Not many people knew who Stacey E. Plaskett was before the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, but after the Congresswoman eloquently, but fiercely, laid out a case of Trump’s misdeeds, many wanted to get to know her better.
So, who is Plaskett and where is she from?
Congresswoman Plaskett represents the United States Virgin Islands’ at-large Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. She is currently serving her fourth term in Congress. With Vice President Kamala Harris no longer being a senator, Plaskett is now the only Black woman in the chamber.
Plaskett made history when she became the first nonvoting delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives to serve as an impeachment manager. Even though she argued the case to convict Trump for allegedly inciting the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, she was blocked from voting to impeach, because the U.S. Virgin Islands, the territory she represents, does not have a vote in Congress.
In her opening remarks of the trial, she mentioned speaking “truth to power.”
“You’ll see that this violent attack was not planned in secret. The insurgents believed they were doing the duty of their president. They were following his orders,” Plaskett said. She further added that Trump spent months “cultivating a base of people who were violent, praising that violence and then leading that violence, that rage, straight at our door.”
She used Trump’s own words against him.
“We’re going to the Capitol,” Trump said. “We fight. We fight like hell. And if you don’t fight like hell, you’re not going to have a country anymore.”
Even though she helped to stack a case many said was undeniable, the GOP would not go against Trump and he was let off with nothing more than a slap of his Republican wrist – again.
But Plaskett is being praised for her impressive work, and she has an even more impressive story, journeying from housing projects in Brooklyn, N.Y., to St. Croix, the U.S. Virgin Islands.
For the 117th Congress, the members of the House Steering and Policy Committee unanimously appointed Congresswoman Plaskett to serve on the House Committee on Ways and Means, the oldest and one of the most exclusive committees in Congress. In true historic fashion, Ms. Plaskett is the first Member from a U.S. territory and the fourth African American woman to serve on this committee.
She is also a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, House Blockchain Caucus, and the New Democrat Coalition where she is a co-chair of the Infrastructure Taskforce and the at-large Leadership Member. Congresswoman Plaskett also co-chairs the Congressional Caribbean Caucus.
Ms. Plaskett earned her undergraduate degree from Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, and her Juris Doctorate from American University’s Washington College of Law. Congresswoman Plaskett has a long history of public service having started as an Assistant District Attorney in the Bronx DA’s office as well as having worked as a political appointee at the Department of Justice.
Most importantly, Plaskett is a wife and mother of five.
