Press Releases

Until February 2018, Letter served as the Director of the Civil Division Appellate Staff at the U.S. Department of Justice, retiring this year after 40 years of distinguished service at the agency.  He is now a Senior Litigator at the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at the Georgetown University Law Center, where he is also a Visiting Professor of Law.  He is a recipient of many prestigious honors, including the Presidential Meritorious Rank Award.

San Francisco – Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi today announced that she will appoint Cheryl Johnson as the new Clerk of the House of Representatives. Johnson, who currently serves as Director of Government Relations for the Smithsonian Institution, worked for nearly two decades in the House of Representatives.

“It is with great enthusiasm that I appoint Congresswoman Kathy Castor as the Chair of our new Select Committee on the Climate Crisis.  She will bring great experience, energy and urgency to the existential threat of the climate crisis.  This committee will be critical to the entire Congress’s mission to respond to the urgency of this threat, while creating the good-paying, green jobs of the future.  

San Francisco – Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi issued the following statement after reports that an eight-year-old boy died on Christmas in the custody of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, following the death of seven-year-old Jakelin Amei Rosmery Caal Maquin earlier this month:

Washington, DC – Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) released the following statement:

Dear Democratic Colleague and Members-elect,

Last night, Republicans shut down the government.  While Republican Leaders have informed us that they will provide 24 hours notice before any floor action, if nothing happens today, it is unlikely that there will be any progress to end the Trump Shutdown in the next several days.

As the President insists on a Wall, he has put forth many falsehoods. Yesterday, he put forth another one in his tweet about President Reagan:

"Even President Ronald Reagan tried for 8 years to build a Border Wall, or Fence, and was unable to do so.  Others also have tried.  We will get it done, one way or the other!"

The President's tweet is simply not true.

"Regrettably, America has now entered a Trump Shutdown.  Republicans control the House, the Senate, and the White House.  But instead of honoring his responsibility to the American people, President Trump threw a temper tantrum and convinced House Republicans to push our nation into a destructive Trump Shutdown in the middle of the holiday season.  President Trump has said more than 25 times that he wanted a shutdown and now he has gotten what he wanted. 

Washington, D.C – Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi joined Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer ahead of House Republicans’ planned vote to have a Trump Shutdown of the federal government.  Below are the Speaker-designate’s remarks: