Murray makes history by becoming the first female senator to garner 10,000 votes

“Her achievements go – if she only got 10,000 votes, that would be pretty good – but her achievements go much further and often overshadow her,” Schumer said. “She’s a voice that the Senate, the country, relies on on some of the biggest issues we’ve faced.”

While Senate rules discourage senators from applauding on the floor, Murray’s colleagues cheered to commemorate his milestone.

Schumer noted that Murray is also the first woman to chair the veterans affairs and budget committees. When Murray speaks, Schumer said, everyone across the political spectrum listens because “they know she’s studied it carefully and it comes from the heart.”

“On issues like health care, the environment, labor rights, pensions, childcare, there’s Patty Murray as a beacon, not just a speaker, not just a legislator, but a beacon for all of us,” Schumer said.

The Majority Leader joked that he spoke to Murray so much that he knew his number by heart — so much so that he started to recite it in the Senate and stopped before revealing the last two digits. (He then requested that the song be removed from the record and was unanimously allowed to remove it as the room laughed).

Senate Republicans also joined the Murray celebration. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) recalled that the year Murray was first elected to the Senate—1992—was called “the year of the woman” because for the first time in the history five women were elected to the senate.

Their success has been attributed to opposition to the treatment of Anita Hill by the all-male Senate Judiciary Committee and her allegations of sexual harassment against Clarence Thomas during her Supreme Court hearings. Thomas denied the allegations, and the Senate narrowly stopped him in October 1991.

“You were the leader of the group,” McConnell said. “You’ve had an extremely successful career and I wanted you to know that people on both sides of the aisle admire your service.”

Also in the Senate, Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) said it was “great” to work with “my friend and colleague” Murray on the Appropriations Committee. Murray is the chairman of the committee; Collins is the best Republican.

According to Senate records, 32 men reached the 10,000 vote mark, including President Biden when he was a senator from Delaware, McConnell, and Senator Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa).

Murray celebrated her addition to the list on Twitter, saying that while she is the first woman to vote 10,000 times, she certainly won’t be the last.