Welcome to the Media Round Up! We’ve collected and shared our favorite gender + politics stories from this week.

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Trump Floats Executive Order on Voter ID if SAVE Act Stalls in Senate
The Hill, Ryan Mancini

Last Friday, President Trump indicated that he would issue an executive order requiring voters to present proof of citizenship, if the Senate does not pass the Safeguard America Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act. The SAVE Act is largely considered a voter suppression bill that could have a significant impact on women who have changed their last name upon marriage, and therefore may not have identification that matches their proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate. It passed the House with a 218-213 vote, however, it will face uncertainty in the Senate. Notably only one Democrat, Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), has indicated that they support the bill, while Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) has indicated that she is against the bill. While Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has said that his caucus will discuss utilizing the “talking filibuster” in hopes of wearing down Democratic opposition, he has not committed to utilizing the tactic, as he worries that this will block Republicans from moving forward with other priorities.

Angela Alsobrooks Becomes First Senator to Endorse Jasmine Crockett in Texas Senate Race
Washington Examiner, Lauren Green

Freshman Senator Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD) has become the first senator to endorse Representative Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) in the Texas Democratic Senate primary. The endorsement from Alsobrooks, one of two black female senators, comes after early voting in the state began on Tuesday. Crockett is facing Texas state Rep. James Talarico in what is shaping up to be a close race. According to the most recent polling, Crockett is leading with 47% of supporters, while Talarico has 39% support. “I have seen my friend Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett in action, I’ve seen her hold her ground as well as reach across the aisle in the best interest of Texans and all Americans,” Alsobrooks wrote.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Focuses on Policy at Munich Security Conference

Though Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) anticipated a “potentially frosty” reception to her arguments at the Munich Security Conference this week, her on-camera stumbles when answering questions about world affairs “rocketed” around conservative social media circles, driving much of the discussion surrounding her trip. The high-stakes visit, which marks the most notable foreign trip to date by the New York congresswoman, has been dissected through the lens of what it would mean for a hypothetical 2028 presidential run. Ocasio-Cortez contended that she attended the conference “not because I’m running for president,” and worried that her anti-establishment messages were being “lost in all the commotion.” She spoke of the “betrayal that the working class in the United States has felt” toward its elite, advising that “we get our economic houses in order and deliver material gains for the working class.”

Bipartisan Criticism of Administration Handling of Epstein Files

Politicians across the aisle have slammed the Trump administration’s response to the release of the highly-anticipated Epstein files in recent weeks. On Monday, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton accused the Trump administration of a “cover-up,” telling the BBC that the White House is “slow-walking” the release of the files. Clinton echoed her calls for transparency while speaking at the Munich Security Conference, demanding the full release of the files. Conservative politicians have criticized the administration as well – this week, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) condemned the Justice Department’s decision to redact certain names from the Epstein files, arguing that if the DOJ can “give the names, then they can give them in unredacted files.” Additionally, former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), a longtime Trump loyalist, warned the MAGA base that they risk losing women voters in the midterms if they continue to mock “the seriousness of women who were trafficked and raped as teenagers.”

Democrats Choose Spanberger to Deliver State of the Union Response to Trump
The New York Times, Annie Karni

Democrats have selected Gov. Abigail Spanberger of Virginia to deliver their party’s response to President Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday, putting at center stage a former congresswoman who flipped a red seat to blue ahead of midterm elections in which they are expecting to win back control of the House. Ms. Spanberger said she planned to use her speech to address the issues facing Americans at a pivotal moment: “rising costs, chaos in their communities, and a real fear of what each day might bring.” Representative Hakeem Jeffries, Democrat of New York and the minority leader, chose her for the response, people familiar with his thinking said, because he believes that her gubernatorial campaign, which focused on affordability and prosecuting the case against Mr. Trump, was a model for how Democrats can win races across the country in November.

In First Months as Governor, Abigail Spanberger Kicks Up Heat From the Right
The New York Times, Elisabeth Bumiller

Though Governor Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) ran much of her campaign focused on her record of bipartisanship, her recent actions as governor have drawn stark criticisms from the right. Notably, in her first weeks as governor, Spanberger has ended all cooperation agreements between Virginia and ICE, in addition to signing a bill for an April vote on the redrawing of Virginia’s political map, which could give Democrats 10 of the state’s 11 congressional districts. Spanberger has drawn criticisms from Fox News commentator Mark Levin, who stated that Spanberger is “moving at a high speed to permanently radicalize and change the state.” Even the assistant attorney general overseeing the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, Harmeet Dhillon has criticized Spanberger, calling her a “Bond villain.”

House passes Kiyan Michael bill to make it easier for students to volunteer at polling places
Florida Politics, A.G. Gancarski

The House has passed a bill that would relax rules for students who volunteer at polling places. HB 461, sponsored by Rep. Kiyan Michael, says the ban on privately-funded election-related expenses would not bar high school students who are registered or preregistered to vote from voluntarily helping poll workers in exchange for community service hours that apply to Bright Futures scholarships. The bill would take effect July 1, meaning that eligible students could begin participating in the process during the August Primaries this year if it becomes law.

‘He Gave Me My Wings’: Jesse Opened Doors for Black Women in Politics
The 19th*, Errin Haines

Rev. Jesse Jackson, who died Tuesday at 84, helped expand Black women’s political power both at the voting booth and within Democratic Party politics during his lengthy career, including Donna Brazile, the first Black woman to direct a major presidential campaign and Minyon Moore, chair of the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. During Jackson’s two unsuccessful presidential bids in 1984 and 1988, he helped “reshape American political power” by building a diverse coalition including Black women, young people, and the working class; his campaigns normalized Black women’s leadership as “organizers, decision-makers, and strategists.” Jackson helped ensure that Black women would shape national politics by inviting them to the table. In a tribute to Jackson this week, former Vice President Kamala Harris wrote, “He let us know our voices mattered. He instilled in us that we were somebody. And he widened the path for generations to follow in his footsteps and lead.”

Older Women are Spooked by the Economy. Their Vote is Up for Grabs
USA Today, Daniel de Visé

Political candidates of both major parties will be crafting ads and speeches to reach older women, a demographic group whose 2026 vote could go either way, according to a new AARP survey. Older men lean Republican. But older women “are not a monolith,” said Kristen Soltis Anderson, a Republican pollster who conducted the survey with Democratic pollster Margie Omero. The midterms are coming, and older women voters are spooked about the economy. Half of older women feel less financially secure now than a year ago, and half of women voters 50 and older expect the economy to get worse in the next year, the survey found. Politicians will have better luck winning the votes of older women if they focus on long-term economic solutions, such as protecting Social Security, controlling health care costs and improving affordability across the board.

Denmark’s Generous Childcare and Parental Leave Policies Erase 80 Percent of the ‘Motherhood Penalty’ for Working Moms
Ms. Magazine (Originally published by The Conversation), Alexandra Killewald

Around the world, motherhood comes with career costs, as raising children tends to lead to lower wages and fewer work hours for mothers. In Denmark, a variety of childcare and parental leave policies have helped mothers stay employed. One policy offers subsidized childcare for all children from 6 months of age until elementary school, allowing parents to pay no more than 25% of the cost. The Danish government also offers benefits known as the “child allowance,” where payments are made to parents of children under the age of 18. In addition to these policies, Denmark also offers paid parental leave. While Denmark’s policies do not fully offset the earnings losses of Danish mothers, they offer significant aid, with estimates determining that the Danish government offsets about 80% of motherhood earnings penalties.

Dating in D.C. Gets Political
Yahoo!, Lauren Irwin

In a city where careers drive the day-to-day and political beliefs are strongly held, it’s not surprising that D.C. was named the loneliest city in America in 2024 by the Chamber of Commerce. Democrats and Republicans don’t often agree in today’s political climate. But no matter if someone is a registered Democrat, Republican, or somewhere in between, there’s one thing they can agree on: dating in Washington, D.C., is the worst. Lexi Hamel, a 25-year-old who grew up in St. George, Utah, said if she had to describe D.C.’s dating scene in one word it would be “terrible.” She said she just has to laugh about it at this point. “I think in this political climate, it would be really hard to date someone who doesn’t align with you politically, especially out in D.C. Maybe in another state it would work, but I think even if your job isn’t in politics, you’re here and it’s almost impossible to not have an opinion,” she said. Locals commonly refer to the dating scene as “the trenches,” and that’s the same no matter who they voted for.