Congresswoman Jennifer McClellan, who represents Virginia’s fourth congressional district, is a veteran of Virginia politics. With Donald Trump entering his second term in office, Rep. McClellan and her colleagues have a political fight on their hands against MAGA Republicans who want to end the civil service, gut Social Security and move federal employees out of the Commonwealth of Virginia.

McClellan served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 2006 to 2017. She then served in the Virginia Senate from 2017 to 2023. In 2023, McClellan handily won a competitive special election for Congress and became the first Black woman in Virginia’s history to become a U.S. Representative. McClellan is a member of the powerful House Armed Services Committee and a champion of the the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) which would explicitly prohibit sex discrimination.

In this interview with Black Virginia News Rep. McClellan speaks on what the strategy might be for House Democrats during the 119th Congress as Democrats must face the challenge of being the minority in the House and Senate while Trump sits in the White House.

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