Washington: Indian-American Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal held the Speaker’s gavel Tuesday, becoming the first South Asian American woman to preside over the US House of Representatives.
Jayapal, 53, a Democrat from Washington DC was first elected in 2016.
She took to Twitter to share a clip of Tuesday’s session where she was seen presiding over the House as a temporary speaker.
Today, I became the FIRST South Asian American woman to preside over the U.S. House of Representatives. Beyond proud to serve in the most diverse Congress in our nation’s history and to hold the gavel today. pic.twitter.com/IOgOYj8zxd
— Rep. Pramila Jayapal (@RepJayapal) June 4, 2019
The 116th Congress broke records with women and lawmakers overcoming racial and religious barriers. A record number of 17 Asian Americans serve in Congress, with 14 in the House and three in the Senate.
Although Nancy Pelosi has been serving as the Speaker of the House of Representatives since January 2019, members of the majority party in the House periodically take turns to temporarily preside over the chamber.
PTI