Gina Raimondo served as the 40th U.S. Secretary of Commerce under President Joe Biden. After being nominated in January of 2021, she was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on March 2, 2021, and was sworn into office on March 3. Before holding this position, she was the governor of Rhode Island.

Early Life and Education

Gina Raimondo was born on May 17, 1971, in Rhode Island. She grew up in Smithfield, Rhode Island, the youngest of three children in a close Italian-American family. Raimondo was a founding employee at the investment firm Village Ventures. She co-founded her 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:venture capital firm, Point Judith Capital.

Raimondo graduated with honors from Harvard as the top economics student in her class. She subsequently received a Rhodes Scholarship to Oxford University, where she obtained a doctorate and met her future husband, Andy Moffit.

Raimondo led the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Department of Commerce (DOC) under President Joe Biden. She promoted economic growth, job creation, and balanced economic development. She also played a key role in formulating policies related to technology and 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:climate change.

Notable Accomplishments

Raimondo, a moderate Democrat with a background in the finance industry, made history as the first female governor of Rhode Island, serving from 2015 to 2021. During her tenure, Raimondo initiated investment programs in economic development, job training, infrastructure improvements, tax reductions, and deregulation to foster business growth and improve the state's economy.

From 2011 to 2015, she held the position of Rhode Island's general treasurer, where she tackled the state's $7 billion 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:unfunded pension liability through significant pension reform. She also led the Democratic Governors Association from 2018 to 2019. Raimondo pushed to reduce the highest allowable interest rate on 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:payday loans within the state. Her advocacy set a precedent for the state's current legislative efforts to address high interest rates charged by payday lenders.

Role As Commerce Secretary

As Secretary of Commerce, Raimondo has stated that "The Commerce Department has a simple but vital mission—to spur good-paying jobs, empower entrepreneurs to innovate and grow, and help American workers and businesses compete." She supported President Biden’s agenda through investments in Internet access, manufacturing, economic development, and workforce training through the American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act.

In her role, Raimondo advocated for Congress to enact laws aimed at boosting domestic semiconductor manufacturing and believes that a scarcity of chips poses a threat to both the national and economic security of the United States. In response to Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Raimondo's Department of Commerce established 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:export controls to restrict Russia's acc𒀰ess to military technology.

In March 2022, she issued a warning that Chinese companies trying to provide Russia with semiconductor technology, contrary to U.S. sanctions, would face consequences. In 2023, Raimondo engaged in discussions to establish a new economic dialogue with China. This move included setting up a working group on commercial issues and an export control information dialogue.

Issues as Governor

The launch of Rhode Island's "Unified Health Infrastructure Project" (UHIP) in September 2016, under Governor Raimondo, faced criticism for causing widespread access issues to vital government programs due to software glitches. The technical issues reportedly led to thousands of delays in food stamp benefit distribution.

Problems with the food stamp system led Judge Will Smith to decide that the government couldn't handle the project, so he appointed attorney Deming Sherman to help fix it. Despite these troubles, Raimondo worked to make Deloitte, the company behind the system, take responsibility. She recovered more than $85 million to cover maintenance, operations, and additional costs incurred due to the system's failure.

During Raimondo's tenure, Rhode Island's Department of Children, Youth & Families (DCYF) was scrutinized for several child fatalities and near-fatalities. The DCYF reported 31 incidents between January 2016 and December 2017, of which eight were fatal. Efforts to implement reforms were impeded by issues like high staff turnover and budget deficits. This led to widespread calls for the resignation of DCYF Director Trista Piccola, leading to her departure in July 2019.

The Bottom Line

Gina Raimondo served as the U.S. Secreꦗtary of Commerce from 2021 to 2025 under President Joe Biden. She played a pivotal role in promoting economic growth and addressing key challenges such as the global semiconductor shortage and international trade relations.