Pramila Jayapal becomes first South Asian American woman to preside over US House

Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat from Washington D.C., became the first South Asian American woman to preside over the US House of Representatives.

Jayapal took to Twitter to share a clip of Tuesday's session where she can be seen presiding over the House as a temporary speaker. In the text that accompanied the clip, Jayapal wrote that she was "beyond proud" to preside over the House and serve in "the most diverse Congress in American history."

"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," she tweeted.

 

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.

53-year old Jayapal represents Washington D.C.'s seventh congressional district. As a member of the Democratic Party, she represented the 37th legislative district in the Washington State Senate from 2015 to 2017.