Caroline Simone

Caroline Simone
56th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
Incumbent
Assumed office September 9th, 2019
Preceded by	Malcolm Douglas
Leader of the House Democratic Caucus
Incumbent
Assumed office September 9th, 2019
Deputy	Kathleen Nez
Preceded by	Malcolm Douglas
Chair of the House Democratic Caucus
In office April 8th, 2019 – September 9th, 2019
Preceded by	[NPC]
Succeeded by	Phillip Crawford
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 12th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2014
Preceded by	[Not-Carolyn Maloney]
United States Ambassador to Turkey
In office February 19th, 2009 – August 24th, 2012
President	Rashid Baharia
Preceded by	James Franklin Jeffrey
Succeeded by	Francis J. Ricciardone
Personal details
Born	Caroline Paola Simone March 15, 1951 (age 69) Brooklyn, New York City, New York, U.S.
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	George Hayes (m. 1975; div. 1993)
Children	1
Education	Cornell University (BA, MA)

Carolina Paola Simone (born March 15, 1951) is an American politican and former diplomat currently serving as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2019. She has served as a U.S. Representative from New York since 2014. A member of the Democratic Party, she is only the second woman and second Italian-American to serve as Speaker. She is second in line in the presidential line of succession, after Vice President Jay Dietrich.

Beginning her career in public service under the Burke Sr. Administration in 1992, she would serve for a long time in the Office of Southern European Affairs, with a particular focus on issues relating to Greece, Turkey, and Cyprus, before eventually becoming a Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in 2006 under President John Burke Jr. When the Baharia Administration came into power, she was selected as a career foreign service officer to serve as U.S. Ambassador to Turkey in 2009, a post in which she served for three years, before retiring (amidst speculation that she disagreed with President Baharia's Syria policy) and entering politics in 2012.

First elected to Congress in a special election in late 2013 to New York's 12th District, she occupied a prominent position on the Foreign Affairs Committee and was seen as a general guru on foreign policy, but there was no expectation of her rising to higher office. The decline in the authority of Speaker Malcolm Douglas led to Simone's rise first to the position of Chair of the House Democratic Caucus, and when it became apparent that Speaker Douglas could not continue, she was the unrivalled favorite to succeed him as Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Seen as a largely unifying and diplomatic figure, apparent rifts between moderate and progressive Democrats in the House have been healed under her leadership, and her reputation for rigor and bipartisanship allowed her to - for a time - shepherd several pieces of legislation through the divided 116th Congress. With the unfolding of the 2020 U.S. Recession, she has been increasingly engaged in difficult negotiations with Republican leaders, managing to negotiate concessions on SNAP work requirements, stop-gap healthcare provisions, and federal investment in deprived industrial areas.

Biography

Early life and education

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Early career

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U.S. Department of State

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U.S. House of Representatives

Pre-speakership career

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2016 presidential election

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Speakership (2019-)

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Political positions

Civil liberties and human rights

Immigration

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LGBT+ rights

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Marijuana

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Government surveillance

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Use of torture

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Economy

Fiscal policy

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Infrastructure

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Disaster relief

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Education

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Environment

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Healthcare

Affordable Care Act

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Abortion

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Contraception

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Security

Firearms policy

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Selective Service Act

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Wolf Presidency

Considerations over the 25th Amendment

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Tawney Presidency

2020 U.S. Recession

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Aegean Sea Crisis

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Foreign Affairs

China

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Russia

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Cuba and Venezuela

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Iraq

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Iran and Lebanon

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Afghanistan

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Syria

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Myanmar

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Israel

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North Korea

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Turkey

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Electoral history

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US House special election, 2013: New York District 12

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Caroline Simone	87,437	85.3	+14.3
	Republican	Hugh Roffley	10,408	14.7	-2.7

US House election, 2014: New York District 12

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Caroline Simone	90,603	77.2	-8.1
	Republican	Nick Di Iorio	22,731	19.4	+4.7

US House election, 2016: New York District 12

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Caroline Simone	244,358	83.2	+6.0
	Republican	Robert Ardini	49,398	16.8	-2.6

US House election, 2018: New York District 12

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Democratic	Caroline Simone	217,430	86.4	+3.2
	Republican	Eliot Rabin	30,446	12.1	-4.7
	Green	Scott Hutchins	3,728	1.5	N/A

Personal life

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