She is now, so the honorific is called for when people refer to her now.
Before running for office, she was a major contributor to the ideas in Dodd-Frank, and many of those meetings took place out of the public eye and before the public debate on the bill.
This is not to criticize that particular bill (or the ACA) or her role in drafting it. Just making the point that negotiating and drafting policy behind closed door is a totally standard and unremarkable first step in the process.
Before running for office, she was a major contributor to the ideas in Dodd-Frank, and many of those meetings took place out of the public eye and before the public debate on the bill.
This is not to criticize that particular bill (or the ACA) or her role in drafting it. Just making the point that negotiating and drafting policy behind closed door is a totally standard and unremarkable first step in the process.