Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Deborah Wasserman Schultz is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for, first elected to Congress in 2004. A member of the Democratic Party, she was the chair of the Democratic National Committee from 2011 until her resignation in 2016.
Wasserman Schultz served in the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate and was a national co-chair of Hillary Clinton's 2008 campaign for president. Her district covers much of southern Broward County, including a large part of Fort Lauderdale.
Wasserman Schultz was elected chair of the Democratic National Committee in May 2011, replacing Tim Kaine. On July 28, 2016, she resigned from that position after WikiLeaks released leaked emails showing that she and other members of the DNC staff had expressed bias in preference of Hillary Clinton over Bernie Sanders in the 2016 Democratic primaries. The emails showed that some DNC officials had discussed strategies to weaken Sanders’ campaign, questioning his viability, and even suggesting ways to discredit his supporters. She secured a senior surrogate spot on the Clinton campaign afterwards.
Personal life and education
Born in Forest Hills, Queens, New York, to a Jewish family, Wasserman Schultz is the daughter of Ann and Larry Wasserman. Her father is a certified public accountant, and her brother, Steven Wasserman, is an assistant United States attorney for the District of Columbia.From 1968 to 1978, the family lived in Lido Beach on Long Island. In 1978, her family moved to Melville, also on Long Island, where she graduated from Half Hollow Hills High School East in 1984. She received a Bachelor of Arts in 1988 and a Master of Arts with a certificate in political campaigning in 1990, both in political science, from the University of Florida.
At the University of Florida, Wasserman Schultz was active in student government, serving as president of the Student Senate and the founder and president of the Rawlings Area Council Government. She was also a member of the Omicron Delta Kappa honor society, the James C. Grimm chapter of the National Residence Hall Honorary, and the union Graduate Assistants United. She served as president of the Graduate Student Council and vice president of the UF College Democrats. She has credited her experience in student politics with developing her "love for politics and the political process."
Wasserman Schultz lives in Weston, near Fort Lauderdale. She is married to Steve Schultz; they have three children. She is an active member of the National Jewish Democratic Council, Planned Parenthood, and Hadassah.
In March 2009, she revealed that she had undergone seven surgeries related to breast cancer in 2008 while maintaining her responsibilities as a member of the House. That year, she promoted efforts for early screening for breast cancer.
Career
Florida state legislature
In 1988, Wasserman Schultz became an aide to Peter Deutsch at the beginning of his state legislative career. In 1992, Deutsch successfully ran for United States Representative of Florida's 20th congressional district, and suggested to Wasserman Schultz that she run for his vacated seat in the Florida House of Representatives. Wasserman Schultz won 53% of the vote in a six-way Democratic primary, avoiding a runoff, and won the general election. At 26, she became the youngest female legislator in the state's history.She served four terms in the Florida State House of Representatives, for eight years, leaving due to state term limits. She became an adjunct instructor of political science at Broward Community College, as well as a public policy curriculum specialist at Nova Southeastern University.
Wasserman Schultz was elected to the Florida State Senate in 2000. She supported several bills, including the Florida Residential Swimming Pool Safety Act and one creating a Children's Services Council for Broward County. She received an award from the Save the Manatee Club for her commitment as a state senator in the 2002 legislative session to manatee protection.
U.S. House of Representatives
Committee assignments
For the 118th Congress:- Committee on Appropriations
- * Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies
- * Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies
- * Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies
- Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government
Caucus memberships
- Black Maternal Health Caucus
- Congressional Solar Caucus
- New Democrat Coalition
- Congressional Arts Caucus
- Afterschool Caucus
- United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus
- Rare Disease Caucus
- Congressional Ukraine Caucus
- Congressional Taiwan Caucus
Party leadership
- Chief Deputy Whip
Wasserman Schultz chairs the committee's Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies. Shortly after joining the Appropriations Committee, she received a waiver necessary to sit on an additional committee, and she is now a member of the Committee on Oversight and Reform. Aside from her committee and leadership roles, she was a member of Nancy Pelosi's "30 Something" Working Group, which consists of congressional Democrats mostly under age 40. The group concentrates on issues affecting young people, including Social Security. She joined the bipartisan Congressional Cuba Democracy Caucus. According to the Congress.org 2008 Power Rankings, she was the 24th-most powerful member of the House, the 22nd-most powerful Democratic representative, and the most powerful Florida representative.
In December 2019, Wasserman Schultz voted to impeach President Donald Trump.
Political positions
Wasserman Schultz is a proponent of gun control legislation and supporter of LGBT rights.She initiated the 2007 Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act to address the safety risks posed by suction entrapment.
In 2011, Wasserman Schultz was one of the 23 co-sponsors of H.R. 3261, the Stop Online Piracy Act.
On April 25, 2018, 57 Representatives, including Wasserman Schultz, condemned history-related legislation in Ukraine and Poland. They criticized Poland's new Holocaust law, which they claimed would criminalize accusing Poles of complicity in the Holocaust, as well as Ukraine's 2015 memory laws glorifying Ukrainian Insurgent Army and its pro-Nazi leaders, such as Roman Shukhevych.
During the 117th Congress, Wasserman Schultz voted with President Joe Biden's stated position 100% of the time according to a FiveThirtyEight analysis.
Consumer Finance Protection Bureau and payday lending
In December 2015, Wasserman Schultz was one of 24 co-sponsors of H.R. 4018, authored by Representative Dennis A. Ross, which would delay the implementation of CFPB regulations. She was among a dozen Florida representatives who cosponsored the legislation that would delay the CFPB's payday lending rules by two years and void a "deferred presentment transaction" in states with laws similar to Florida's. She has drawn criticism for trying to delay those regulations.Terri Schiavo case
The Terri Schiavo case concerned the fate of a young Florida woman who had suffered brain damage after a heart attack in 1990 and was in a coma on life support. Her husband, who was her legal guardian while engaged to another woman, and the medical team wanted to remove her feeding tube, as she was in an irreversible "persistent vegetative state" with no hope of improvement. Her parents opposed this decision for years, appealing to courts, Congress, and ultimately to President George W. Bush to intervene. Wasserman Schultz was one of the strongest opponents of congressional intervention, supporting the husband's view. The feeding tube was finally removed on 18 March 2005, resulting in Schiavo's death on 31 March.Wasserman Schultz publicly accused Bush of hypocrisy for having signed a 1999 bill as governor of Texas that allows health care workers to remove life support for terminally ill patients if the patient or family is unable to pay the medical bills.
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
Wasserman Schultz is a supporter of Israel.Her predecessor and mentor Peter Deutsch was "among the most hawkish congressional Democrats on Middle East issues". Wasserman Schultz, who took over his seat for Florida's 20th district, "a heavily Jewish swath of Broward County", has taken a more centrist approach. In 2005 she spoke in approval of President Bush's proposals to give financial aid to the Palestinian Authority in both the proposed supplemental and in the 2006 budgets, praising Bush's greater "engagement and involvement" on the issue.
She has disputed claims that the Democratic Party is anti-Israel, arguing that the House Democratic Caucus is more supportive of the state than its "far-right" Republican counterparts, and questioning Republican motivations on the issue.File:Michal Herzog in Beit HaNassi, March 2024.jpg|thumb|Wasserman Schultz and other members of the US congressional delegation with Israeli President Isaac Herzog in Jerusalem, March 28, 2024
Wasserman Schultz supported Israel in the 2014 Gaza War and criticized MSNBC's coverage of it, saying: "Clearly highlighting what Israel had done to Gaza and the plight of Palestinians. My first thought was, where is the balance? Where is the spotlight on what Jewish children in Israel go through from being victims of rocket attacks?"
She has continued to defend the state's military action in the Gaza Strip, including the ongoing Gaza war which has led to tens of thousands of Palestinian deaths. When the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel's operations in Gaza and the West Bank constitute illegal occupation, Wasserman Schultz claimed on Twitter that the court “discriminates against Israel.” She voiced support for a two-state solution to the conflict, although Israel's Knesset subsequently overwhelmingly rejected such a solution.
Wasserman Schultz supported President Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel's capital, saying: "We must work toward a day where the entire world recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, and that can be achieved through final status negotiations. I remain as committed as ever to safeguarding Israel's future as a Jewish and democratic state, at peace with its neighbors, with Jerusalem as its undisputed capital."
In November 2023, she voted in favor of a bill that provided an additional $14.3 billion to support Israeli military operations in the Gaza Strip.
Wasserman Schultz voted for the Antisemitism Awareness Act of 2023.
Wasserman Schultz was one of 22 Democrats to vote to censor Rashida Tlaib.
Wasserman Schultz voted for the Stop Terror-Financing and Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act.
Wasserman Schultz voted for the "Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024" which was incorporated into Public Law 118-50.
In 2025, Wasserman Schultz sent a letter to Wikimedia CEO Maryana Iskander "seeking answers on how the online encyclopedia will enforce its own rules, curb editor bias and prevent antisemitism and pro-terrorist content from infiltrating Wikipedia pages".
Wasserman Schultz voted to sanction the International Criminal Court after it issued arrest warrants for Israeli leaders.