“Mr. Speaker, we are a blessed Nation. We have not suffered another attack on our soil since September 11, and we are grateful. We have killed or captured dozens of members of al Qaeda and the Taliban. Our military and intelligence forces are working both hard and smart.”

American politician and businesswoman, senior United States senator for Tennessee

Mary Marsha Blackburn is an American politician and businesswoman serving as the senior United States senator for Tennessee. A Republican, she was first elected to the Senate in 2018. Before her time in the Senate, Blackburn served in the Tennessee state senate from 1999 to 2003, then represented Tennessee’s 7th congressional district in the U.S. House from 2003 to 2019. During her years in the House, the National Journal ranked her among its most conservative members.