Christian Menefee: “I want to start by saying a special thank-you to God and to my wife, Kaitlyn, who is here with us today, and to my…”

“I want to start by saying a special thank-you to God and to my wife, Kaitlyn, who is here with us today, and to my fantastic team. It has been more than 330 days since the people of the 18th Congressional District had representation and a voice in Congress. When this body took on important votes about whether to cut SNAP benefits, about whether to make it more difficult to access Medicaid--important issues--this district had no voice in Congress. This one is for the 18th District. Mr. Speaker, I stand here today understanding that there are very big shoes to fill. This is a district of fighters. This is the district of the legendary Barbara Jordan, who helped overturn a corrupt Presidency. This is the district of Mickey Leland, Craig Washington, and Erica Lee Carter. This is the district, of course, of our two great friends, my mentors, dear friends who we recently lost, the late Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee and the late Sylvester Turner. Many folks in the 18th District are watching. To my district, the commitment they have from me is that I will work as hard as I can to live up to the legacy. I will treat this job with the seriousness that it deserves. I will work full days, and I will fight as hard as I can to advocate for and protect the people of the 18th Congressional District.”