Carol Moseley Braun, Kamala Harris, Laphonza Butler: To be a Black woman in the U.S. Senate was to be part of a small and lonely club — until now. For the first time in the body’s 236-year history, two Black women are serving simultaneously: Senator Angela Alsobrooks from Maryland and Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester from Delaware. Their November victories were rare cause for celebration in an election marked by many losses for the Democratic Party. In their campaigns, neither candidate put identity front and center. Yet after Alsobrooks and Blunt Rochester first connected in the fall of 2023, they quickly bonded, sharing advice and taking to calling each other “sister senator.” Now, they’re leaning on that bond as they get to work in a hostile political environment. Here, the senators discuss settling into their new roles, building relationships in Trump’s Washington, and wielding their power.
Lisa Blunt Rochester: I don’t think it really hit me that I won on Election Night. There was the immediate “Yay!” and then, Okay, let’s process all of this. It wasn’t until we got to orientation and saw each other that it was a “Yay!” again.
Angela Alsobrooks: The gravity of it does occur to you right away. Suddenly, you walk through the door and they say, “Hello, Senator-elect.” This building is full of Marylanders; I have been embraced in the restrooms, in the cafeteria, in the hallways.
LBR: I have to laugh because a lot of your constituents think I’m you. I’ve gotten a lot of hugs from Marylanders.
AA: Accept them! Don’t turn them down.
LBR: So many people have said, “You two getting elected was a bright spot.”
AA: And now that we’re here, the way that we will be effective is by virtue of our relationships. The Senate is a place that operates by consent. I’m looking forward to attending some of the prayer-breakfast meetings here, the Bible study on Thursday, going to the gym. I had a week off after the election and learned to play pickleball, so I’m going to be the newest member of whatever pickleball happens here.
LBR: I’ve been trying to meet with different members to ask, “How do you pass bills here?” People have been really generous.
AA: It’s the big things and the little things. I pinged you and said, “By the way, your shoes, where do I get them?”
LBR: The Naturalizers. You need these cushions. These floors are unforgiving. Another highlight recently was this: We were in a meeting together, and I have these composition books, like the ones kids have in fifth grade. So I got in my office and there’s a Moleskine with this beautiful note from my sister senator. I thought it was very nice.
AA: I was like, Oh, this poor girl. She’s using composition books.
LBR: That was intentional. I wanted to remember kids, but also you can rip the pages out. I’ll take the Moleskine over the composition notebooks, though.
AA: I remember when we first met for lunch, we went directly to our kids and families. It is good to know you are talking to a person who can understand your experience. There was so much that didn’t have to be said. We didn’t have to say, “How does it feel to be a woman in this space?” We all know! “So, girl, tell me about your children. What is it that we are going to fight for?”
LBR: “How did you grow up? What motivates you?” Even as I look down at my phone and I see my granddaughter, she would not be here if it were not for IVF. Us being here has real-world implications. At this stage of our lives, we don’t need to be superstars. We’re here to get the work done. You think about Carol Moseley Braun, and it took almost a quarter of a century after her before Kamala Harris was elected and then seven years until Laphonza Butler was appointed. It truly is a blessing that we are here together. We both take it very seriously. Vice-President Harris said that her mother told her, “We may be the first, but we won’t be the last,” and we’re going to make sure that we’re not the last.
AA: My grandmother was a federal worker, and she never saw a Black woman in the Senate. I’m a car salesman’s daughter, and I bet there aren’t very many of them in the Senate. I will learn a lot from the people here, but they will learn from me, too. Your presence can change the room. Policies won’t be decided on the floor of the Senate; some of it will come up over pickleball. The average American may not have the opportunity to play with a person who’s an important decision-maker, so I will have the responsibility of speaking up. And you know what? We won’t get everything we desire — we recognize that in the minority. But I do believe we’re going to make progress.
LBR: There will be things that are nonnegotiable: reproductive freedom, our democracy. I came in as a freshman in the House minority with Trump in the White House. I found a way to get stuff done. I also know that in two years, if Trump, the House, and the Senate haven’t done what they said they were going to do — or if people don’t feel the effects in a positive direction in two years — the House could change. The Senate could change. And in four years, the presidency could change. We keep our eyes on the prize.
AA: It is never lost on me that my power doesn’t come from how inherently great I am. Some people get that confused. They think the power is about them, but when you leave the seat, another person will take it. You have to remember, every day, who sent you and why.
LBR: You’re only a leader if people are following you. Otherwise, you’re just out for a walk. It circles back to why I felt this heaviness: In the time that we’re entrusted with this power, what do you do with it? My power also comes from God. I could not get out of bed in the morning if I did not stop and say, “Please, give me what I need to do what I need to do.” There are days when I feel like I need to know all the answers and that I can’t make a mistake, especially as a Black woman. But when I get out of my head and I’m connected to the source …
Both: Ain’t no stopping us now!
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