33: The Greatest Change to You in the U.S. Legislating in the Past, and Now Is It Happening To You

I believed that many other people may not be as proven as I was when I first arrived in office. There are a lot of people who have had a history of legislating. I felt like I had to prove two things at the same time, because they were not always in agreement.

And then also the class dynamics, the gender dynamics that come from being a poor or working-class person going into an environment of extraordinary privilege. There were years of learning to be had.

For a lot of people, 33 is a time when they are already established in a career and making plans about the future. You use these words — evolving, but rooted — and it kind of captures that tension. I’d like to explore that with you. In your third term, you are still here. Your job’s not new. Since you were elected, there has been a lot of change. What is the most significant change to you since you were elected?

I think that I possess a sense of confidence and control in what I am doing. My election was characterized by so much upheaval, both nationally and personally. The time of great political upheaval was when Trump was elected. The Democrats were kind of lost at that time. We were in transition between an older party and a newer one, in terms of where we were coming from ideologically.

Then also myself. I was waitressing up until — I don’t know, March? A few months later, I won my primary. Adding on the entire profession of legislating at the federal level is something I have to do when I come into Washington, even from a background of direct action and activism.