Congress

‘I’m proud of you’: Some freshman Democrats geek out over meeting Obama

The former party leader described new class as ‘stocked with a bunch of my campaign and administration alums’

Rep. Deb Haaland, D-New Mexico, takes a selfie with President Barack Obama on Monday, March 29, 2019. (Courtesy Twitter)
Rep. Deb Haaland, D-New Mexico, takes a selfie with President Barack Obama on Monday, March 29, 2019. (Courtesy Twitter)
By Emily Kopp
Posted March 29, 2019 at 12:03pm

Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib said in a tweet Thursday that President Barack Obama told the freshman Democrat he was proud of her.

“[W]e had a thoughtful discussion about serving our country,” she tweeted. “The best part was when he looked straight at me and said, ‘I’m proud of you.’”

Obama met with first-term members of Congress on Monday night, and praised the new crop of lawmakers in a subsequent tweet as “a young, diverse class.”

Obama reportedly cautioned the new lawmakers to consider how to finance ambitious legislation in the form of tax increases, and encouraged them to find policies they are willing to stand on — even when they are politically costly.

The former leader of the party thus straddled two camps of the Democratic caucus, which is divided between progressives that have endorsed “Medicare for All” and centrist lawmakers who have instead prioritized shoring up his landmark Affordable Care Act.

“He told stories about passing the ACA, and how that took a lot of conviction and, ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell,’ and how that took a lot of time,” Democratic Michigan Rep. Haley Stevens told the Washington Post.

Obama also pointed out the group is “stocked with a bunch of my campaign and administration alums who’ve taken the torch.”

Former Obama administration officials turned members of Congress include Stevens, who once served as an aide to the president’s bailout of the auto industry, then worked in the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Rep. Tom Malinowski of New Jersey worked in the U.S. State Department under Obama, and Rep. Lauren Underwood of Illinois worked in the administration’s Department of Health and Human Services.

Some new members have not shied away from criticizing the legacy of the Obama White House. Democratic Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar criticized the former president for his use of drone strikes in an interview this month.

Rep. Deb Haaland

Rep. Joe Neguse

Rep. Joe Morelle