Susan Combs

Combs was born in San Antonio. She grew up in a ranching family in West Texas. She runs a cow-calf operation on her family's ranch in Brewster County; the ranch has been in her family since the turn of the 20th century. She lives in Austin with her husband, Joe W. Duran, a computer scientist. She is the mother of three sons.[7] Combs graduated from Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York,[7] majoring in French and religion. She worked in international advertising in New York City, in the financial markets on Wall Street, and for the U.S. government before returning to Texas to obtain credentials from the University of Texas Law School at Austin.[7] After graduation from law school, she served as an assistant district attorney in Dallas, Texas.

Combs' first electoral outing was for the 47th legislative district, in Travis County. She won the Republican runoff election by seven votes over intraparty challenger Bill Welch. Combs polled 2,279 votes (50.07 percent) to Welch's 2,272 (49.92 percent). The two had led a five-candidate field in the primary.[8] In the general election, Combs handily defeated the Democrat Jimmy Day, 45,355 (65.4 percent) to 23,987 (34.6 percent).[9] Combs served two terms in the Texas House of Representatives from 1993 and 1996, resigning midway in her second term to join the staff of U.S. senator Kay Bailey Hutchison as the lawmaker's state director. She was succeeded by fellow Republican Patty Keel of Austin.

She served as the Texas agriculture commissioner from 1999 to 2007, being the first woman to serve in the position.[7] She succeeded Rick Perry as commissioner, who was instead elected as lieutenant governor.

Combs was initially elected as Texas comptroller of public accounts to succeed Carole Strayhorn, a Republican who ran unsuccessfully for governor as an Independent in the same election. Combs served as comptroller from 2007 to 2015. In 2010, Combs was unopposed for a second term as comptroller in the Republican primary, and she faced no Democratic opponent in the November 2 general election. Unsuccessful nominees of the Green and Libertarian parties did seek the position. Combs did not seek reelection to a third term as comptroller or any other statewide office in the 2014 elections.[10]

In 2015, Combs endorsed Carly Fiorina for president.[11]

After leaving state politics in 2015, Combs launched the Texas Smart Schools Initiative, intended for parents and officials as a data-driven approach to show which public schools and districts are achieving the highest student performance for the lowest cost.[12][13] The material, arranged on a five-star scale, was made available without charge.[14] It is funded from her leftover campaign contributions.[12] "Public education is one of the largest items in the state budget; so Texans need to know where their dollars are getting the highest return in terms of student performance," Combs said.[15] Also with leftover campaign cash, Combs formed a 501(c)(4) nonprofit called the Anywhere Woman Project, an online platform aiming to help women ask questions and exchange ideas.[14]

On July 10, 2017, U.S. president Donald Trump nominated Combs to be the assistant secretary for policy, management, and budget at the United States Department of the Interior.[16] Earlier in the year, Trump had considered naming Combs to be the secretary of agriculture, a position which went instead to Sonny Perdue, a former governor of Georgia. The administration cited Combs' career in public office and in the private sector as a small business owner with a ranch in the Big Bend section of West Texas as factors in her selection. U.S. Senator John Cornyn said that he will work for Combs' confirmation and called her "always a fierce advocate for rural Texans."[17]

Combs was confirmed by the United States Senate on June 5, 2019, by a vote of 57–36.[3][18]

Combs resigned on April 25, 2020.[19][20]

“Combs has spent her career putting polluters and special interests ahead of the needs of our most endangered animals and plants,” said Stephanie Kurose, endangered species policy specialist at the Center for Biological Diversity. “The Senate is rubber-stamping a Trump appointee who wouldn't cross the street to save imperiled wildlife for a job that'll let her veto crucial environmental protections.” As Texas state comptroller, Combs wrested control of the state's endangered species program from the Department of Parks and Wildlife to her office, which managed state fiscal and tax matters and did not have a single biologist. She then used her authority to vigorously oppose any Endangered Species Act protections, often teaming up with the oil and gas industry to do so. As a state representative in the 1990s, Combs passed a law designed to restrict the state from sharing data with the Fish and Wildlife Service—data that might have been used to identify those species in need of critical lifesaving protections.

Combs served on the boards of the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association in Fort Worth and the Texas Wildlife Association. She has also served on the boards the Texas Beef Council and the Texas Production Credit Association.[21]

In 2016, Combs launched "HERdacity" a "nonprofit online platform and mobile app" intended to "give women with shared interests and career ambitions a forum to exchange ideas and offer each other support."[22] In addition, she wrote a memoir entitled Texas Tenacity.[22]

As a member of the Texas House of Representatives in the 1990s, Combs championed legislation prohibiting state wildlife officials from gathering endangered species data from private lands without permission, according to the Austin Chronicle. It also sought to restrict the state from sharing endangered species data with the Fish and Wildlife Service...Following her nomination in July, some 70 conservation groups sent a letter to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee urging members to reject her confirmation. They described Combs as someone who “built her career favoring big corporations and special interests over the needs and survival of imperiled species.”

In August 2019, the Women's Suffrage Celebration Commission elevated Combs to Chairwoman. Prior to that, Combs was a Commission member, appointed to that position in December 2018.[23]

• Official website
• Profile at The Texas Tribune
• Profile at Project Vote Smart
• Profile at Ballotpedia
• Window on State Government