21st Century American Women Politicians

"She was indomitable."

"I am proud of USTR’s accomplishments in opening markets,as well as its excellent record of enforcing our trade agreements. This Administration will leave behind an exceptionally strong, pro-trade organization that will support the new U.S. Trade Representative as he continues to build on those accomplishments."

"We have laid the groundwork for an ambitious and balanced multilateral agreement in the World Trade Organization’s Doha Round."

"Acts of hate, intimidation, and dehumanization cannot be the way we live together and treat one another. This includes physical threats, as well as online harassment and doxxing. No matter your background, ethnicity, or faith, everyone has a right to feel safe."

"The United States wants to keep secret the fact that this court issued a search warrant for Representative Perry’s phone,". “But the fact that this court issued a search warrant is already public knowledge."

"Together, we became the first university to achieve carbon neutrality; grew our endowment by approximately 60 percent (from just over $600 million in 2017 to approximately $950 million now); launched the Sine Institute for Policy and Politics and the Khan Cyber and Economic Security Institute,""

"The university has a "great team of leaders in place who are partnering with our great faculty, staff, alumni, and students to shepherd us into our next chapter of impact.""

"Fighting Ebola as HHS Secretary, flying around the world for the Gates Foundation, or leading this university.""

"This hateful act of antisemitism is reprehensible. Jewish students live in both rooms where the doors were vandalized," Burwell wrote. "When we are so deeply focused on our community of care – supporting each and every member of our community who is in pain and feeling scared and vulnerable –it is unacceptable that our Jewish community was targeted and harmed through this act. Hate speech will not be tolerated.”"

"I ask that as a community we recognize that our Jewish and Israeli community members and families are frightened. Our Muslim and Palestinian community members and families are frightened,”"

"“I was fortunate that we had an economic crisis right when I was taking over,” she says. “I’m serious. Without that, it would be significantly more touchy.” All the leadership advice she’s received through the years is now being put to the test. Some of it she has decided to ignore."

"The federal government says to states, “You have to do certain things before we actually give you aid for roads and for different kinds of services. You know, you can’t discriminate. You can’t violate someone’s right.” We do it to states all the time. We need to do the same thing to foreign countries. We can’t sit back and just give it out freely without using it as leverage to promote peace and to promote true, real justice for all."

"I was at the airport on my way to D.C., and I said, “I don’t know what to do. I don’t want to, you know, not be there, kind of in his face, like I’m not going anywhere, you’re going somewhere.” And for me, at that moment, I said to her, “But also, I don’t know about wearing white, because, I mean, the suffrage movement didn’t always — it didn’t include the brown, black women.” And so, it was hard for me. So, I remember, Ilhan is like, “Well, wear something else.” I was like, “Ooh, I’m going to wear a Palestinian thobe”...I couldn’t sit through some of it, and we ended up leaving, especially when they just went just full-out applause when they put that medal around Rush. And then — I know. I know. Do you know there was a 97-year-old man who was a guest of another colleague, who has been working really hard to try to get the Medal of Freedom for this man, who survived Nazi Germany? And he invented something to do with solar, profound accomplishments, profound strength, things that we need to be celebrating in our country. And he watched in the gallery to see somebody like that get the Medal of Freedom, when he’s sitting there, asking — you know, when he’s sitting there, just like, “I’ve done all these things in my life. I’ve survived all this.” And he did it from — you know, in this beautiful, gracious way, even after all that he’s been through."

"There’s this new era of social justice movement about, “Yeah, we’re going to organize in the streets.” And let me tell you, I mean, I grew up hearing people like Grace Lee Boggs and all, everybody, that said, “Don’t wait for somebody to introduce things in the halls of Congress or wait ’til the White House wakes up. We transform our country by movement work outside of the halls of Congress and in the White House.” And so, believe in that, because that’s exactly what we’ve done."

"("What should be done about Yemen?")...I’m going to come from a place of humanity. And that means not allowing children to starve, not allowing to support any military action by any government that targets innocent people. You know, it doesn’t work, and it will never work, for us to approach this from a military stance. We are really losing just the humanity of what it really means. The generation of children there, we can never get the years back. We can never help ease or heal the pain that comes with war and with bombings and killings. All I can tell you is that I will try my best to make sure people understand what the human cost and the human impact is of that kind of support."

"Lifting that ban on accepting donations from fossil fuel companies, to me, that action spoke more than any press release or statement that’s coming out of DNC. I mean, that, to me, says that those issues are not priority."

"I don’t want to see my families scared of its own government. I don’t want my families worried about what’s going to happen after they drop their child off at school...I can’t wait to be able to vote to abolish ICE."

"I’m bringing my bullhorn to the floor of Congress"

"Over half of our colleagues in Congress right now are millionaires...They’re not struggling watching, you know, so many of our parents having two or three jobs to make ends meet. We hear all of these stories, and we have so much faith in our public servants in Congress to fight for us, but I think we have to be one of us to be there, you know, for us to really truly be genuine about it, grounded and rooted into why we’re there and why we need to be able to push against this kind of corporate greed that continues to fester in all parts of our government."

"The government needs to take the lead on writing something that gets us closer to universal healthcare. And Medicare for all gets us closer to a blanket true access to quality healthcare that doesn’t allow the insurance industry to abuse us, to—insurance industry to still continue to manipulate this whole process around drug—the drug industry, the prescription drug industry."

"Is this money that is really helping the American people, or is it helping companies? Because when we become a, you know, kind of company- and corporation-driven government, from having our military and having our education system—even now our healthcare system is so much towards leaning towards very corporate-like and very for-profit—I think that’s when the danger comes in. That’s when we know those people are not for us, they’re for the greed that comes with trying to privatize our whole military industry."

"Let me be clear: My criticism has always been of the Israeli government and Netanyahu’s actions. It is important to separate people and governments, Mr. Chair. No government is beyond criticism. The idea that criticizing the government of Israel is antisemitic sets a very dangerous precedent, and it’s being used to silence diverse voices speaking up for human rights across our nation."

"Speaking up to save lives, Mr. Chair, no matter faith, no matter ethnicity, should not be controversial in this chamber. The cries of the Palestinian and Israeli children sound no different to me. Why — what I don’t understand is why the cries of Palestinians sound different to you all. We cannot lose our shared humanity, Mr. Chair. I hear the voices of advocates in Israel, in Palestine, across America and around the world for peace. I am inspired by the courageous, the courageous survivors in Israel, who have lost loved ones, yet are calling for a ceasefire and the end to violence. I am grateful to the people in the streets for the peace movement, with countless Jewish Americans across the country standing up and lovingly saying, “Not in our name.” We will continue to call for a ceasefire, Mr. Chair, for the immediate delivery of critical humanitarian aid to Gaza, for the release of all hostages and those arbitrarily detained, and for every American to come home. We will continue to work for a real lasting peace that upholds human rights and dignity of all people and centers a peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians, and censures no one — no one — and ensures that no person, no child has to suffer or live in fear of violence."

"I think American Muslims and Muslims around the world needed a sense of, you know, some light, some feeling that, yes, this is exactly why people need to run and speak up and fight back, because of this possibility, the fact that now two Muslim American women are going to be able to walk onto the House floor of Congress. What an incredible moment in our country. Celebrate it. It is something that speaks volumes, because we can do press conferences, we can do marches, we can do protests—and those are so important—but running for office, getting elected in a predominantly non-Muslim community—my sister Ilhan Omar is going to represent a 70 percent white community. And people believed in us. They have faith in us. That is the America I know and love. And I just can’t wait to see the faces of so many people saying this actually really did happen."

"I’m going to humanize this issue...I am for everyone, every single person, Israeli, Palestinian, to have equal access to opportunities, to feel safe where they live, and to really be a genuine partner and a visionary around reaching peace in that region. And so, I come with those stories of my grandfather and my uncle and my grandmother, who still lives in the West Bank...I can tell you, the majority, do not speak about this issue like the leadership there. They all really do want to live side by side."

"Mr. President, the American people are not with you on this one."

"I truly believe this in my heart. Americans want a cease fire. They want it to stop. President Biden, not all America's with you on this one. And you need to understand that"

"@POTUS the majority of the American people are not with you on this one. #CeasefireNow"

"We don’t want a country that supports war and bombs and destruction. We want to support life. We want to stand up for every single life killed in Gaza ... This is the way you can raise our voices. Don’t make us even more invisible. Right now, we feel completely neglected and just unseen by our government. If you want us to be louder, then come here and vote uncommitted [rather than in support of Biden]."

"I can’t believe I have to say this, but Palestinian people are not disposable. We are human beings, just like anyone else."

"Yes, Allah is a she."

"is an aspirational call for freedom, human rights, and peaceful coexistence, not death, destruction, or hate. My work and advocacy is always centered in justice and dignity for all people no matter faith or ethnicity."

"All I can hear is children screaming & crying. Their fear. If this isn't terror, I don't know what is. It's Eid ul Fitr, the end of the holy month of Ramadan. Kids should be celebrating, wearing new clothes, and receiving candy & gifts, not hiding from bombs, homeless."

"Freedom of speech doesn't exist for Muslim women in Congress. The benefit of the doubt doesn't exist for Muslim women in Congress. House Democratic leadership should be ashamed of its relentless, exclusive tone policing of Congresswomen of color."

"I want you to know my mom, who’s from a small village in the West Bank. They’re literally glued. It’s like 5:00 or 6:00 in the morning. And now it’s more than that. They’re glued to the TV. My grandmother, my aunts, my uncles in Palestine are sitting by and watching their granddaughter [inaudible]. I want to tell them—I want to tell them—I want them to know, you know, as I uplift the families of the 13th Congressional District, I’ll uplift them, every single day, being who I am as a proud Palestinian American and woman and Muslim. I [inaudible] so much, because for so many years they’ve felt dehumanized. And I tell you, as a Palestinian, it means—you know, a lot of my strength comes from being Palestinian. But I can tell you, my mother’s—like the compassion this woman his, that is in me. She smiles every single time that she—this woman doesn’t even understand when people are being racist to her, because she believes that people can be better. And she is an inspiration to me in so many ways."

"You're not a "moderate" Democrat if you vote against jobs with a livable wage, paid leave, child care, health care and a livable planet for American families."

"Magically found $768,000,000,000 for a defense budget, but the same folks can't fully fund the $45- $60 billion needed to remove lead service lines in our country."

"I grieve the Palestinian and Israeli lives lost yesterday, today, and every day. As long as our country provides billions in unconditional funding to support the apartheid government, this heartbreaking cycle of violence will continue.”"

"Unlike approaches that pass on the costs of transition to working people, the Green New Deal is squarely focused on marrying pollution reduction to the top priorities of the most vulnerable workers and the most excluded communities. This is the game changer of having representatives in Congress rooted in working-class struggles for living wage jobs and for nontoxic air and water-women like Rashida Tlaib, who helped fight a successful battle against Koch Industries' noxious petroleum coke mountain in Detroit."

"Four of the most dynamic women of color in Congress – representatives Pramila Jayapal, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib"

"There has to be consequence for saying things that will lead to destruction, antisemitism, and terror"

"Yeah, I’m going to push back against you spending money on a hockey stadium downtown Detroit, while a mile away, not even, a few blocks away, there’s a school with no drinking water, literally shutting down the drinking fountains. So, it’s also the fact that even on the grassroots level, that transformative change that was happening, organizing in the streets of Detroit, all of a sudden just reached the halls of Congress, right?"

"Please, God, because I don’t want to spend a long time there, run. It’s true. Run for office. Run for Congress. Run."

"In our movement work and in our — in everything, in how we see our lens, like sometimes you almost want to clear the glass so that people understand it’s the same people trying to oppress me as trying to oppress you."

"I mean, what’s incredible about my sisters up here and all of us is, I mean, we ran not one dime of corporate dollars. Like, we ran with no corporate PAC money. We ran talking about our immigrant stories, our backgrounds, our parents. I mean, every time Ayanna talks about her mother, I tear up. We talk about these forms of oppression that we’ve all gone through in our lives, in our workplaces and everything. But we ran just as we are, with nobody coming and trying to — like, “Mmm.” You know, they tried. And I’m like, “No, I don’t want your money. No, I’m going to be just like this.”"

"[AIPAC's] going after Rashida Tlaib for one reason only: because she’s a Palestinian member of Congress who is a passionate and eloquent defender of the humanity of Palestinians, and she brings that issue to the fore in Congress like no one else does."

"Israel just bombed the Baptist Hospital killing 500 Palestinians (doctors, children, patients) just like that. @POTUS this is what happens when you refuse to facilitate a ceasefire & help de-escalate."

"Public service is not just reserved for a few. Just because I’m not an elected official that doesn’t mean I’ll give up. We all need to be engaged, it takes all of us to solve problems"

"She’s recognized the generic Democrat has trailed the generic Republican since January in Arkansas, and that’s what she has battled to overcome all year. She did not deny that a primary election challenge made that overall objective more difficult"

"Lincoln has her own record of deregulating Wall Street and opposing the public option to thank for her political demise"