John,

Welcome to the latest edition of Emily’s Notes — updates from Congress and the campaign trail!

Here’s what I’ve been up to:

•  On January 3, I was officially sworn in as a member of Congress! One of the first things I did that day was cast a vote for Democratic Majority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to be Speaker of the House. 

While MAGA Mike Johnson eked out a narrow win, the experience showed how close the margins are in the House, especially as a few members leave to join the Trump administration. If there’s a bad bill that hurts working people, we only need to convince a few Republicans to sink it. Stay tuned.

• We’ve gotten a lot of press attention for our historic win in 2024, and I’ve done a number of interviews with outlets like The Advocate and NBC News. But one of my favorite conversations was with Deja Foxx of Gen-Z Girl Gang, which shares news and builds community for young women online — check out the video!

• On Monday, I gave an overview of the last few days in Congress while slicing onions and sweet potatoes for dinner. It’s gotten a great response on Instagram! Please watch and let me know if you’d like to see more cooking and policy chats in the future.

• Some positive news: Thanks to the Biden Administration, medical debt will no longer appear on credit reports, where they can block people from getting mortgages, car loans, or small business loans. Like so many of my neighbors, I’ve experienced a costly medical emergency that impacted my credit for over a decade. Health issues shouldn’t stop anyone from accessing housing, transportation, or economic opportunities.

• We have a new member of Team Emily: Bad Bunny! Like Frida and Ricky Martína, my new little companion is named for a groundbreaking Latinx artist, and he’ll be keeping our spirits up in our D.C. office. 

(And now is the part where I ask you for a donation.)

While the President-elect spouts threats against Canada and Greenland, my Democratic colleagues and I are focused on working hard for working people. 

With billionaires spending fortunes to influence our government, we need more working-class champions in the halls of power standing up for good healthcare, lower costs, more housing, and an end to the attacks on our fundamental freedoms.

The margins in the House are small, and we need to be ready to take advantage of every opportunity to stop the worst instincts of Trump, Elon Musk, and Speaker Johnson. Can you make a donation to fuel our organizing to fight for working people and take back the House?

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Thank you so much 💙

— Emily

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