Bice, Miller-Meeks, and Letlow Discuss Their First Term in Office and Their Hopes for the Year Ahead
WASHINGTON, DC – Three women leaders of the Republican Freshmen Class in the U.S. House of Representatives appeared before a breakfast discussion of The Ripon Society yesterday morning, sharing their thoughts not only about their first term in office, but about what they would like to see Congress and the government look like in the coming year.
The leaders were: Stephanie Bice, who represents the 5th District of Oklahoma in the U.S. House; Mariannette Miller-Meeks, who represents the 2ndDistrict of Iowa; and, Julia Letlow, who represents the 5th District of Louisiana. Bice, who also serves as President of the GOP Freshmen Class, spoke first, kicking off her remarks by recalling the unique experience of entering office just as Congress – and the world – was entering a pandemic-forced lockdown.
“It’s been an interesting first term,” Bice stated. “It’s been tough. We started under COVID protocol. And as you know, this town is built on relationships. When you cannot have a cup of coffee, have dinner, or attend a reception, it makes it very difficult for us to be able to develop those relationships. So, I sort of say the first year of us being here was sort of wiped off the slate because we didn’t have the ability to do that. Now, it’s certainly much more open, but there are still a lot of holdover things that I think are frustrating for us as Republicans.”
One of those frustrations, she said, has to do with a requirement that was put in place at the beginning of last year for all members before they cast a vote.
“I am now 20 months into my first term,” she noted, “and I still have to pass through a metal detector to enter the House floor. I think that is really sort of emblematic of the atmosphere in Washington right now. It is very partisan. I came from being in a supermajority Republican legislature with a Republican governor to being a freshman in the minority. I certainly knew that it would be a challenge. What I didn’t know is how partisan it would really be. So, my hope for the future is that we will see some of the rhetoric calm down.”
Miller-Meeks spoke next, and opened her remarks with a nod to the two colleagues who joined her yesterday morning.
“It’s very humbling to be here with two phenomenal Members of Congress who happen to be women,” Miller-Meeks said. “To come into a class with women who are here not because they’re women but because they have incredible resumes, incredible life experiences, and success on their own — it’s very humbling to be here with them.”
The Iowa lawmaker served 24 years in the Army and also worked as a doctor before her first unsuccessful run for Congress in 2008. Noting that it took her two more tries in 2010 and 2014 before her eventual election in 2020, she credits this perseverance – among her and other candidates and elected officials in Iowa – with helping to change the face of the Republican Party in her home state.
“In 2008, Iowa had never elected a woman to any of the higher offices,” she observed. “But just six years later, in 2014, Joni Ernst became the first woman Senator for the state of Iowa — a Republican. Governor Reynolds became the first woman Governor of the state of Iowa — a Republican. I strongly believe had someone with credentials not been willing to run and lose and then get right back up and run again, I don’t think that we would be where we are now with five women in the highest offices in our state.”
Miller-Meeks closed by touching on the mood of the electorate and why she believes the GOP’s recently introduced Commitment to America is exactly what the American people are looking for this year.
“People have lost hope and faith in their government,” she stated matter-of-factly. “And that’s why the Commitment to America that we just launched is so important. It says to people that this is what we stand for. This is what we’re going to work towards. It’s about you — it is not about us. It’s about how do we make your life better? How do we get government to work for you again? How do we re-instill and let people know there’s hope for the future?”
Letlow agreed and opened her remarks by talking about how her election as the first Republican woman to represent Louisiana in the House is changing the face of her home state’s delegation.
Touching on the untimely passing of her late husband, Luke, she also talked about how honored she is to be serving in Congress alongside a group of people who, she said, are dedicated public servants trying to be a force for good.
“I tell Scalise and Garrett, Mike, Clay, and Troy that I’m the little sister they never saw coming and never knew they needed,” Letlow joked. “As you can tell, I’m a novice. This is all new to me. I do have what Luke poured into me, but I am so honored, and I walk through these halls and I just get chill bumps I’m so excited to be here. Every day is a gift. It’s hard for people who have experienced such loss to take one single breath for granted.”
“And I want you to know that there are people up here — amazing people. And that’s what I tell people back home — because there is so much doom and gloom. They ask me, ‘What is the most surprising thing about being in Congress?’ And I say, ‘It’s the amazing people.’ They don’t show you that on television. They just show you the divisiveness and us tearing each other down. But I am here to tell you, there are amazing people doing great work. And I am honored to be amongst their ranks.”
Letlow closed her remarks by touching once more on the death of her husband and the choice it presented her in the months and years ahead.
“I knew after Luke passed away that I had a choice to make,” she said. “I could either give up and just be done. Or I could stand up and be an example to my kiddos and choose hope and move forward. And I think that they’re going to be better for it — for seeing their mom continue to move forward when life knocks you down. Because it will. It will for all of us. And you just get up and keep moving with hope.”
To view the remarks of Bice, Miller-Meeks, and Letlow at yesterday’s breakfast discussion, please click on the link below:
The Ripon Society is a public policy organization that was founded in 1962 and takes its name from the town where the Republican Party was born in 1854 – Ripon, Wisconsin. One of the main goals of The Ripon Society is to promote the ideas and principles that have made America great and contributed to the GOP’s success. These ideas include keeping our nation secure, keeping taxes low and having a federal government that is smaller, smarter and more accountable to the people.