Justice Democrats: Rep Ayanna Soyini Pressley

Ayanna Soyini Pressley (born February 3, 1974) is an American politician who is the member of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts's 7th congressional district. The district, which was once represented by John F. Kennedy and Tip O'Neill, includes the northern three-fourths of Boston, most of Cambridge, and all of Chelsea and Somerville. She is a Democrat.


She defeated ten-term incumbent Mike Capuano in the primary election and ran unopposed in the November 2018 general election. Pressley served as an at-large member of the Boston City Council. Pressley was the first black woman elected to the Boston City Council, and the first black woman elected to Congress from Massachusetts.

• President Trump: During her victory speech following the September primary election, Pressley called out President Donald Trump, claiming he is "a racist, misogynistic, truly empathy-bankrupt man." She aspires to impeach the President. Pressley supports the "take a knee"practice, frequently condemned by Trump, that has been used to bring attention to police brutality toward black men.
  
• Health care: Pressley supports Medicare-for-All.
  
• Immigration: In June 2018, Pressley called for the defunding of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), saying the law enforcement agency poses an "existential threat" to immigrant communities.
  
• Sexual violence: As a survivor of sexual violence herself, Pressley states that she would make ending sexual violence a major priority of her work in Congress. Speaking in an article that appeared in The Nation she said, "I have dedicated my life to combating trauma in all forms—domestic, sexual, gun violence—and so the opportunity to potentially be in Congress at a moment of elevated consciousness to codify activism in policy change is certainly an exciting prospect."
  
• On March 5, 2019, Pressley proposed to lower the voting age from 18 years old to 16 in an amendment she introduced in Congress. This was her first amendment on the House floor, and was intended to amend the For the People Act of 2019. She said during her speech, "Young people are the forefront at some of our most existential crises. The time has come. Our young people deserve to have the opportunity to exercise their right to vote." Her amendment was defeated 305-126-2, with a slight majority of the Democrats and 1 Republican voting in favor.