The most active freshmen in Congress are all Democrats
25 May 2021
Note: Rep. Troy Carter, LA-2, has been omitted because he just assumed office May 11; Letlow, listed above, assumed office April 14; Data: Quorum; Chart: Axios Visuals
Just a few months after being sworn into Congress, several freshman members — particularly some in the House — have already sponsored and co-sponsored hundreds of bills and resolutions, according to data from Quorum.
By the numbers: Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-N.Y.) has collectively sponsored and co-sponsored the most measures by a wide margin — 287 combined. Rep. Nikema Williams (D-Ga.) follows with 222, the data show.
- Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) is the most legislatively active freshman in the Senate, having sponsored and co-sponsored 147 measures.
Alternately, Reps. Julia Letlow (R-La.) and Cliff Bentz (R-Ore.) sponsored and co-sponsored the fewest proposals — 25 each.
- Unlike most other members who were sworn in in January, Letlow assumed office April 14.
- Sens. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) and John Ossoff (D-Ga.) have the fewest sponsors and co-sponsorships in the Senate, at 31 and 36, respectively.
Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times
Section2Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.
Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.
The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.
- The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.
What the transcripts say:
- Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
- The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
- Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."
Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.