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The 116th Congress and the week of the woman

Elizabeth Warren on Monday, Nancy Pelosi on Thursday, and record number of women sworn in

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is congratulated in the Capitol’s House chamber Thursday after winning the speakership on the first day of the 116th Congress. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is congratulated in the Capitol’s House chamber Thursday after winning the speakership on the first day of the 116th Congress. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

Week of the woman

We’ve had a couple of Years of the Woman — 1992 and certainly 2018 could be classified that way. But this week has been a week defined by women. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren kicked it off on Monday when she announced she was running for president, and Nancy Pelosi on Thursday made history again, reclaiming the speaker’s gavel after eight years in the minority, becoming both the first and second woman to lead the House. Oh, and a record number of women will serve in the 116th Congress, 24 percent of the House, 25 percent of the Senate.

Meet the new Congress, [not] the same …

In this week’s Political Theater podcast, we discuss the new Congress and what to expect from it: A record number of women in the House and Senate, new ethics rules, divided government, maybe even hats on the House floor! And amid it all, the 2020 presidential race is already well underway. 

Speaker redux

“House Democrats, in their first act of the 116th Congress on Thursday, officially elected Nancy Pelosi to serve as speaker, returning the gavel to the longtime Democratic leader eight years after she last held it.”

I, state your name

“The Senate opened a new Congress on Thursday with a partial government shutdown still underway. But the day was still reserved for more ceremony than substance.”

Warren Commission

“Sen. Elizabeth Warren took the first official step toward running for president in 2020, launching an exploratory committee on Monday to test out her chances of securing the Democratic nomination.”

AoC vs. AOC

“Is there room in Washington for two AOCs? A couple of very different entities are using the moniker these days, and it’s stirred up some feelings among Hill workers and watchers.”

I’m shocked, shocked to find that politics is going on here

“Sometimes, when the president calls you down to the White House, it becomes a TV show. I don’t think that’s very productive. It may be interesting, certainly great for you guys because it’s great theater. But it is theater.”

— Rep. Steny H. Hoyer, D-Md., then House minority leader, now majority leader, on Wednesday.

“So I would call it political theater, not productive lawmaking.” 

— Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., on Thursday.

Walled off

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