Skip to content
Project 2025
Search

Latest Stories

Follow Us:
Top Stories
The Tone of Our Country Has Changed — And Americans Can See and Feel It Everywhere

The Tone of Our Country Has Changed — And Americans Can See and Feel It Everywhere

President Trump Claims To Care About Interference in US Elections While He Is Doing Everything To Eliminate the Protections

President Trump Claims To Care About Interference in US Elections While He Is Doing Everything To Eliminate the Protections

Woman voting on election day

Which Proportional Voting System Best Fits America’s Constraints?

NATO Has an Article 5. It Doesn't Have an Iran Policy

NATO Has an Article 5. It Doesn't Have an Iran Policy

Woman holding out an empty wallet at a table.

More Whites Live in Poverty than Either Blacks or Hispanics - Correcting the Perception of Poverty

Ocasio-Cortez, Shalala lead finalists for democracy awards

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is one of several freshmen in Congress who were named finalists in the Democracy Awards competition, which highlights congressional offices that are well run and offer exceptional constituent service.

Brittany Greeson/Getty Images
Bill Theobald
By Bill TheobaldApr 02, 2020
Bill Theobald

Bill Theobald is senior writer at The Fulcrum, where he focuses on everything to do with voting. This December marks his 40th anniversary in the business, and he still believes -- now more than ever -- that the glow from great journalism can truly light the world.

See More Writings by author

Freshman members of Congress, particularly the newest female lawmakers, are leading the way on Capitol Hill in how they run their offices and serve constituent needs.

The Congressional Management Foundation announced Thursday the finalists for its Democracy Awards and nine people in their first terms — the most in the three years the awards have been handed out — made the cut.

Seven women are among the finalists, again the most in the short history of the awards, which honor members of Congress for their work in four categories: constituent service; workplace environment; transparency and accountability; and innovation and modernization.

Also for the first time, two members were chosen as finalists in two categories — prominent first-term House Democrats Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, an icon of the progressive movement, and Donna Shalala of Florida, who was Health and Human Services secretary in the Clinton administration.

"Now, more than ever, Americans need to hear about examples of their government officials performing at their best," said foundation CEO Bradford Fitch.

A committee, made up mostly of former members and staffers, will choose one Republican and one Democrat as winners in each category. The winners will be announced in a few months.

Here are the finalists:

Constituent Service

Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill.

Rep. Kendra Horn, D-Okla.

Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass.

Rep. Donna Shalala, D-Fla.

Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas

Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Penn.

Rep. Rob Wittman, R-Va.

Workplace environment

Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.

Rep. Donna Shalala, D-Fla.

Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont.

Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb.

Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich.

Transparency and accountability

Rep. Cindy Axne, D-Iowa

Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa.

Rep. Tom O'Halleran, D-Ariz.

Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Texas

Rep. Will Hurd, R-Texas

Rep. Van Taylor, R-Texas

Innovation and modernization

Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Wash.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.

Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif.

Rep. Kay Granger, R-Texas

Rep. Tom Graves, R-Ga.

Rep. Rob Woodall, R-Ga.


Latest news

Protestors on one side of a caution tape line and people in mis-matching military gear on the other side.
Governance & Legislation

Single Mothers Lost Months of Income Hiding From Ice — and Now Can’t Afford To Renew Immigration Papers

CT election security group honors 10 years of fighting for democracy
Elections

CT election security group honors 10 years of fighting for democracy

Read More

Court’s Slaughter Decision Hands Presidents Sweeping New Authority

U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office at the White House on July 24, 2026 in Washington, DC.

Photo by Eric Lee/Getty Images)

Court’s Slaughter Decision Hands Presidents Sweeping New Authority

This series from Lawyers Defending American Democracy connects the words of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution to current events that threaten democracy and the justice system. Each piece highlights the unique responsibility lawyers carry—through their oath, professional obligations, and roles in their communities—to help the public understand what’s at risk and to speak out when democratic principles are under threat. LDAD’s call to action is straightforward: as the Founders once did, we must recognize threats to constitutional values, demand accountability, and act to defend them.

In its recent decision in Trump v. Slaughter, a divided Supreme Court approved an expansive use of presidential power that upsets the Constitutional balance between Congress and the President. The Court approved the President’s summary dismissal of agency leaders (in this case, commissioners of the Federal Trade Commission), notwithstanding a statute signed by a former President and the Court's own precedent specifically forbidding such dismissals. This decision will further politicize and weaponize much of our federal government.

Keep ReadingShow less
Reclassifying Faith?: Inside the Department of War’s Revision to Its List of Religions
man holding his hands on open book
Photo by Patrick Fore on Unsplash

Reclassifying Faith?: Inside the Department of War’s Revision to Its List of Religions

This nonpartisan policy brief, written by an ACE fellow, is republished by The Fulcrum as part of our partnership with the Alliance for Civic Engagement and our NextGen initiative — elevating student voices, strengthening civic education, and helping readers better understand democracy and public policy.

How Are Religions Recognized in the U.S. Military?

Keep ReadingShow less
Anti-gerrymandering sign

Anti-gerrymandering sign

Bill Clark/Getty Images

Don't Hold Your Breath Waiting for Politicians or Their Consultants to Fix Gerrymandering

2018, a nonprofit worker in Michigan named Katie Fahey posted a message online asking if anyone else was tired of politicians drawing their own districts. She had no campaign experience and no political base.

Within two years, the ballot initiative she built, called Voters Not Politicians, had written an independent redistricting commission into the Michigan constitution. Hollywood eventually made a documentary about it, Slay the Dragon, which is a fairly accurate description of what she had actually done.

Keep ReadingShow less
Protestors holding signs outside of the Idaho statehouse.

Protesters rally for abortion rights outside of the Idaho Statehouse in downtown Boise, Idaho, on May 14, 2022.

Sarah A. Miller/Idaho Statesman/AP

Idaho Voters Will Weigh In on One of the Strictest Abortion Bans in the Country

Idaho voters will weigh in on their state’s abortion laws this November. The secretary of state’s office certified a ballot measure that could, if passed, overturn one of the strictest bans in the country, the campaign to restore abortion rights in Idaho confirmed on Monday.

The measure would enact a new law establishing a state right to “reproductive freedom,” which it defines as allowing residents to make their own decisions in areas including fertility treatment, contraception and abortion. But it would not amend the state’s constitution, meaning it could still be overturned by the state’s Republican legislature. Currently, Idaho bans abortion in nearly all circumstances, with a narrow exception if staying pregnant threatens someone’s life.

Keep ReadingShow less
© Copyright 2026