Happy Friday! Welcome to our Media Round Up. Each week we’re collecting and sharing our favorite gender + politics stories. Here’s what caught our eye this week:

Pelosi’s House Impeaches Trump for Historic Second Time

Amanda Becker, The 19th

On Wednesday, Donald Trump became the first president to be impeached twice following the U.S. House of Representatives’ 232-197 vote. Rep. Liz Cheney, the highest-ranking Republican woman in the House, is facing backlash from members of the GOP as a result of her vote for the President’s impeachment. In order for Trump to be convicted, two thirds of the Senate would have to vote to impeach. So far, no Republicans have officially committed to impeachment and there is no official date for trial.

You can read the full article here.

Elizabeth Warren endorses Wu in potentially historic Boston mayoral race, calling the candidate ”a fighter”

Stephanie Ebbert, Boston Globe

Wu, who was the first candidate to announce she would run to succeed Walsh, landed a crucial endorsement from US Senator Elizabeth Warren in her bid for Mayor of Boston. “Michelle has always been a fighter – as one of my students, as a Boston city councilor, and now as a candidate for Mayor,” Warren said in a statement. Warren’s endorsement is not entirely surprising, as Wu was Warren’s student at Harvard Law and the two have campaigned for each other in the past.

You can read the full article here.

Capitol Police names first woman to lead as acting chief in the wake of insurrection

Mariel Padilla, The 19th

Capitol Police has named Yogananda Pittman as its acting Chief following the former head’s resignation after the agency’s  much-criticized response to pro-Trump rioters who stormed the US Capitol last week. Pittman will be the first woman and the first Black person to lead the law enforcement agency tasked with protecting Congress. Pittman, who joined the force in 2001 and became the first Black woman to achieve the rank of captain in 2012, assumed her new role after at least five people were killed during the riots, including a Capitol police officer.

You can read the full article here.

Why the Pentagon Remains a Battlefield for Women

Courtney Mabeus, Foreign Policy

Since its inception, the Pentagon has never had a woman act as Secretary of Defense. Michèle Flournoy, who served in both the Obama and Clinton administration, was previously considered a close contender for the role. However, President-elect Joe Biden picked retired army general Lloyd J. Austin III, who will make history as the first Black person to lead the department if confirmed by the Senate. The military’s history of discrimination against women has made it extremely challenging for women to rise through the ranks in the country’s top national security and defense positions. According to a 2018 New America report, women made up only six of 23 top-ranking positions in the Defense Department.

You can read the full article here.

Supreme Court reinstates restrictions on abortion pill

Alice Miranda Ollstein, Politico

On Tuesday evening, the Supreme Court passed its first abortion decision since Amy Coney Barrett was confirmed following Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death. The court’s 6-3 decision order allows the government to restrict access to the abortion pill. Liberal court Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan wrote in a dissenting opinion, “Government policy now permits patients to receive prescriptions for powerful opioids without leaving home, yet still requires women to travel to a doctor’s office to pick up mifepristone, only to turn around, go home, and ingest it without supervision.”

You can read the full article here.

 

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