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Rep. Lateefah Simon returns to Bay Area for first working trip at home

Freshman Rep. Lateefah Simon back in the Bay Area for first work trip
Freshman Rep. Lateefah Simon back in the Bay Area for first work trip 02:19

Freshman Congresswoman Lateefah Simon is back in the Bay Area this week for her first working trip home since taking the oath of office.

"Because people need to see their electeds on the ground. I am a single mom. I also want to make sure that women who are single moms know that they should run for office too. So, you've got to be it, you can't just speak it," said Rep. Simon.

Representative Simon told us she's received a warm welcome from her Democratic colleagues in Washington.

Much of her staff is made up of experienced people from the highest levels of her party.

"Sally is our communications director; you should all get to know her. I got her from the White House. Ben is on my staff here, who is a graduate of UC Berkeley. Kianna's our district director. So, our staffing is great. Our chief of staff also comes from the Biden administration," said Rep. Simon.

Representative Simon said she's also already been offered a position of leadership within the party.

"Which is pretty much unheard of for a freshman. I'm a deputy policy whip which is a huge deal so I'm on a whip team with Katherine Clark," said Rep. Simon.

Minority Whip Katherine Clark even traveled with Representative Simon to the East Bay on Tuesday to tour UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland.

"We then met with five hospitals within our district, Sutter and Kaiser and Children's and the UC system," said Rep. Simon.

It's clearly been a busy first few weeks on the job.

Representative Simon spent Wednesday talking with local organizations potentially impacted by the Trump administration's plan to freeze federal funding.

Though the White House rescinded the memo, it's still sparking widespread confusion.

Representative Simon said whatever issues may present during her time in office she feels prepared to take them on.

"I'm just blessed that I'm in this position to fight, hard with no fear, with just love and a lot of determination and a lot of experience and a lot of skills. We're going to take on the administration with a lot of grace and integrity," said Rep. Simon.

Representative Simon said she is also in the process of opening a new district office in Oakland that is expected to open its doors in February.

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