Doris Kazue Matsui ( mat-SOO-ee; née Okada; Japanese: 松井 佳寿恵; born September 25, 1944) is an American politician who has served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from California's 7th congressional district since 2005. She succeeded her husband, Bob Matsui. The district, numbered as the 5th from 2005 to 2013 and the 6th from 2013 to 2023, is based in Sacramento.
She is a member of the House Energy and Commerce committee, where she serves as ranking member of the Communications and Technology Subcommittee.
Before her time in Congress, Matsui worked as a government affairs consultant and served as Deputy Assistant to the President in the Clinton Administration, where she worked with President Clinton to create the first White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in 1999.
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Early life and career
Doris Kazue Okada was born in the Poston War Relocation Center internment camp in Poston, Arizona, and grew up in Dinuba, in California's Central Valley. While attending the University of California, Berkeley, where she earned a B.A. in psychology, she met her husband. They had one child, Brian.
Doris Matsui was a volunteer on Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign. When he was elected, she served on his transition team. After his inauguration, Matsui was appointed deputy special assistant to the president and deputy director of public liaison, working under Alexis Herman. She served in the White House from 1993 to 1998. Clinton appointed Matsui to the board of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in September 2000. Later, she became a lobbyist in Washington, representing corporate clients until 2005, when she decided to run for Congress against a field of local Democrats.
U.S. House of Representatives
Tenure
Matsui's husband, Representative Bob Matsui, died from complications of myelodysplastic syndrome on January 1, 2005, two months after being elected to a 14th term in what was then the 5th district. On January 9, 2005, the day after his funeral, Matsui told supporters she was running for his open seat. In the special election on March 8, 2005, she garnered 68% of the vote and was sworn in for the balance of her husband's term. Press reports said that Matsui won the election before the polls opened, as most votes in the election were absentee ballots, which she won overwhelmingly. Matsui was elected to a full term in 2006 and has been reelected continuously since then.
Matsui voted with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time in the 117th Congress, according to a FiveThirtyEight analysis.
Matsui has voted to continue stem cell research. Matsui opposed the overturning of Roe v. Wade. She called the decision "devastating" and said she was "deeply heartbroken and angered" by it.
On March 8, 2021, on the second anniversary of the U.S. women's national soccer team's pay discrimination lawsuit, Matsui and Rosa DeLauro introduced the Give Our Athletes Level Salaries (GOALS) Act, to ensure the U.S. women's national soccer team was "paid fair and equitable wages compared to the U.S. Men's team". The GOALS Act threatens to cut federal funding for the 2026 World Cup if the U.S. Soccer Federation does not comply.
Matsui supports American energy independence and desires that the U.S. run on at least 25% renewable energy by 2025. Matsui opposes the expansion of oil production, offshore drilling, and subsidies for oil and gas exploration. She voted to provide tax subsidies for investment in renewable, alternative sources of energy.
Matsui supports United States military and economic aid to Ukraine. Matsui has supported Israel’s right to exist and defend itself, but she has been critical of Benjamin Netanyahu and his government. Matsui supports a 2-state solution. While Matsui has supported military aid to Israel for most of her career, in July 2026 she voted for Thomas Massie’s amendment to cut US aid to Israel. Matsui does not recognize the Gaza Genocide. Matsui is critical of the Iran War.
Committee assignments
For the 119th Congress:
Committee on Energy and Commerce
Subcommittee on Communications and Technology (Ranking Member)
Subcommittee on Energy
Caucuses and other memberships
Junior League of Sacramento, CA
Congressional Arts Caucus
Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus
Congressional Wildlife Refuge Caucus
Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC), Co-Chair
Congressional Food Allergy Research Caucus, Co-Chair
Rare Disease Caucus, Co-Chair
Congressional High-Tech Caucus, Co-Chair
Congressional Spectrum Caucus, Co-Chair
National Service Congressional Caucus, Co-Chair
Congressional Caucus to Cure Blood Cancers and Other Blood Disorders, Co-Chair
House Democratic Caucus Task Force on Aging and Families, Co-Chair
Smithsonian Board of Regents
Congressional Mental Health Caucus
Democratic Women's Caucus
Congressional Equality Caucus
Gun Violence Prevention Task Force
Personal life
Matsui has one son. She has two grandchildren. On April 11, 2020, Matsui married AES Corporation co-founder and billionaire Roger Sant.