Gina Raimondo
Secretary of Commerce
Gina Marie Raimondo was born in May 1971 in Smithfield, Rhode Island. She earned an undergraduate degree from Harvard College. She attended New College, Oxford, as a Rhodes Scholar, where she received a Master of Arts degree and Doctor of Philosophy. She received a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School. She clerked at the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. She worked as a venture capitalist and investment executive.
She was elected General Treasurer of Rhode Island where she served four years. She worked for the Democratic Governors Association as its chairman and was elected Governor of Rhode Island. She was concluding her tenure there when she was nominated by President Joe Biden to be Secretary of Commerce. She was confirmed by the Senate in an 84-15 vote and assumed office March 3, 2021.
Raimondo is married to Andrew Kind Moffitt, and they have two children. She is a Roman Catholic.
In the News…
In a television interview, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said the unemployment figures that reflect hiring in the U.S. in April indicate the nation still has far to go to come back from the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
“I think we have a long way to go to recover from the pandemic,” the commerce secretary said. “There are so many Americans still struggling, 8 million fewer jobs than there were pre-pandemic. So we are working very hard.”
She said that while the administration is “monitoring” the impact of the relief packages and added federal unemployment payments, “there is nothing in the data” to suggest the enhanced aid is the reason why jobless Americans are not returning to the workforce. “When the president moved to make this happen, this unemployment insurance has been a lifeline, a survival lifeline for so many Americans,” she said.
Secretary Raimondo said the main reason why people aren’t returning to work is because of continued fear of the pandemic and an inability to find childcare while schools remain closed for in-person learning.
Contact this Leader…
Did you pray for Secretary Raimondo today? You can let her know at:
The Honorable Gina Raimondo, Secretary
Department of Commerce
1401 Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20230
