U.S. Sen. Margaret Chase Smith, R-Maine, arrives at the Republican National Convention in San Francisco in July 1964. Associated Press photo

A room in the U.S. Capitol has been named for former Sen. Margaret Chase Smith of Maine.

The room and another named for former Sen. Barbara Milkuski of Maryland are the first in the Capitol to be named for female senators.

Current Maine Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King attended the naming ceremony Friday. They were joined by a half-dozen other senators and by Jonathan Rubin, an economics professor at the University of Maine and director of the Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center at the university.

Collins remarked that Smith, a Republican, and Mikulski, a Democrat, belonged to different political parties but shared qualities of civility and respect for different opinions. Smith was the first woman to serve in both chambers of Congress and Mikulski was the longest-serving female senator and the first woman to chair the Senate Appropriations Committee.

“They were both women of towering stature in integrity and courage,” Collins said.

King called Smith “an extraordinary lawmaker, an unparalleled trailblazer and a dear friend.” He said Smith, throughout her career, was “a champion for Maine and an advocate for all of our people.”

Collins and King co-sponsored the resolution to name the rooms after Smith and Mikulski. Room S-124 will be named for Smith and room S-115 will be named for Mikulski.


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