Ayanna Pressley aims to lead Dem Women’s Caucus

Rep. Ayanna Pressley is looking to make a bigger impact on the 118th Congress.

Driving the news: Pressley has launched a bid to lead the Democratic Women’s Caucus, and wants to build it into a key voting block on the Hill on par with the Progressive Caucus and Congressional Black Caucus.

The former Boston City Council member told Vanity Fair there’s an opportunity in the next two years to affirm the Democratic Party’s values around abortion rights and other issues.

• Pressley also intends to create closer ties between female Democrats in the House and President Biden’s White House.
• To prove her qualifications for the job, she’s touted her roles working with Vice President Harris on abortion policy and as a lead negotiator in the push for student debt cancellation.
• Pressley sees a need to safeguard women’s rights as Republicans move into the House majority next year.

What they’re saying: “[Republicans] don’t see us. They don’t see women,” Pressley said.

• Abortion in particular motivated Democratic voters to resist the expected “red wave” in last month’s elections.
• It’s this energy Pressley wants to use to strengthen the Women’s Caucus and unify Congressional Democrats’ message on women’s rights with that of the White House.