New Faces in Congress is a diary series meant to highlight our new and diverse members of Congress in the Democratic Party. These 36 House freshmen range from political neophytes to seasoned legislative veterans. The series will run every Sunday morning, bright and early.
Last week, the New Faces in Congress series continued with a profile on Rep. Shri Thanedar from Michigan’s 13th district. If you missed it, feel free to click on this link to read all about him!
This member of Congress hails from Pittsburgh, one of the few progressive bastions in the state of Pennsylvania. She has been involved in politics for quite a bit of her life, but she has only sought elected office quite recently. She joined the Squad upon her arrival to Congress, which swelled the membership of that group to nine members.
How did she get to Congress? First, Rep. Mike Doyle had to retire after nearly 30 years of service. This member of Congress had to navigate a head-to-head primary election with a tough opponent. On primary election night, the opponent had a slight lead, but late ballots went overwhelmingly for this new member of Congress. She won by about 700 votes, which was tantamount to election in the district.
Today, the spotlight is on Rep. Summer Lee!
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Rep. Summer Lee (Pennsylvania-12)
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Biography
Since her campaign website isn’t working at the time of writing this, I had to rely on other sources to fill out her biography. Her House website has a perfunctory biography, which is a good place to start.
Born and raised in the Mon Valley, Summer Lee is a dedicated organizer, attorney, and progressive state legislator. A proud alum of Woodland Hills public schools, Summer grew up in North Braddock and Swissvale before graduating from Penn State and Howard University School of Law, where she focused on civil rights and social justice advocacy. She worked as labor organizer, joining the Fight for $15 to increase the minimum wage, and lead voter mobilization efforts for the Pennsylvania Democratic Party. In 2017, after repeated incidents of violence from police and school administrators against local students, Summer spearheaded a successful write-in initiative that transformed the local school board.
In 2018, at the urging of her neighbors, Summer threw her hat in the ring for State House – taking on a 20-year incumbent, doubling voter turnout, and winning with over 67%of the vote. She also made history, becoming the first Black woman from Western Pennsylvania ever elected to the legislature. Throughout her time in office, Summer has been a voice for working families, and a champion for sustainable jobs, environmental justice, police accountability, reproductive rights, immigration rights, and gender and racial equity. She is a tireless advocate for workers’ rights, unions, the right to organize, and the fight for a liveable wage.
Wikipedia also has a bit more information about her, including her election to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, where she had to defeat an incumbent in the primary election.
Of African American heritage, Lee was raised in North Braddock, Pennsylvania, and attended Woodland Hills High School. She graduated from Pennsylvania State University in 2009 and earned a Juris Doctor from the Howard University School of Law in 2015.[1][8][9] She campaigned for Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Democratic primaries after graduating.[10]
Lee challenged incumbent Representative Paul Costa in the Democratic primary for the 34th district in 2018. An organizer from Pittsburgh's DSA chapter approached her about running after she led a successful write-in campaign for a school board candidate.[10] She defeated Costa, 67.8% to 32.2%, attributing her victory to grassroots campaigning.[11] She was unopposed in the general election.
Ballotpedia has a little more information about her, including what she did between graduating from college and running for office.
Summer Lee graduated from Woodland Hills High School in 2005. Lee earned a B.A. in journalism from Pennsylvania State University in 2009 and a J.D. from Howard University in 2015. Her career experience includes working as a summer intern with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., and the Office of the Attorney General of the District of Columbia
There was no CSPAN video or any other available biographical information about her currently. Hopefully, the readers of this series can fill in the gaps if possible!
Notable Media Headlines
Being a member of the Squad means shining a spotlight on your Congressional career. Rep. Summer Lee has made several headlines and has made many media appearances since joining Congress. This includes a profile in ELLE magazine, which was published on the two roommates in the Squad in Ramirez and Rep. Summer Lee (PA-12). It chronicles the struggles in adjusting to DC in the first 100 days of Congress.
It’s an origin story straight from a college brochure: Summer Lee and Delia Ramirez arrive at freshman orientation, excited but nervous about their upcoming term. They meet, realize neither of them has figured out their housing, and eagerly ask each other, “Do you want to be roommates?”
But Lee and Ramirez aren’t in school—they’re freshman members of Congress, helping to expand the U.S. House’s growing progressive “squad.” Lee is representing Pennsylvania’s 12th district, where she overcame millions of dollars spent against her campaign to become the state’s first Black congresswoman, and Ramirez is representing Illinois’ 3rd district as the first Latina congresswoman from the Midwest and the rare member of Congress in a mixed-status marriage. (Her husband is a DACA recipient.) “We’re both working class-background women, and it was very clear rent in D.C. is so, so expensive,” Lee explained. “It was a great choice to share space with another woman from my generation who is taking on this fight.”
During their first 100 days in Congress, the two let ELLE.com into their space (watch them get ready for a day at work, below) and into their lives—checking in each month to give a crash course on what it’s like being young, progressive women of color operating inside one of the nation’s oldest institutions.
In the early days of Congress, Rep. Summer Lee described the absurdity of the Twitter hearings and the so-called censorship of conservative accounts. She joined MSNBC to explain what was going on after her speech in the Oversight Committee.
After the death of Tyre Nicholls in Memphis, Lee was interviewed by NPR. The five minute interview can be listened to here, but I am posting an excerpt below.
INSKEEP: When you talk about systemic issues, the death of Tyre Nichols makes me think about a particular part of the system, and it's this. Memphis, where that killing happened, is a majority-Black city where the mayor and the city council name and confirm the police chief. There was a Black police chief in Memphis, and apparently, there was genuine public concern in this majority-Black city about crime. People wanted something more done about crime. And the SCORPION unit, which ended up targeting Tyre Nichols, came out of that. What does it make you think about, that, apparently, the democratic process is what led to the unit that caused this man's death.
LEE: Certainly. When we think about systemic racial injustice and inequity, we have to realize that this isn't a Democrat versus a Republican Party, right? It's a deeply entrenched systemic issue that we have here. We actually need to be having a different conversation. When we think about what causes crime, we know that there is a correlation between poverty and crime - right? - not race and crime. It's poverty and crime. And we have to admit that we are falling short on solving our poverty issue. And there is inequity even within that. So when we think about Black communities, of course they want to be safe. That's very reasonable. Every community wants to be safe. The question is, does policing make us safer, yes or no? And the answer is more complicated than the conversation that we're having.
Lee was also active when the Tennessee Three were targeted with expulsion, and joined Ali Velshi on MSNBC to discuss how young people are becoming more active in combatting the GOP fascism. She discussed the issues that were salient to youth across America.
Rep. Summer Lee has made headlines already, and will continue to do so as she takes the fight to the fascists on the other side of the aisle. Her perch on the Oversight Committee is perfect for someone not afraid to make waves in the halls of Congress.
Bills and Legislative Priorities
Rep. Summer Lee is very prolific on social media, which makes sifting out what I need for this section incredibly difficult. Being a member of the Squad means pushing for certain policies as outlined below. She has been a leading voice in advocating them.
Student Debt Cancellation
Medicare for All
Green New Deal
Lee decided to vote NO on the Bipartisan Debt Ceiling Deal, citing all of the cuts her district would face and pushing for Biden to unilaterally raise the Debt Ceiling.
Lee had strong words for the Extreme Court after their trifecta of terrible decisions at the end of June.
Rep. Summer Lee has 29.3k followers on Twitter, which is quite high for a freshman legislator. If you are still on that dying medium, give her a follow!
Rep. Summer Lee came to upend Washington, DC with the rest of the members of the Squad. She has the community activist spirit and a district in dire need of a lady with a steel spine. She checks all of the progressive boxes, as well as being a part of the Congressional Black Caucus. I didn’t fully scour her social media, but I hope she is sponsoring legislation that has a chance of passing along with the lofty goals of the Squad.
Lee already handles the media well, which is why she has a plum perch on the House Oversight Committee. Her appearances on TV have been magnetic and mesmerizing. She clearly has a gift for being in front of the camera, which is half the battle as a member of Congress. May she continue to push for progressive legislation through her podium via the media.
Since Pittsburgh is a progressive bastion surrounding by the “Alabama in the middle” of Pennsylvania, she is likely to have a long Congressional career, unless AIPAC succeeds in ousting her. She likely is on a collision course with freshman Rep. Chris Deluzio in all likelihood in 2030. If she passes that potential challenge, she is young enough to build quite a bit of seniority.
Next week, I will profile Rep. Robert Garcia of California’s 42nd district. See you then!
Rep. Summer Lee (Pennsylvania-12)
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Please help our Democratic freshmen in the 118th Congress raise more funds with the New Faces in Congress Fund. Until election day in 2024, we plan to regularly add new names to our list of recipients. Please share a link to this site on your social media!