One of the House’s most dedicated anti-war activists, California Rep. Barbara Lee, has been reappointed by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to the post of House Democratic Representative to the United Nations, POLITICO has learned.
Lee has been the focus of national news in recent weeks, with her steadfast efforts to push for repeal of the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force, which allows the presidents to wage war without approval from Congress against those deemed to be terrorists.
Lee’s amendment was recently pulled in the dead of night from a defense appropriations bill by Speaker Paul Ryan. But as POLITICO Magazine noted recently, “The bipartisan support for Lee’s amendment has also made her a central player in the high-wire negotiations over the next steps-giving her some leverage, a rare commodity for a lawmaker on the far left in a Congress that for years has been veering right.”
Now Lee’s re-appointment to the UN post gives her a high-profile international platform for her views in the wake of Ryan’s move, which Pelosi protested vehemently. Pelosi’s letter: “Dear Barbara, I am pleased to reappoint you as the House Democratic Representative to the United Nations General Assembly to pursuant to section 2(c) of the United States Participation Act of 1945. Thank you again, Barbara, for your leadership and friendship.”
