Congresswoman Maxine Waters is now chairwoman of the powerful House Financial Services Committee, and she vowed Friday she would use her power to right what she sees as wrongs committed due to race.
While addressing Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow PUSH Wall Street Project, Waters praised Jackson, and warned there’s a new financial sheriff in town.
“I want this day to go down in honor of Rev. Jesse Jackson,” Waters told attendees, “in ways that is described as this is a new day.
“This is a new day and we’re not simply begging, we’re not simply pleading. A black woman has the gavel now,” she said as the crowd cheered wildly.
“And I’ve lived too long, experienced too much, struggled too hard not to use it. They will hear the sound of my gavel all over the world!” she said.
Just days before the Midterm elections, Waters warned she would use her committee power for paybacks.
“We have an election November 6th,” Waters said. “This is big. This may be the most important one that you’ve ever had to experience.
“This is the midterm election and often times people only vote in the presidential election because they don’t think this is important enough. But this is absolutely important,” she lectured.
“First of all, if we take back the House, most of the members of the Congressional Black Caucus will be chairs of the committees of the Congress of the United States of America,” Waters said, waving her fingers as the audience applauded.
“I will be the first African-American, the first woman to chair the powerful Financial Services Committee.