Dear Friends,

Every day, I am proud to represent San Francisco in the House. But it is a special privilege to do so during Pride Month — as I bring our San Francisco values of love, respect, unity and community wherever I go.

Dear Friends,

Tuesday, June 2nd, marked the anniversary of my swearing-in as a Member of Congress in 1987. At that time there were only 23 women Members of the House, 12 Democrats and 11 Republicans — among the 435 Representatives of the House. Shocking! As a former Chair of the California Democratic Party, I made it a mission to elect more women. Today, I am happy to say there are 96 Democratic women House members — and we want more!

Dear Friends,

Today, I proudly voted for Connie Chan for Congress, with my colleague and friend, Senator Adam Schiff, and joined by John Doherty of the IBEW.  It is personally meaningful to me that we gathered at North Beach Library because my very first role in public service was on the San Francisco Library Commission. Connie’s story is the American dream: coming to this country as a young girl, learning English in public schools and watching her mother build a better life through education and hard work.

Dear Friends,

Donald Trump is slashing food assistance for working families while steering $1.8 billion toward pardoned January 6th rioters who violently assaulted police officers. Once again, he is putting himself, his loyalists and his wealthy donors ahead of America’s families and our Democracy — and the American people are paying the price.

Dear Friends,

Has it ever been clearer that Donald Trump doesn’t care for working families or the American people?   As he said in his own words: “Not even a little bit … I don’t think about Americans’ financial situation.” Instead — as usual — he is only thinking of himself. He is urging Republican legislatures across the South to roll back voting rights protections for Black voters and targeting Congressional Black Caucus members to rig the midterms, aided by a complicit Supreme Court.

Dear Friends,

When my children would ask me what I wanted for Mother’s Day, I would say, “Good Behavior.”  And on the eve of Mother’s Day weekend, MAGA Republicans are CLEARLY NOT on good behavior.  

Friends,

The right to vote is the most sacred right we have in our Democracy — one that countless individuals from all corners of life have marched, fought, bled, and died for.

Dear Friends,

When the “President” reached out to Texas Republicans, telling them he was “entitled” to 5 more House seats, he thought they would get away with it.  

But then California voters responded by overwhelmingly passing Prop 50.  The victorious YES campaign in Virginia is the latest example of voters reminding politicians that true power belongs to the people.

While our friends in Virginia were knocking on doors, our volunteers in California were on the phones. We made 451,824 calls to Virginia voters and with a margin of victory of 98,092 votes — we can see and feel the power of grassroots mobilization. 

Dear Friends,

We are at this moment of truth. The road to taking back the House goes through Virginia — the place where the American experiment all started with the first House of Burgesses passing the first bill for independence from England. And Virginia is where America will be strengthened when Virginians vote YES by April 21^st —  just like we did in California for Proposition 50. 

Dear Friends

My beloved friend and colleague of over 30 years in the Congress, our American hero John Lewis, wrote in his final letter to us that, “Democracy is not a state. It is an act, and each generation must do its part.” We must all accept his challenge and do our part — as we insist on the truth.

The truth is that Donald Trump's instability is clearer and more dangerous than ever.  He impulsively began a war with no plan and no authority — even threatening to eliminate a whole civilization, “never to be brought back again.”  If the Cabinet is not willing to invoke the 25th Amendment and restore sanity, Republicans must reconvene Congress to end this war.

Dear Friends,

Nearing America’s 250^th birthday, it is not a matter for debate that our Founders did not want a king; that was the whole point of the American Revolution and the guiding principle of our Constitution. The separation of powers, including the power of the purse residing in the Congress, was essential to their vision. Sadly, the Republicans in Congress have essentially abolished the institution this term and have folded to the will of the Executive Branch – a betrayal of Article I and an insult to that vision from our Founders and the intelligence of the American people.

Dear Friends,

As we observe No Kings Day, it is increasingly obvious that we are in a fight about whether we will be governed by the whims of a cruel autocrat who wants to control our bodies, our life choices, our voting data and our ability to vote – or if We The People will maintain our ability to live freely in beloved community.

Dear Friends,

Rather than honoring his campaign vow to bring costs down and work on fixing problems here at home, the President began a war of choice with Iran instead that is showing no signs of ending any time soon – and he did this without Congressional approval. After working to abolish the constitutional role of the Congress this past year, Trump’s latest offense is an extreme abuse of power, an act of disrespect and disregard for our military and an egregious waste of taxpayer dollars that should be going toward restoring vital health care for millions of Americans.

Dear Friends,

With Republicans in charge, it’s no wonder we’re facing a crisis at the kitchen table! Gas prices, food prices and health care costs are out of control – and they have done nothing to help and everything to make it worse. At best, the current occupant of the White House and his Republican enablers are simply out of touch with the needs of Americas working families. At worst, they just don’t care about anything but fulfilling their donors’ wish lists which are rooted in cruelty, chaos and corruption. Either way, working families are paying a huge price for the Republicans’ willful ignorance and neglect of the needs and concerns of the American people.

Dear Friends,

This Women’s History Month, we salute women of courage fighting for liberty, justice and equality for all. We know that when women succeed, America succeeds — and we all do better!

Nothing is more wholesome for the political and governmental process than the increased participation and leadership of women. When I came to Congress, there were 23 women out of 435 people in Congress: 11 Republicans and 12 Democrats. We made a decision on the Democratic side that we were going to change that — and we did. Now we have over 95 Democratic women and, of course, we want more.

As we prepare for and work toward winning in November, we must remember the very real threats posed to women by this Administration. The Republicans’ so-called SAVE Act is still being discussed despite being wildly unpopular. It is a poll tax on military families and married women, creating massive roadblocks for U.S. citizens, with documentation requirements designed to make it harder to vote. Donald Trump is trying to "SAVE" his own monstrous self and his Republican House enablers who ripped health care and food from millions to give billionaires massive tax breaks. This Administration and Congressional Republicans are FAILING American families — and they must be stopped!

Dear Friends,

This week, we saw a stark contrast between the real state of the union versus Trump’s State of Delusion — his state of delusion about the economy, health care and everything else, where he repeatedly lied about what we know to be true at America’s kitchen tables. The American people know that we are less safe, everything is more expensive and the policies of this Administration are more focused on dividing us than bringing us together. But we heard a lazy speech full of lies and theatrics, celebrating a government rooted in cruelty and corruption working on behalf of the President’s greed and his billionaire friends. We knew the speech would be full of illusion and delusion; that’s why I ripped up the speech in advance.

Dear Friends in California and Across America,

We know that America’s working families are being harmed by Trump’s unconstitutional tariffs and Stinking, Ugly, Rotten, Lousy Bill that takes away food, jobs and health care to fund bigger tax breaks for billionaires.

Dear Friends, 

We know that when we know our power, focus on what we can control, and keep building toward meaningful change in our society rooted in love, peace, mutual respect, shared prosperity and beloved community — there is nothing we cannot do. 

We saw this on full display during the Super Bowl halftime show — America’s diversity is our strength and as Bad Bunny said, “the only thing more powerful than hate is love.” It is the power of our love for justice and one another that will help us overcome Trump’s intentional stoking of fear and division. We welcome one another as friends rather than see our neighbors as threats and enemies. 

Dear Friends, 

Happy Black History Month!  

During this month of celebration, we honor the rich history, culture and leadership of Black Americans who shape America — insisting on the truth, on joyful resistance and on our nation’s yet-realized promise of liberty and justice for all.  We celebrate with the Congressional Black Caucus, the conscience of the Congress, and honor the leadership, contributions and sacrifices of its current and past Members — whom I am proud to serve with now and over the course of my career in elected office.  

Dear Friends,

In San Francisco, Minneapolis and across our country, Americans are rising up to keep our communities safe from the tragic impact of Trump’s cruelty, corruption and attacks on our constitutional rights. Working together with patriotism and purpose, we are keeping faith with the goodness of the American people, including our immigrant friends, family and neighbors and all who choose decency and beloved community over chaos. Joining together across America, we honor the memories of Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good, who were murdered in Minnesota and we rise in solidarity with  the men and women of the Minnesota National Guard, local law enforcement and all who are working to preserve community safety and protect one another from brutality and violence. All people of conscience must speak out about these horrific murders that we saw with our very own eyes and the cruelty that we can be sure is also happening behind the scenes.