Attorney set to be first Muslim woman in Congress
DETROIT—Rashida Tlaib’s opposition to President Donald Trump began while he was still candidate Trump and before she decided to run for Congress.
The 42-year-old attorney, who is set to become the first Muslim woman elected to Congress, was booted from a 2016 Trump campaign speech in Detroit for heckling the polarizing Republican.
After winning Tuesday’s Democratic primary to run unopposed for the House seat that Rep. John Conyers held for more than five decades before retiring amid sexual harassment allegations, Tlaib, the eldest of 14 children born to Palestinian immigrants, vowed to take the fight to Trump once she’s in Washington.
“I will uplift you in so many ways,” told her cheering supporters early Wednesday. “Not only through service, but fighting back against every single oppressive, racist structure that needs to be dismantled, because you deserve better than what we have today in our country.”
She also challenged Trump, calling him a “bully” and adding: “I don’t know if he’s ready for me.”
Tlaib, who served in the Michigan House from 2009 until 2014, defeated five other candidates to win the nomination to run for a full term representing the heavily Democratic district, which covers much of Detroit and some of its suburbs. Since no Republicans or third-party candidates are running, Tlaib is running unopposed in November’s general election.
Since leaving the Legislature, Tlaib has worked as an attorney for the Sugar Law Center for Economic and Social Justice. Her views align with the Bernie Sanders wing of the Democratic Party, and on Wednesday, she said she’ll push for universal Medicare, a $15 minimum wage, sustainable environmental policies, public school funding and fair immigration policies.
“This is a huge victory for the Arab and Muslim American communities—it’s also a huge victory for the city of Detroit,” said Sally Howell, the director of the Center for Arab American Studies at the University of Michigan-Dearborn.
“Rashida Tlaib brings forward the legacy of John Conyers in terms of the groundbreaking role he played in Congress and his commitment to civil rights.”
The 89-year-old Conyers was first elected to the House in 1964. He stepped down in December citing health reasons, though several former female staffers had accused him of sexual harassment. The 13th District seat has remained vacant since then.
There are currently two Muslim men in Congress: Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison, who in 2007 became the first Muslim to take office, and Indiana Rep. Andre Carson. Ellison’s decision to run for Minnesota attorney general has left his House seat open, and two of the Democrats seeking to replace him are also Muslim: Ilhan Omar, the country’s first Somali-American state lawmaker, and Jamal Abdulahi, a Somali-American activist.
A congressman from western Michigan, Republican Rep. Justin Amash, is the son of a Palestinian refugee father and a Syrian immigrant mother. He is Christian.
There were as many as 90 Muslim-Americans running for national or statewide offices this election cycle. They’ve been spurred to action by the anti-Muslim policies and rhetoric of Trump and his supporters and are running for office in numbers not seen since before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, according to Muslim groups and political observers.