Debra Lynelle Fischer (née Strobel; born March 1, 1951)[1] is an American politician and former educator serving as the senior United States senator from Nebraska, a seat she has held since 2013.

A member of the Republican Party, Fischer is the third woman to represent Nebraska in the U.S. Senate (after Eva Bowring and Hazel Abel) and the first to be reelected.

Fischer opposes abortion without exception, rejects the scientific consensus on climate change, and supports repealing the Affordable Care Act.

Governor Mike Johanns appointed Fischer as a Commissioner to the Nebraska Coordinating Commission for Post-Secondary Education from 2000 to 2004.

[9] In 2007, Fischer helped lead a filibuster against a bill to create a statewide smoking ban for indoor workplaces and public places.

Commonly known as the Nebraska Clean Indoor Air Act, the bill passed and was signed into law in 2008.

A spokesman for the National Right to Life Committee said the law was stronger than those of other states, which required only that the client be asked whether she wanted to see an ultrasound image.

[11] Fischer chaired the Transportation and Telecommunications Committee[12] and helped pass the BUILD Nebraska Act through the Unicameral.

[14] The Republican primary campaign was expected to be a battle between Attorney General Jon Bruning and State Treasurer Don Stenberg; Fischer and three less well-known candidates were also on the ballot.

Opponents of federal grazing leases argued that she should relinquish her family's permit if she wanted to remain "morally consistent" with her message of less government.

Shortly before the election, she was endorsed by Nebraska U.S. Representative Jeff Fortenberry and by 2008 vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin, who recorded robocalls endorsing her; and a super PAC financed by former Omaha businessman Joe Ricketts paid for $250,000 worth of TV ads promoting Fischer and opposing Bruning.

[16][19] In the general election, Fischer faced Democratic nominee Bob Kerrey, a former Nebraska governor and U.S. senator who was running for the seat he had held from 1989 to 2001.

[20] Fischer maintained that their intent in filing the suit was to obtain a more manageable boundary for their ranch after repeated attempts to purchase the land had failed; according to an Omaha World-Herald analysis, the Kerrey campaign's statements about Fischer's actions in the Legislature failed to mention her support for a compromise measure that would have allowed NGPC to buy the land.

She faced independent candidate Dan Osborn, a former union leader, in the November general election.

[36] Fischer rejects conclusions by the international scientific community that human emissions of greenhouse gases are the primary cause of global warming in recent decades.

[40][41][42] In June 2020, Fischer expressed support for the Supreme Court decision in Bostock v. Clayton County that "extended Civil Rights Act protections to gay, lesbian and transgender workers", saying, "It's important that we recognize that all Americans have equal rights under our Constitution.

During the attack, Fischer tweeted: "These rioters have no constitutional right to harm law enforcement and storm our Capitol.