Vice President Kamala Harris will fly to Houston on Thursday to attend the funeral of longtime Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, who died this month after a battle with cancer, according to an official who shared the details first with NBC News.
The employee in Harris’ office said Harris and Jackson Lee were dear friends who bonded over their work as elected officials and as members of Alpha Kappa Alpha, the nation’s first historically black sorority. As a result, Harris wanted to attend services despite having a busy schedule now that she is the favorite to become the Democratic nominee.
“She wanted to make sure she was there to pay her respects,” the employee said of Harris.
The official also said Harris connected with Jackson Lee on shared legislative goals while Harris served in the Senate and when she became vice president, including reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act, ensuring clean drinking water and removing lead pipes from communities. , allocating funding to historically black people. colleges and universities, and focusing on disparities related to maternal health, especially as it relates to women of color.
The official also said the two worked together on making June 19 a federal holiday and on efforts to pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act, a police reform bill that has stalled.
In a statement released at the time of Jackson Lee’s death, Harris described Jackson Lee as a “tenacious defender of justice and a tireless fighter for the people of Houston and the people of America” who “distinguished himself as a dedicated defender of his community, a lawmaker effective and an extremely loyal colleague and friend. She also said that Jackson Lee was “first and foremost, a leader dedicated to serving the people of his beloved city” of Houston and “a champion of women’s rights.”
“As a judge in Houston, a member of the Houston City Council and a member of the United States Congress, Sheila Jackson Lee’s work has improved the lives of millions of Americans,” Harris said in the statement. “She saw what could be – a more equal, more just and freer nation – and dedicated her life to realizing that vision.”
Harris also recalled working alongside Jackson Lee on legislation when they served in Congress together and as members of the Congressional Black Caucus.
“Working alongside the congresswoman was marveling at her mastery of the legislative process,” Harris said in the statement. “She was relentless – one of our nation’s fiercest, smartest and most strategic leaders in the way she thought about how to make progress happen. There was never a banal or trivial conversation with the congresswoman. She always fought for the people of Houston and the people of America.”
Thursday’s trip will be Harris’ third visit to Texas in the last month and her second as the front-runner for the Democratic nomination.
Harris was also in Dallas earlier this month to speak at a convention of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. And last week, she spoke at a convention in Houston for the American Federation of Teachers, a large teachers union.
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