Congress begins a new session this week and already there is talk that Democrats in the GOP-controlled House of Representatives are facing leadership challenges.

“Reps. Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), Steny Hoyer (Md.) and James Clyburn (S.C.) have occupied the top three rungs on the leadership ladder for more than a decade,” says The Hill.

But there are others who are eyed as “rising stars.”

Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard Pearl Harbor. 27 dec 2016
Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard at Pearl Harbor Dec. 27. Cory Lum/Civil Beat

They include Tim Ryan of Ohio, who unsuccessfully tried to unseat Pelosi late last year, and Linda Sanchez of California, “the first woman of color to serve in House leadership.”

Among the other stars, seven in all, are Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii.

At times she sounds more like a Republican criticizing President Obama’s strategy to defeat ISIS, which has earned her fawning praise in conservative media outlets,” says The Hill. “And she’s got a fan in Trump chief strategist Steve Bannon.”

Gabbard has long stressed her desire to work across party lines.

What it means to support Civil Beat.

Supporting Civil Beat means you’re investing in a newsroom that can devote months to investigate corruption. It means we can cover vulnerable, overlooked communities because those stories matter. And, it means we serve you. And only you.

Donate today and help sustain the kind of journalism Hawaiʻi cannot afford to lose.

About the Author