Kimberly Merle Schrier ( ; born August 23, 1968) is an American former physician and politician who has served as the

U.S. representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

for Washington's

8th Eighth is ordinal form of the number eight. Eighth may refer to: * One eighth, , a fraction, one of eight equal parts of a whole * Eighth note (quaver), a musical note played for half the value of a quarter note (crotchet) * Octave, an interval b ...

congressional district since 2019. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Her district includes the suburbs east of

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

and extends across the

Cascade Range The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington (state), Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as m ...

to rural areas in central Washington as well as the cities of Wenatchee and Ellensburg.

Early life and education

Schrier was born and raised in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, where she graduated from Palisades Charter High School. She earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, graduating

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

with a degree in astrophysics. She attended the University of California Davis School of Medicine, where she earned her

Doctor of Medicine A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin language, Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of ph ...

degree. She continued on to a residency at the

Stanford University School of Medicine The Stanford University School of Medicine is the medical school of Stanford University and is located in Stanford, California, United States. It traces its roots to the Medical Department of the University of the Pacific, founded in San Fra ...

Medical career

Schrier's professional career as a

pediatrician Pediatrics (American English) also spelled paediatrics (British English), is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, pediatrics covers many of their youth ...

began in

Ashland, Oregon Ashland is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States. It lies along Interstate 5 in Oregon, Interstate 5 approximately 16 miles (26 km) north of the California border and near the south end of the Rogue Valley. The city's population w ...

, where she worked for one year before joining Virginia Mason Medical Center in

Issaquah, Washington Issaquah ( ) is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 40,051 at the 2020 census. Located in a valley and bisected by Interstate 90, the city is bordered by the Sammamish Plateau to the north and the " Issaquah ...

in 2001. While working at Virginia Mason, she became politically active, particularly on healthcare issues. In 2017, Schrier was dissatisfied with Congressman Dave Reichert's handling of the efforts to repeal and replace the

Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act A patient is any recipient of health care services that are performed by healthcare professionals. The patient is most often ill or injured and in need of treatment by a physician, nurse, optometrist, dentist, veterinarian, or other health ...

and this, coupled with her frustration with the results of the 2016 elections, led to her decision to enter politics.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

2018

Schrier announced her candidacy to represent in August 2017, a year before the primary. She initially intended to challenge incumbent Dave Reichert, but the seat became open in September 2017 when Reichert announced his retirement. She had decided to run after the 2016 election, making the expansion of Medicare and the

Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) and informally as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Presid ...

the centerpiece of her campaign. No Democrat had ever been elected to represent the district and Reichert had been seen as a relatively safe incumbent, but his decision to retire left the seat as a potential Democratic pickup in an election year already leaning toward the Democratic Party. Schrier advanced from the top-two primary, narrowly defeating attorney Jason Rittereiser, and advancing to face Republican Dino Rossi in the general election. The 8th district campaign attracted $25 million in spending, making it the most expensive in state history and one of the costliest nationally in 2018, including controversial

attack ad In political campaigns, an attack ad is an advertisement designed to wage a personal attack against an opposing candidate or political party in order to gain support for the attacking candidate and attract voters. Attack ads often form part of ...

s from the Rossi campaign. One such ad nicknamed Schrier "Dr. Tax" and depicted her holding a large stack of $20 bills. The ad was perceived as

antisemitic Antisemitism or Jew-hatred is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Whether antisemitism is considered a form of racism depends on the school of thought. Antisemi ...

by ''The Washington Post''. Schrier won the general election with 52% of the vote. Although Rossi won 3 of the 4 counties in the district, Schrier won the district's portion of King County by nearly 30,000 votes, almost double her overall margin of 15,000 votes.

2020

Schrier ran for reelection. She advanced from the top-two primary in first place and faced the second-place finisher, Republican U.S. Army veteran and

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

senior project manager Jesse Jensen. Schrier won the general election with 51.7% of the vote.

2022

Schrier defeated Republican nominee and lawyer Matt Larkin with 53.4% of the vote. In 2022, Washington's 8th District was the state's most competitive and was among the key races in determining House partisan control. During the race, Schrier criticized Larkin's proposals for abortion bans without exceptions for rape or incest.

2024

Schrier ran for re-election. She and Republican Carmen Goers, a banker, advanced to the general election from the top-two primary. Schrier defeated Goers with 54.0% of the vote.

Tenure

Schrier was sworn into office on January 3, 2019, as the

for Washington's

congressional district. During the

116th Congress The 116th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate, Senate and the United States House of Representati ...

, she served on the

Committee on Education and Labor The Committee on Education and Workforce is a Standing committee (United States Congress), standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. There are 45 members of this committee. Since 2025, the chair of the Education and Work ...

and Committee on Agriculture. During

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

's administration, Schrier voted in line with the president's stated position 6.6% of the time. As of June 2023, Schrier had voted in line with

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

's stated position 100% of the time. In May 2022, Schrier led a letter by 100 members of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

Secretary of Agriculture The United States secretary of agriculture is the head of the United States Department of Agriculture. The position carries similar responsibilities to those of agriculture ministers in other governments The department includes several organiz ...

Tom Vilsack and

Solicitor General A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...

Elizabeth Prelogar calling on them to support California's

animal welfare Animal welfare is the quality of life and overall well-being of animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures ...

law Proposition 12 in a

case Case or CASE may refer to: Instances * Instantiation (disambiguation), a realization of a concept, theme, or design * Special case, an instance that differs in a certain way from others of the type Containers * Case (goods), a package of relate ...

challenging the law before the

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

. Proposition 12 prohibited the sale of pork, veal, and egg products in California if they were produced by animals confined in gestation crates, veal crates, or battery cages too small for them to extend their limbs and fully turn around. In 2025, Schrier was one of 46 House Democrats who joined all Republicans to vote for the Laken Riley Act.

Committee assignments

Schrier's committee assignments for the 119th Congress include: *

Committee on Energy and Commerce A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly or other form of organization. A committee may not itself be considered to be a form of assembly or a decision-making body. Usually, an assembly o ...

** Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade ** Subcommittee on Health ** Subcommittee on Energy

Caucus memberships

Schrier's caucus memberships include: *

New Democrat Coalition The New Democrat Coalition is a caucus in the House of Representatives of the United States Congress made up of Democrats, primarily liberals and centrists, who take a pro-business stance and a liberal-to-moderate approach to fiscal matte ...

(chair: Farm Bill Task Force) * Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (co-chair: Climate and Agriculture Task Force) * Congressional Doctors Caucus (co-chair)

Personal life

Schrier and her husband, David Gowing, have a son and live in

Sammamish, Washington Sammamish ( ) is a city in King County, Washington, United States. The population was 67,455 at the 2020 census. Located on a plateau, the city is bordered by Lake Sammamish to the west and the Snoqualmie Valley to the east. Sammamish is s ...

. Her grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Europe who arrived in the United States before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Schrier has

Type 1 diabetes Type 1 diabetes (T1D), formerly known as juvenile diabetes, is an autoimmune disease that occurs when the body's immune system destroys pancreatic cells (beta cells). In healthy persons, beta cells produce insulin. Insulin is a hormone require ...

Electoral history

References

Notes

External links

Congresswoman Kim Schrier
official U.S. House website
Campaign website
* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Schrier, Kim 1968 births 21st-century American women politicians American pediatricians American women pediatricians Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Washington (state) Female members of the United States House of Representatives Jewish American people in Washington (state) politics 21st-century Washington (state) politicians Jewish members of the United States House of Representatives Jewish American women in politics Living people People from Issaquah, Washington People from Sammamish, Washington People with type 1 diabetes Politicians from Los Angeles Women in Washington (state) politics University of California, Davis alumni 21st-century American Jews Physicians from Washington (state) 21st-century American women physicians 21st-century American physicians 21st-century members of the United States House of Representatives