Madam Speaker: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the U.S. Speaker of the House

(October 10 — 16)

Sunday, Madam Speaker met the U.S. Marine Detachment at the United States Embassy in Lisbon, Portugal to thank them for their service to the nation ahead of the 2021 NATO Parliamentary Assembly Session. Monday, Madam Speaker met with the leaders of the government of Portugal, President of the Republic Marcelo Rebelo De Sousa, President of the Assembly of the Republic Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues and Prime Minster António Costa. On Tuesday morning, Madam Speaker, back in the United States Capitol, hosted her weekly press conference at the Capitol Visitor Center. That afternoon, the Speaker welcomed His Excellency Yair Lapid, Alternate Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Israel, to the United States Capitol ahead of a bipartisan leadership meeting. In San Francisco on Thursday, Madam Speaker joined Senator Alex Padilla and local climate leaders to highlight critical provisions in the Build Back Better Act that tackle the climate crisis, address environmental justice and invest in America’s clean energy future on the Living Roof at the California Academy of Sciences. Friday, Madam Speaker joined HUD Secretary Marica L. Fudge, Mayor London Breed and Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis at the HOPE SF, Sunnydale Site highlight more critical provisions in the Build Back Better Act that tackle housing equity.

Take a look at this week’s behind-the-scenes photos:

October 10

Madam Speaker takes a photo with the U.S. Marine Detachment in Lisbon, Portugal.

October 11

“In our meetings, I extended the continued appreciation of the United States for Portugal’s valued partnership as a founding member of the NATO alliance, and for Portugal’s participation in Afghanistan, including the evacuation. Particularly as we all focus on data security, I raised the significant concern of increasing cyber threats from autocratic governments and other nefarious actors. In this and other areas, we discussed deepening U.S.-Portugal economic ties.”

October 12

“I came back last night in time to root on the Ravens to have a two‑point conversion to tie up the game, to win in overtime, at the same time as the San Francisco Giants won the second of three games. Sports are always a unifying thing, where we all root for the home team. In my case, it’s San Francisco — and Baltimore as well.”

“It is a privilege to talk about the importance of the U.S.-Israel bond. It is one that is based on our mutual security. It is based on our mutual values. And it was, again, a source of pride to all of us in the Congress who’ve worked on this.”

October 14

“We have a moral responsibility to pass this planet on to future generations in a way that is responsible.”

October 15

“President Biden has said, ‘I want to support everything we can do in a bipartisan way, but I will not confine my vision for America to what can be done in that way.’ We have much more that needs to be done. We couldn’t be better served than by the Biden Administration’s great Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. Remember, the Department of Housing and Urban Development involves so many aspects of meeting the needs of the American people.”