Rep. Gwen Moore at the 2016 Democratic National Convention. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Wisconsin Representative Gwen Moore is hoping to stop President Donald Trump‘s attempt to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border with legislation that will cut off funding. She’s calling it the “No Taxpayer Funding For The Wall Act.” Since Trump has insisted that Mexico will pay for the wall.
The 65-year-old Moore has represented Wisconsin’s fourth congressional district since 2005, after serving in the Wisconsin State Senate from 1993 to 2005. After 2011 redistricting, her district includes Milwaukee County suburbs and the entirety of Milwaukee itself.
You can follow Moore on Twitter and her interns on Instagram.
Here’s a look at Moore.
1. Moore Doesn’t Want Americans to Pay for Any Wall Along the Border
In an interview with CBS News, Moore said she doesn’t want Americans paying for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, which is why she’s sponsoring the “No Taxpayer Funding for the Wall Act.” Over three dozen Democrats have signed on to co-sponsor, but she’s received no Republican support so far.
Moore told CBS News that she’s reaching out to Republicans, hoping to get support from the few who have been openly skeptical about the wall. She also thinks she can get support from Republicans who want to stop the federal deficit from growing.
“My bill gives amazing opportunities, I think, to people like [GOP Rep.] Jim Jordan to opt out of building the wall,” she told CBS News. “I’m trying to mobilize some interest in my bill from deficit hawks.”
Trump has insisted that his wall will be built soon and paid for by Mexico, even though the Mexican government refuses to pay. In his first speech before Congress, Trump claimed that the wall “will be started ahead of schedule.”
CBS News reported in February that the Department of Homeland Security estimates that the wall will cost $21.6 billion, almost twice as much as previous estimates.
“I am not in favor of the wall, but if there is a wall, then I do not want the United States of America to pay for the wall,” Moore told CBS News.
2. She Thinks the House Republican Obamacare Replacement ‘Wreaks Havoc’
Moore was also a vocal critic of the American Health Care Act (AHCA), the proposed House Republican replacement for the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
In her statement after it was made public, she called the AHCA a “self-inflicted wound that will exacerbate costs, limit protections, and hurt the 70 million Americans who rely on Medicaid, including pregnant women and vulnerable children.”
She also noted that the low-income Americans won’t be the only ones impacted by the legislation. “It is important to recognize that everyone – regardless of their socioeconomic background – will foot the bill for this misguided proposal,” she wrote.
“I am particularly disturbed by the effect this legislation will have on women’s health,” Moore’s statement continued. “In addition to defunding Planned Parenthood – a vital health care organization that many of my constituents depend on – this bill also aims to dismantle the private insurance market for abortion coverage, a procedure that, out-of-pocket, can cost tens of thousands of dollars. As this legislation moves through the House of Representatives, rest assured I will be voicing my strident opposition to it and any proposal that values politics over patients.”
In January, Moore spoke at a Milwaukee rally to support Obamacare.
“Repealing and replacing means that it will rain on the just and the unjust,” she said, reports the Journal Sentinel. “One thing we got in common, folks, is that we all are human and that we all need a health care system that will be there for us.”
3. Moore Was Sexually Molested as a Child & Date Raped as an Adult
Gwen Moore’s official portrait. (Twitter/Gwen Moore)
In 2012, Moore joined House minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to sponsor the re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act. The issue is close to Moore, since she was sexually molested by a family member as a child and was a victim of date rape as a young woman, ABC News reported. Although the re-authorization wasn’t successful immediately, it was eventually re-authorized in 2013.
“This is what American women are facing,” Moore told ABC News. “This is not a partisan issue and it would be very, very devastating to women of all colors, creeds and sexual orientations for us not to address this.” She also said, “Violence against women is as American as apple pie.”
“I have been a victim of domestic violence and sexual assault for as long as I can remember,” Moore told the Daily Beast. “I think that men, boys, see it as a right of passage to have sex with girls. Lovers feel it is their right to dominate women in that way. That has been my experience.”
When the act was re-authorized in 2013, Jeff Sessions was one of 22 Senators to vote against it. Now, as Attorney General, it’s his job to make sure it’s enforced. “I think we should be sensitive to the impressions we cast by our votes and so forth but fundamentally you can’t vote a piece of legislation you don’t think is sound,” Sessions explained to CNN at the time.
4. Moore’s Son Served 4 Months in Prison for Slashing Tires at a Bush-Cheney Office in 2004
Gwen Moore in 2009. (Getty)
In 2004, Moore’s son, Sowande A. Omokunde, was arrested for slashing tires outside a Milwaukee office of the George W. Bush-Dick Cheney campaign. Three other Democratic campaign workers were also arrested and received jail time. As The Associated Press reported at the time, Omokunde was sentenced to four months in prison and had to pay $2,305 in fines.
“I love my son very much. I’m very proud of him,” Moore said at the time. “He’s accepted responsibility.”
Moore’s other children are Jesselynne and Ade. She has three grandchildren, according to her official bio. She is not currently married.
5. Moore Decided to Attend Trump’s Inauguration So He Could See ‘The Resistance’
Gwen Moore with Valerie Jarrett in 2014. (Getty)
While many Democratic members of Congress decided against attending Trump’s inauguration, Moore did attend.
In a statement on her website, she said she wanted Trump to see “The Resistance.”
“I refuse to be a pawn in the president-elect’s efforts to rally support from congressional Republicans. As a proud Democrat, I want President-elect Trump to see me front and center as he’s sworn in,” Moore said. “I want him to see exactly what his opposition looks like. When he sees me, I want him to see The Resistance.”
She said it was not an easy decision and reminded her constituents that she still thinks Trump’s policies are “repugnant and anathema to my efforts to pursue social justice.”
“In November, Milwaukee sent a strong, clear message that Donald Trump was the wrong man to lead our country. I intend to deliver that message with my presence at the Presidential Inauguration and serve as a symbol of opposition, not normalization,” Moore said.
Although Trump won Wisconsin, Hillary Clinton won Milwaukee County with 65.5 percent of the vote.
