‘We Call Ourselves the Badasses’: Meet the New Women of Congress
The history-making class of new women on Capitol Hill is here, and its members have a lot to say.
By RUAIRÍ ARRIETA-KENNA | Photographs By JASON GROW | Jan. 18, 2019
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When millions of women took to the streets the day after President Donald Trump’s inauguration for the largest single-day protest in American history, they were galvanized by a frustration with our nation’s politics and culture. Two years later, that energy and anger have been translated into an unprecedented number of electoral victories for women—mostly Democratic—in the recent midterm elections.
When 27 new women were ushered into the House and Senate in 1992, pundits deemed it the “Year of the Woman.” In 2018, that record was shattered, and now, for the first time ever, more than 100 women have been sworn in to the House of Representatives, just over a century after the first woman was sworn in to Congress in 1917.
POLITICO Magazine recently photographed and interviewed all 36 freshman women in the 116th Congress. In addition to being the youngest and most diverse freshman class Capitol Hill has ever seen, the group includes a number of state and national firsts—from the first Muslim women to the first Native American women. Not that they’re bragging about it. “None of us ran to be the first anything,” Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) told POLITICO. “We ran to make a difference. We ran to make change. It’s nice to make history, too, but that’s not why we ran.”
The new members range from the youngest-ever women in Congress—Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Abby Finkenauer (D-Iowa) were both 29 when elected—to experienced pols such as Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick (D-Ariz.), who previously served in the 111th, 113th and 114th sessions, and former Clinton Cabinet secretary Donna Shalala (D-Fla.), who at 77 is the oldest female freshman representative in history.
Some of these women—like Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), who recently told supporters, “We’re gonna impeach the motherfucker”—have already come out swinging against the president. Others told POLITICO that they’re hopeful the influx of women will lead to a more cooperative and bipartisan legislature. They all, however, seem to hope and believe that their presence will fundamentally change how Washington works. And they’ve already begun.
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Ann Kirkpatrick
Democrat, Arizona 02
Rep. Katie Hill, with Rep. Joe Neguse, was elected to the junior leadership position of representative of the freshman class.
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Jahana Hayes
Democrat, Connecticut 05
Rep. Jahana Hayes is the first African-American woman elected to Congress from Connecticut.
Debbie Mucarsel-Powell
Democrat, Florida 26
Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, who was born in Ecuador, is the first Hispanic member of Congress from South America.
Donna Shalala
Democrat, Florida 27
Rep. Donna Shalala, 77, a former secretary of Health and Human Services in the Clinton administration, is the second-oldest House freshman ever and the oldest female freshman representative.
Lucy McBath
Democrat, Georgia 06
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Lauren Underwood
Democrat, Illinois 14
Rep. Lauren Underwood, 32, is the youngest African-American woman elected to Congress.
Rep. Abby Finkenauer, the second-youngest woman ever elected to Congress, and Rep. Cindy Axne are the first women elected to the House of Representatives from Iowa.
Sharice Davids & Debra Haaland
Democrat, Kansas 03 | Democrat, New Mexico 01
Reps. Sharice Davids (left) and Debra Haaland are the first two Native American women elected to Congress. Davids is also the first LGBTQ person elected to Congress from Kansas.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley is the first African-American woman elected to Congress from Massachusetts.
Rep. Elissa Slotkin is a former CIA analyst. Rep. Haley Stevens was elected co-president, with Rep. Colin Allred, of the freshman class of House Democrats.
Rashida Tlaib
Democrat, Michigan 13
Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar are the first Muslim women elected to Congress. Tlaib is also the first Palestinian-American woman elected to Congress.
Angie Craig
Democrat, Minnesota 02
Rep. Angie Craig is the first lesbian mother elected to Congress and the first openly LGBTQ person elected to Congress from Minnesota.
Ilhan Omar
Democrat, Minnesota 05
“Most of us ran really strong grassroots campaigns, and for the first time, Congress will have people who have true fluency in the day-to-day struggles of the people it seeks to represent. I know that will lead to transformative change.”
Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib are the first Muslim women elected to Congress. Omar, a refugee, is also the first Somali-American elected to Congress.
Susie Lee
Democrat, Nevada 03
Rep. Mikie Sherrill is a former Navy helicopter pilot.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Democrat, New York 14
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 29, is the youngest woman ever elected to Congress.
Chrissy Houlahan
Democrat, Pennsylvania 06
Rep. Chrissy Houlahan is a former Air Force officer. “We call ourselves the badasses,” she said to POLITICO Magazine of the five former servicewomen in this freshman class.
Lizzie Pannill Fletcher
Democrat, Texas 07
Reps. Veronica Escobar and Sylvia Garcia are the first Latinas elected to Congress from Texas.
Rep. Elaine Luria is a former Navy officer and commander. Rep. Abigail Spanberger is a former CIA operations officer.
Carol Miller
Republican, West Virginia 03
Rep. Carol Miller is the only new Republican woman elected to Congress in the midterms. Though multiple Republican women were recently elected or appointed to the Senate, they had all served in the previous session.
Shot at the Harvard Kennedy School in December and the U.S. Capitol in January. Produced by Katie Ellsworth, Megan McCrink, Janet Michaud and Lily Mihalik. Hair and makeup by Maryelle O’Rourke and Kim Reyes. Video by Brooke Minters, Mary Newman, Ali Rizvi and Martin Del Vecchio. Special thanks to Matt DeBruycker, Jemima Grow, Jeff Kent, Asia Kepka, Jonathan Kozowyk and Audrey Lew.