Meet the New Feminists in Congress Who Are Fighting Back [View all]

Meet the New Feminists in Congress Who Are Fighting Back
PUBLISHED 1/28/2025 by Aviva Dove-Viebahn

The progressive women just sworn into office offer a glimmer of “bright hope” as the country enters a second Trump administration.



The first Latina to represent New Jersey in Congress, Rep. Nellie Pou (D-N.J.) arrives for a group photograph on Nov. 15, 2024. (Andrew Harnik / Getty Images)


In a brief, inspirational speech at the August 2024 Democratic National Convention, then-Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester—now newly sworn in as the first Black woman senator from Delaware—campaigned on a message of “bright hope,” a phrase inspired by the name of the church her grandmother attended for 70 years in Philadelphia. Blunt Rochester urged her fellow Democrats, “If you want to see hope, just look,” gesturing in part toward what she imagined would be former Vice President Kamala Harris’ successful campaign for president. While this didn’t materialize, we can still try to embrace Blunt Rochester’s message as we look toward the next four years. We’ll need as much inspiration, collective power and resilience as we can get.


Then-Vice President Kamala Harris participates in a ceremonial swearing-in with Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) as her mother Alice Blunt looks on at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 3, 2025. (Alex Wong / Getty Images)

On the front lines of this burgeoning hope are the new progressive women in the U.S. Capitol, including three non-incumbent senators and 16 representatives. All of them know that they’re entering a complicated political landscape, one that’s heavily partisan and disheartening to many of their constituents. They’re also experienced and driven, ready to work across the aisle as necessary while remaining dedicated to important causes, from protecting abortion rights and supporting the LGBTQ+ community to advocating for gun control, judicial reform, affordable healthcare and public education. These women come from all walks of life, sectors of the workforce and backgrounds. Some worked retail or food service jobs to pay their way through school. Others have been lifelong public servants or dedicated themselves to volunteering. They’ve been working physicians, engineers, attorneys, climate change activists, CIA analysts, mayors, state representatives and senators, education advocates, executive directors of nonprofits and small-business owners. One, Lateefah Simon of California, was the youngest woman to receive a MacArthur Fellowship. Another, Laura Gillen of New York, volunteered as a hospice worker in Kolkata, India, in her 20s under the supervision of Mother Teresa.

They are Black, white, Latina and Middle Eastern. Some are proud members of the LGBTQ+ community. Many are from working-class backgrounds. Some are mothers and even grandmothers. Several are first-generation college graduates or the children of immigrants. For the first time, there is an openly transgender member of the House of Representatives, Sarah McBride, who won Delaware’s only at-large seat. Also for the very first time, there are two Black women serving in the Senate simultaneously: Blunt Rochester from Delaware and Angela Alsobrooks from Maryland.

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Rep. Luz Rivas (D-Calif.) on the steps of the House of Representatives at the U.S. Capitol on Nov 15, 2024, during orientation for new members. (Andrew Harnik / Getty Images)
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Reps. Sarah Elfreth (D-Md.), Sarah McBride (D-Del.), Emily Randall (D-Wash.) and other congressional freshmen of the 119th Congress gather for a group photo on the steps of the House of Representatives on Nov. 15, 2024. (Andrew Harnik / Getty Images)
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While we can be glad for this new crop of progressive women in Congress who are remaining steadfast in their convictions, women still have a long way to go. Only slightly more than a quarter of the seats in the U.S. House are held by women, and women make up just 25 percent of the Senate. The landmark 2018 U.S. midterms brought with them a blue wave, setting the record for the highest number of non-incumbent Democratic women voted into the House of Representatives in a single election. In that fateful season, 35 new Democratic women representatives were elected alongside three new Democratic women senators. Certainly, we should be strategizing and working to elect another wave of progressive women in 2028. Hopefully these women will set a few new records and turn the balance of power in the process. But we shouldn’t wait two years to celebrate the new feminist women voted into office this past November—women who will champion a host of crucial causes for their states and for us all.


https://msmagazine.com/2025/01/28/progressive-democrat-feminist-women-new-freshman-congress-house-senate/