicameral, representing the 43rd Legislative District since 2004. During her time in the state legislature, she chaired the Transportation and Telecommunications Committee. She was also a member of the Revenue Committee, the Natural Resources Committee, and the Executive Board.

Born and raised in Lincoln, Nebraska, Senator Fischer attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and graduated with a degree in education. She and her husband, Bruce, have been married for over 40 years and own a ranching business near Valentine. They have three sons and three grandchildren.