Happy Friday! Welcome to our Media Round Up. Each week we’re collecting and sharing our favorite gender + politics stories. Here’s what caught our eye this week:

Raimondo selected for Biden’s Commerce secretary

Tyler Pager, Doug Palmer & Gavin Bade, Politico

On Thursday, President-elect Joe Biden announced he’s tapping Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo as Secretary of Commerce. His former staffer, Don Graves, will serve as Deputy Secretary of Commerce while California official Isabel Guzman will serve as the head of the Small Business Administration. Raimondo, who was also in the running to lead the Department of Health and Human Services and the Treasury Department, was elected general treasurer of Rhode Island in 2011 and governor of Rhode Island in 2014.

You can read the full article here.

Women lawmakers condemn the president and urge intervention after riots at the Capitol

Mariel Padilla, The 19th

While Congress was in session to certify Joe Biden’s victory on Wednesday, chaos ensued as a riot caused by President Trump’s election loss broke out in the Capitol. Lawmakers were then transferred to a safe location as the rioters destroyed property and made their way into private offices. As a result, a number of Democratic congresswomen including Rep. Ilhan Omar, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Ayanna Pressley are calling for the president’s impeachment. Republican members of Congress also condemned the violence that took place but made no mention of removal proceedings. “We just had a violent mob assault the Capitol in an attempt to prevent those from carrying out our Constitutional duty,” Rep. Liz Cheney, a Republican from the state of Wyoming said. “There is no question that the President formed the mob, the President incited the mob, the President addressed the mob. He lit the flame.”

You can read the full article here.

The 10-year Stacey Abrams project to flip Georgia has come to fruition

Reid J. Epstein & Astead W. Herndon, The New York Times

When Democrats won both Senate seats in Georgia, political leader and founder of Fair Fight Stacey Abrams was credited as leading the movement that allowed this to happen. Abrams served in the Georgia House of Representatives for eleven years then lost her 2018 campaign for governor in a contentious election. That same year she turned to campaigning and organizing and founded the voting rights organization Fair Fight to combat voter suppression. Abrams developed a strategy to increase turnout particularly for people of color that paved the way for Joe Biden’s victory and the Democrats’ success in Senate races and she is regarded by some as the most influential US politician that is not currently in elected office.

You can read the full article here.

Women are donating to campaigns in record numbers. The Georgia runoffs are no exception

Chelsea Cirruzzo, The Lily

In 2020, women ran, won seats and donated to political campaigns in record numbers according to research by the Center for Responsive Politics and the National Institute on Money in Politics. The research showed that in 2020 races, female candidates on average outraised their male counterparts in the House and the Senate. Women made up 31 percent of state-level campaign donations and 33 percent of donations to congressional campaigns.

You can read the full article here.

Heading into her second term, Ayanna Pressley is poised to wield more power in Washington

Jazmine Ulloa, Boston Globe

Ayanna Pressley, the first Black woman and woman of color to have served on the Boston City Council, has introduced or co-led 55 bills during her first term in Congress and after her re-election she shows no signs of stopping. Pressley, who’s been regarded as “the heartbeat of the House’s progressive wing” has started to push President-elect Biden to put an end to federal executions, cancel student debt, and protect immigrants. “She is a force to be reckoned with,” said Rep. Jim McGovern. “With Ayanna, it is about doing the right thing. She is not giving anybody a free pass just because they are a Democrat.”

You can read the full article here.

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