First Equadorian-American to be sworn into Congress

The 116^th Congress will usher in a couple of new milestones, one of those is swearing in the first Equadorian-American and first South American-born migrant to its ranks.

Congresswoman-elect Debbie Mucarsel-Powell narrowly defeated centrist-Republican Rep. Carlos Curbelo in one of the closest watched races of the 2018 mid-term election cycle.

Mucarsel-Powell ran as a progressive campaign and appears to be positioned to represent Florida’s 26^th congressional district in that same manner, all-but mimicking Democratic New York Congresswoman-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s political platform.

Mucarsel-Powell said in a statement that aside from looking to end the government shutdown, she would like to “aggressively fight climate change and create millions of jobs with a Green New Deal,” as well as create “a pathway to citizenship for anyone willing to make our country the beacon of light it has always been.”

The U.S. government shutdown enters its second week because Democratic legislators and President Donald Trump cannot find a middle ground to agree on when it comes to funding a border security wall.

We need to end the government shutdown that is hurting Floridians and costing our economy millions every day and make health care more affordable. We must aggressively fight climate change and create millions of jobs with a Green New Deal. We need to pass commonsense gun reform and a humane immigration policy that creates a path to citizenship for anyone willing to make our country the beacon of light it has always been. Our challenges our great, but our determination to overcome them has never been greater."-Rep.-elect Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D)