Press Releases

Good afternoon, everyone. It is a great honor to welcome to the Capitol the – we consider to be – the President of Venezuela. We were all thrilled that he was at the State of the Union address the other day and received such and overwhelming, bipartisan welcome to the Capitol.

In the Congress of the United States, the House Democratic Caucus is beautifully diverse. Sixty percent of our Caucus are people of color, women, LGBTQ, but we have diversity geographically, generationally, across the country, in every possible way, we have diversity of opinion. People thank me for being a unifier of our Caucus, but that isn’t true. What unifies our Caucus are our values. And the overwhelming value that supersedes any difference we may have is our commitment to America’s working families.

Today, the President and Senate Republicans have normalized lawlessness and rejected the system of checks and balances of our Constitution. Our Founders put safeguards in the Constitution to protect against a rogue president. They never imagined that they would at the same time have a rogue leader in the Senate who would cowardly abandon his duty to uphold the Constitution.

We are always hopeful when a President makes a State of the Union address. We welcome any opportunity to extend the hand of friendship to find common ground on behalf of the American people. The issue of major concern to most Americans is health care.

Thank you very much, Mr. Leader. I associate myself with your remarks about what is at stake and what the realities are about health care in America and the misrepresentations that are being made by the President. Health care, health care, health care: the three most important issues in America’s working families. That’s why tonight we have so many guests who are – who have taught us so much about how important the Affordable Care Act has been to them.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the names of several of her guests for tonight’s State of the Union address who have been impacted by President Trump’s attacks on protections for people with pre-existing conditions, broken promise to negotiate lower prescription drug prices, and broader health care sabotage.

Today, I was greatly saddened to hear of the passing of Sister Margaret Claydon: a beloved pillar of the Trinity community, a revolutionary who transformed women’s education in America and a role model for thousands of young women and me.

Each Black History Month, Americans celebrate our beautiful diversity and the outstanding contributions, achievements and strength of the African American community. In February, we not only honor the powerful impact that they have had on our nation and our democracy, but we also recommit to the continued struggle to achieve equality, justice and opportunity for all.