They're heeeeeere!

....and they're going to be haunting SCROTUS for the next <however long he can hold on to the keys to the Oval Office>.

It's a great day for America.

Checks. And. Balances. Welcome, 116th Congress!

Vanity Fair

Like many Americans, I again got verkelmpt as I watched the peaceful transfer of power yesterday. It was a truly historic moment, as the 116th House of Representatives is the most diverse in history. It's the closest House to be true to its name, and is truly the People's House.

There are a record number of women, with 127 in the 116th Congress --and they are almost all Democratic. The number of Democratic women increased by 25, and the number of Republican woman decreased by 10.

Women will hold almost 25% of the seats in Congress. Six states have women as both senators (AZ, CA, MI, NH, NV, and WA). The House is solidly Democrat, voted in by us, the Resisters.

The diversity goes from there. So exciting! The House has record numbers of Latinx (37 in the Hispanic Caucus) and Black members (55 in the Black Caucus), along with the first two Muslim women and first two Native American women, and a record number of Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders (10 in the Asian Pacific American Caucus). There are more openly LGBTQ members, more veterans, more moms and single moms (they recently opened a new child care for Congress -- check out the play yard), and the youngest woman ever elected to the House, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. There are even a couple of NFL players. The House is also the most diverse in terms of beliefs, from more Jewish members, to Muslims, to atheists. Here is Sen. Kyrstin Sinema (D-AZ) --one of two openly LGBTQ Members and the only one in history with no religious preference -- swearing the oath of office on a copy of the Constitution rather than a religious book.

Every member should be sworn in with the Constitution!

There are so many wonderful stories among this group! One of my favorite stories is Ilhan Omar (D-MN), who came as a refugee from Somali. In 1991, her family fled the civil unrest in Somalia and lived four years in a refugee camp in Kenya. In 1995 they came to the United States as refugees. And today, Ms. Omar represents the citizens of Minnesota's 5th District. Truly an American story.

23 years ago, from a refugee camp in Kenya, my father and I arrived at an airport in Washington DC.

Today, we return to that same airport on the eve of my swearing in as the first Somali-American in Congress. #Hope #Ilhan 🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/jVeP3DOipN

— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) January 2, 2019

And of course, Deb Haaland (D) of my home state of New Mexico, who along with Sharice Davids (D-Kansas), became the first Native American women to be elected to the House. It was touching to see them share an embrace after they were sworn in.




And their leader, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), breaking the marble ceiling, once again holds the gavel, also making herstory. She is first person in more than half a century to regain the office of Speaker of the House, and the only woman Speaker in our nation's history. Amazingly, Pelosi has apparently garnered some respect from Trumpelthinskin. So far she has escaped the bullying that few have been able to avoid. Is it really respect, or just the typical dense ignorance of the real power that this woman -- second in line for President -- holds?

What's next? As George Will notes, the election has thrust us onto a new path. What's in store as we head into a new chapter of our Nation's history? Who will check and balance this joke of a president* hopefully right out of office?

It didn't take long for action to start.

On Day one, Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) re-introduced the articles of impeachment that he had introduced last year. Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D- MI) is on board, proclaiming, "We're going to impeach the motherfucker!" Speaker Pelosi took a more measured approach, preferring to wait for Mueller's report, saying, "We shouldn't be impeaching for a political reason, and we shouldn't avoid impeachment for a political reason. We have to see."

All eyes are on firebrand Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the youngest and arguably most progressive, member of Congress ever to be elected (29 years old). This is where I would normally write, "but even a firebrand freshman is still a freshman, but the real power will be in the hands of the more senior members." But this freshman class is not like any other freshman class. They are asking for -- demanding, really -- seats on some of the powerful committees, seats that traditionally have been hard-fought. Seats will be determined as early as next week.

Democrat leaders are back in charge of those House oversight committees, and they are gearing up to be quite busy lending oversight to the Mango Misogynist. Among others, here are seven who will start pressing thorns real quick. In fact, investigations are already opening, as of this morning.

Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) who has a contentious history with Drumpf dating back to the 80s, will head the Judiciary Committee, who will be in charge of any impeachment proceedings.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) is back at the helm of the House Intelligence Committee, who will re-open their own Russia investigation. I have a ton of respect for Rep. Schiff.

Rep. Richard Neal (D-MA), the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. has the power to request 45's tax records. Oooooh delicious!

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-MD), who chairs the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, will be looking into the wrong-doings of many Administration offices. He's ready to issue subpoenas.

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), a vocal proponent for impeachment, will have the power to delve into the finances of the Cinnamon Hitler and the Trump Organization as Chair of the Financial Services Committee.

Rep. Eliot Engle (D-NY), chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, is poised to look at the Orange Scourge's business dealings abroad.

Rep. Luis Grijalva (D-AZ), will look at environmental policies and  former Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke's wrongdoings as chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources.

Rick McKee

We've entered a new era, folks. Checks and Balances, baby. Checks and balances.

To move on impeachment, Senate Republicans will need to be brought on board. It seems like an uphill battle, But there are signs of that happening. Even Sen. Milquetoast Mitt (R-UT) may be a check or a balance, as evidenced by his op/ed in the Washington Post.

Come on Robert, we want to see what's in your report!!


What do you want from this Congress? Don't keep it to yourself. Discuss with your friends and neighbors. Contact your Members of Congress -- starting today. There are many easy ways. You can find their email and phone contacts here. But I encourage you to use Resistbot. The bot makes it easy to compose a letter and will fax it directly to your representatives directly. They use SMS texts, Twitter, and Messenger. Be part of the process. We are the People. Take the power!

Keep up the Resistance, Sisters and Brothers!