LEADER JEFFRIES STATEMENT ON THE PASSING OF SHEILA JACKSON LEE
BROOKLYN, NY (7-19-24) – Today, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries released the following statement: Today, the city of Houston and the House Democratic Caucus mourn a giant, the one and only Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. Congresswoman Jackson Lee was an inimitable force for change and a warrior for justice over the course of her historic, trailblazing career. A member of one of the very first co-ed classes at Yale University, Sheila Jackson Lee would go on to break barriers as a municipal judge and Houston City Councilwoman before winning the seat once held by the iconic Congresswoman Barbara Jordan. As a longtime Member of the House Judiciary Committee, Congresswoman Jackson Lee was the first woman to serve as Chair of its Subcommittee on Crime. A fighter for her community, she helped lead the successful effort to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) and was a leading voice for criminal justice reform and police accountability. Three years ago, President ...