🧵 The 117th Congress is the most diverse ever, not only racially and ethnically, it also has more women & members of the LGBTQ community.
We sat down with 5 of the newest members from both sides of the aisle to get a better look at how they tick. politi.co/3nqNYQv
1️⃣ @ByronDonalds is one of only two Black Republicans in the House. He made headlines by running on controversial ideas like speaking out against Covid-19 safety measures and contesting the 2020 election. politi.co/3xAji3X
2️⃣ @NikemaWilliams' election win was marked by history. She became the first woman to represent Georgia’s 5th district, taking over the seat of her mentor, the late civil rights icon John Lewis. politi.co/3nMOnx7
3️⃣ @RitchieTorres Torres is the first Afro Latino openly gay person elected to Congress. Raised in a housing project, Torres struggled with issues all too common among his constituents, and now represents the poorest congressional district in the U.S. politi.co/2PuPuob
4️⃣ @CynthiaMLummis is the first woman to represent Wyoming in the Senate. A self-described ‘libertarian-leaning republican,’ Lummis served four terms in the House but decided not to run for Congress again after her husband’s passing in 2015. politi.co/3aKZ7GD
5️⃣ @SenAlexPadilla is the son of Mexican immigrants and California’s first Latino senator in Washington. He comes from a political career shaped by historical shifts in California, from anti-immigrant policies to the rising influence of Latino voters. politi.co/2RhNOyP
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🧵 Starting the day Joe Biden took office, photographer @StephenVoss roamed the halls & streets of D.C. to capture the strangeness of life in D.C. at the dawn of a new presidential era.
Here’s what the first 100 days of Biden’s Washington looked like 👉 politi.co/2ShPsBe
Days into Biden’s presidency, the focus in Washington was still on Donald Trump, whom the House had voted to impeach for inciting the Capitol insurrection.
Trump became the first U.S. president to be impeached twice.
While Biden confronted the nation’s Covid crisis from the White House, the pandemic continued to make its mark on the capital, with D.C. cases peaking in mid-January
As a result of Census Bureau population figures released Monday, if every state voted the same way in 2024 that they did in 2020, Biden would win 3 fewer Electoral College votes than he did in November, while the Republican nominee would win 3 more. politico.com/news/2021/04/2…
The Census shift is only a marginal one — it would only affect the closest of elections.
But that doesn’t mean the new state numbers won’t alter the landscape in 2024 and 2028. Here’s why 👇politi.co/3xnH7vM
In 2020, Biden beat Trump by 74 Electoral College votes. A net gain of 6 votes for Trump wouldn’t have mattered.
But in a close race — like in 2000, where 5 electoral votes separated George W. Bush and Al Gore — the re-balancing could tip the scales. politi.co/3xnH7vM
Former Officer Derek Chauvin was convicted today of murder for the May 2020 killing of George Floyd, the 46-year-old Black man whose neck Chauvin pinned down with his knee on the pavement of a south Minneapolis intersection for more than nine minutes. politi.co/3aJa2kv
The jury found Chauvin guilty of all three charges: second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter. politi.co/3aJa2kv
President Biden and Vice President Harris spoke to Floyd’s family by phone.
“Nothing is gonna make it all better, but at least now there’s some justice,” Biden said.
Harris described the family as “real leaders at this moment where we needed you.” politi.co/3aJa2kv
Nancy Pelosi came to Maxine Waters’ defense on Monday, after GOP lawmakers said Waters' remarks in Minnesota stoked violence politico.com/news/2021/04/1…
Ahead of closing arguments in the trial of Derek Chauvin, Waters told demonstrators in Brooklyn Center, Minn. “to get more confrontational.”
“Maxine talked about confrontation in the manner of the civil rights movement,” Pelosi said. politi.co/32vzWmZ
Waters told The Grio today that her remarks were about “confronting the justice system, confronting the policing that’s going on,” through legislation and “speaking up.” politi.co/32vzWmZ