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Pramila Jayapal

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Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, From Activist To Party Boss

What matters inside the halls of Congress is not how many retweets you get, it’s how many votes you control. Elected to Congress in 2016, Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., has, with remarkable speed, established that power. She is chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, which has 93 House members — over a third of House Democrats.

She got her start as an activist protesting the Bush administration in the wake of 9/11. Now she’s one of the most powerful members of Congress.

Jayapal tells Art of Power host Aarti Shahani how a horrific family crisis prepared her for anything — and what the pledge of allegiance means to her.

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