She was studying overseas on Sept. 11, 2001, and the terrorist attacks marked a turning point in her life. But I have never had this much fun on the Hill as Im having now., The Source for news on Capitol Hill since 1955. Supporting 7th District Businesses & Entrepreneurs Chief of Staff - USDA-RMA. Spanberger faced a close reelection contest against State Delegate Nick Freitas, who represents much of the congressional district's northern portion. So don't feel sorry for don't cry for me, Argentina. [64][65][66] Spanberger took issue with Trump after police used tear gas and rubber bullets on peaceful protestors and a priest during the George Floyd protests to clear a path so that he could have a photo op in front of St. John's Episcopal Church. Occupation. Abigail Spanberger, incumbent U.S. Representative Declined . [42], On February 1, 2023, Spanberger was among twelve Democrats to vote for a resolution to end COVID-19 national emergency. I know the language. How many more do you need to look at?, Gerald Ford once said: If Lincoln were alive today, hed roll over in his grave., Abigail Spanberger spent almost a decade as a CIA operations officer. Now, shes a third-term Virginia congresswoman who was just named to one. [74][75] She is a Protestant. At least two other former CIA officers became members of the committee Republicans Will Hurd of Texas and Porter Goss of Florida, who was chairman before being named CIA director in 2004 under President George W. Bush. It gave me chills. [2], Spanberger earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Virginia and a Master of Business Administration from a joint program between the GISMA Business School in Germany and Purdue University's Krannert School of Management. "The President's actions violate his oath of office, endanger our national security, and betray the public trust", she said. Years of high-profile fights over intelligence matters have taken a toll, with some Republicans accusing the agencies of being part of a deep state" controlling U.S. politics. After dipping his toe in all three branches of government, Jones said hes found the right place to serve: The Hill is a special place. As Rep. Spanberger meets with families, patients, providers, and community healthcare organizations across Virginias Seventh District; she repeatedly hears about the financial struggles facing seniors, families, and those with chronic conditions as their prescription drug costs continue to rise. [19] While Brat won eight of the district's ten counties, Spanberger dominated the two largest counties, Henrico and Chesterfield, by a combined margin of over 30,000 votes. Bipartisan duo Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., and Chip Roy, R-Texas, reintroduced the TRUST in Congress Act to ban representatives from trading in the stock market. Despite this, Spanberger ran for reelection in the seat. After years of working for an incumbent senator holding a safe seat, Roscoe Jones Jr. was ready to build something from scratch. Addressing the Opioid Abuse & Addiction Epidemic Spanberger defeated Brat in 2018. Subscribe to receive news alerts and updates on issues important to you and your family. Although most of the conference was marked by strong support of the president, there was a brief interruption on Thursday, when news of Biden's decision not to use his veto power to block a GOP-effort to repeal D.C.'s new crime law broke during a press conference with the Congressional Black Caucus. Abigail Rindo is the narrative design director at King, the company behind popular mobile game franchises such as Candy Crush, Farm . And we're making that connection to your precious tax dollars, hard at work making a difference in your life. As an operations officer, Spanberger worked on cases ranging from counterterrorism to nuclear proliferation. If Spanberger were to flip the seat, it would be a big win for Democrats. She assumed office on January 3, 2019. ", She underscored: "One thing that's been really nice this session is there's just tremendous unity.". CIA Democrat Abigail Spanberger [Source: yahoo.com] Did they have outside help? She rejects talk of a deep state and called on other lawmakers not to promote conspiracy theories about intelligence or the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. Rep. Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., speaks about her past work as a Central Intelligence Agency officer and her recent appointment to the House Intelligence Committee during an interview at her congressional offices on Feb. 8 in Washington. She doesn't get overwhelmed by stuff.. RM2GAEXGB - Washington, United States. The "Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act" Would Allow Flavored and Unflavored Whole Milk in Participating Schools WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger helped reintroduce a bipartisan bill to allow unflavored and flavored whole milk to be offered in Virginia's school cafeterias. Although Biden hasn't officially announced his reelection bid, it's widely expected he will seek another term, which means his fate and those of House Democrats are likely tied together. The security clearance form listed another one of Spanbergers former jobs as a substitute English teacher at a Saudi Arabia embassy school. During a recent debate, Brat repeatedly accused Spanberger of being a Nancy Pelosi-style Democrat and too liberal for the district. In 2014, the family moved back to Henrico County. [50] She said the bill went "far beyond" pandemic relief and had no chance of passing the Republican-controlled Senate. [61], On September 23, 2019, Spanberger joined six other freshman House Democrats with national security backgrounds in calling for an impeachment inquiry into Trump. ABC News Send "GMA" your Why It Matters video about which issues inspires you to vote and explore our midterms coverage. Spanberger, a former CIA case officer who unseated former Rep. Dave Brat (R-VA) in 2018, has been in a heated battle to retain her swing seat, with nonpartisan handicapper Cook Political Report. So far, Spanberger, who unseated Republican Dave Brat last fall in a historically red Virginia district, has broken with her party several times on motions to recommit. Biden ticked through a list of legislative accomplishments, including the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, the first major gun safety legislation passed by Congress in nearly 30 years, legislation to boost the domestic manufacturing of semiconductor chips and a sweeping climate, health care and tax bill. She's running unopposed in her party for a third term, and there will be no. Jones doesnt take them lightly. "Abigail Spanberger is . She supports universal coverage through the adoption of a public option and, in Congress, she advocates for solutions that achieve real progress, respond to the unique challenges of Virginias rural communities, support the Commonwealths expansion of Medicaid coverage, and preserve funding for critical programs like the Childrens Health Insurance Plan. Education. A former federal law enforcement officer and CIA officer, Rep. Spanbergers career in public service has focused on protecting American families and economic interests from a wide range of domestic and foreign threats. They wrote that if the allegations were true, they amounted to "a flagrant disregard for the law" and "a threat to all we have sworn to protect. Former long-shot Trump challenger and one-time Republican congressman Joe Walsh announced on Twitter Tuesday he voted for a Democrat for the first time for president, casting his ballot for Joe Biden. Spanberger, a former CIA case officer who unseated former Rep. Dave Brat (R-VA) in 2018, has been in a heated battle to retain her swing seat, with nonpartisan handicapper Cook Political Report. In Congress, Rep. Spanberger is committed to providing our servicemembers with the compensation, training, equipment, and benefits they need to successfully carry out their vital missions and protect their fellow citizens. She supports maintaining federal funding to Planned Parenthood and other providers that provide essential healthcare screenings and preventive services to both women and men. Currently serving Virginia District 7 She's someone that works hard and is focused on the mission. Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) on Friday called for new House leadership because of Speaker Nancy Pelosi's handling of legislation that would ban members of Congress from trading stock,. In some ways, Abigail Spanbergers story parallels dozens of other first-time female candidates across the country this year: a successful, smart woman driven to get involved in politics for the first time after President Trump was elected and eventually inspired to take on her Republican congressman. Please subscribe to keep reading. "I know the lingo. Shes spoken to too many families who have lost loved ones to addiction and overdose. Representatives Abigail Spanberger (D-VA-07), Mike Waltz (R-FL-06), and Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR-05) today introduced bipartisan legislation to increase transparency in the federal student loan process and to give borrowers additional tools to understand and decrease [], At Least 519 Protesters Have Been Killed by the Regime & More Than 19,000 Iranians Have Been Arrested Since the Death of Mahsa Amini In September 2022 WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger joined a bipartisan, bicameral effort urging the Biden Administration to impose stricter sanctions against members of the Iranian Parliament or [], The U.S. House Committee on Financial Services Voted Unanimously to Pass the Congresswomans China Financial Threat Mitigation Act WASHINGTON, D.C. The U.S. House Financial Services Committee voted unanimously 40 to 0 to advance U.S. Representative Abigail Spanbergers bipartisan bill that would build up Americas response to emerging financial threats from the Chinese []. Before vaulting to the House, Jones spent just under two years with Feinstein and served as senior counsel to Sen. Cory Booker both Stanford grads like him. She attended J.R. Tucker High Schools Spanish immersion program and is a proud graduate of the University of Virginia. I know the lingo. [3][4], Abigail Spanberger was born in Red Bank, New Jersey, on August 7, 1979. You can't be. Abigail Spanberger spent almost a decade as a CIA operations officer. May it please the court, I am Roscoe Jones on behalf of the United States of America, Jones recited. [22] But until 1993, the 7th stretched from the outer Washington suburbs through the Shenandoah Valley and Charlottesville to the outer Richmond suburbs;[23] the present 7th is geographically and demographically the successor to what was the 3rd district before 1993.[24]. Spanberger decided the time to serve her country was then no more waiting. Her current term ends on January 3, 2023. Virginia Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger told CNN Friday morning that she spoke with Klain twice in the last two days to discuss the shortage, saying that Klain told her the White House views . And we are blessed. WASHINGTON, D.C. U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger today released the following statement after speaking one-on-one with White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain about the ongoing formula shortage in Virginia and across the country. I really started getting more politically involved after the 2016 election, watching how partisan and how angry our political conversations became, she said. Postal Service. "You tell us what you need to help us understand the impact that it's having on all of your district and your folks, and we're going to get it done," Biden said. That means what members ask of the administration will vary from district to district depending on the president's popularity. Rep. Spanberger told The New York Times that voters didn't elect President Biden to govern like FDR. The Republican political action committee, known as the Congressional Leadership Fund, ran ads claiming she worked at a school that produced some of the worlds most dangerous terrorists. Lowering Prescription Drug Costs Speaking in 2002 in Nashville, during the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, Bush had this to say about Iraqs threat to the United States: There's an old saying in Tennessee I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee that says, fool me once, shame on shame on you. Spanberger's background in intelligence and her moderate politics representing a swing district south and west of Washington will be assets on the committee, Goss and Hurd said. It was like going from General Motors to a startup, he said. $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, sweeping climate, health care and tax bill, Biden's decision not to use his veto power, Big stores see how we spend. In February 2022 Chesterfield mother Shannon Davis and her son, Joshua, appeared with President Joe Biden and Rep. Abigail Spanberger, R-7th, in Culpeper to urge lower prescription drug prices . Copyright 2023 NPR. When I was a CIA officer we would have meetings and you dont know what people's politics are We were there to serve a mission that we were focused on that mission.. "Getting this legislation to President Biden's desk and signed into law was one of my top priorities this . [50], According to FiveThirtyEight's congressional vote tracker, Spanberger voted with President Donald Trump 6.9% of the timeabout one seventh of the expected tally (49.1%) when factoring in the district's partisan leaning and general partisanship in Congress. Not a lot of people would do that, Jones said. The congresswoman said that voters sent Biden to the White House "to be normal and stop the. She says it was her daughter, then in kindergarten, who asked them if they could move back to Virginia. The Virginia Democrat and former CIA officer won reelection in a race that was considered a toss-up. [11], In July 2017, Spanberger announced her candidacy for the United States House of Representatives in Virginia's 7th congressional district in the 2018 election against incumbent Republican Dave Brat, a Tea Party movement member. "[62] Spanberger later announced that she would vote in favor of impeachment. Representatives Abigail Spanberger (D-VA-07) and Trent Kelly (R-MS-01) today introduced bipartisan legislation to award the Congressional Gold Medal to Americans who served in World War II with the Canadian and British militaries prior to Americas declaration of war.