Pramila Jayapal, the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, took herself out of the running Friday for Democratic leadership in the next Congress by announcing a bid for a second term to lead one of the largest groups of lawmakers in the party.
In a letter to her progressive colleagues, Jayapal, of Washington, noted the series of achievements the caucus had during her tenure as chair. She also acknowledged the challenges House Democrats face as they become the minority party in January.
Jayapal’s tenure began when President Joe Biden — whom she has dubbed the most progressive president in history — came to office.
“The next two years are going to be important in a very different way than the last two years were,” Jayapal said in an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday. “The last two years were about governing, about pushing, about getting the most that we could get.”
“The next two years are going to be about being an opposition party, which I am extremely good at because I fought on immigrant rights and I came in 2016 when (Donald) Trump was elected,” she added.
Jayapal, who became the first Indian American woman elected to the House, spent the last few months exploring a run for a senior leadership post after the midterm elections, as Speaker Nancy Pelosi and much of her team were expected to step down and make way for new leaders.
Jayapal said that it was only in the last few weeks that she made her own decision not to pursue a leadership post. (source: wfmj.com)
