Getty Anna Eshoo
Anna Eshoo is a Democratic congresswoman representing California’s 18th district, which include Silicon Valley and Palo Alto. Eshoo, 75, has been representing the district for the past two decades.
This summer, a woman sent Eshoo a letter talking about an encounter she had with Brett Kavanaugh when the woman, and Kavanaugh, were both high school students. Politico is reporting that the woman is now a Stanford professor — but at the woman’s request, her name is being kept a secret.
The woman sent Eshoo a letter detailing her complaint against Kavanaugh and asking her to take action. Instead, Eshoo forwarded the letter to Diane Feinstein. On Monday, Eshoo spoke to reporters about her meeting with Ford and said that Ford had clearly been “scarred” by her encounter with Kavanaugh. “I can tell you from the time that I spent with her and what she shared with me, it was self-evident that she had been scarred by this experience, and will be for a lifetime,” Eshoo told CNN.
Here’s what you need to know about Anna Eshoo:
1. Her Parents Were Immigrants Who Fled Anti-Christian Violence in the Middle East
Eshoo with Barack Obama
Eshoo was born in New Britain, Connecticut. Her parents were originally from Assyria and Armenia. Both of them fled their homes and came to America because of a wave of anti-Christian violence.
As a congress member, Eshoo is a founding member of the Caucus on Religious Minorities in the Middle East. She is also the author of a law creating a special envoy at the U.S. Department of State for Religious Minorities. And she has spoken forcefully in Congress about what she calls “the urgent needs of Christians and other religious minorities who are under siege in the Middle East.”
2. Eshoo Wants the US Government to Formally Recognize the Armenian Genocide
GettyRep. Eshoo in a news conference about funding emergency responders
Every year, Eshoo co-sponsors a resolution calling on the US government to formally recognize the “Armenian genocide,” a reference to the alleged genocide of Armenians and other minorities living in the Ottoman empire in 1915. Eshoo says her own parents fled the Middle East because they were escaping persecution as Christian minorities.
In 2018, Eshoo said, “On this day 103 years ago the world bore witness to the systematic and deliberate annihilation of 1.5 million Armenians, Assyrians, Greeks and other minorities by the Ottoman Empire.
“Over 100 years after the fact, the United States government has yet to make an official statement labeling the atrocities carried out against these minorities as what they were: genocide. I’m proud to have cosponsored the Armenian Genocide Resolution in every Congress I’ve served in to formally recognize one of the darkest chapters in human history, and I will not rest until we are successful.
“Let us take the time today to remember the 1.5 million people who were taken from us—parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles and cousins. Each succeeding generation will hold them in their hearts and we will never forget. May we honor them by rising to the occasion and living by the words of 1 JOHN 3:18, “our love should not be just words and talk; it must be true love, which shows itself in action.”
3. Eshoo Wants Christian Refugees to Get Priority Status When Seeking to Enter the US
Since at least 2015, Eshoo has been working to make it easier for Christians fleeing persecution in the Middle East, especially Iraq, to enter the United States.
Eshoo wants to establish priority refugee status for minorities who want to leave Iraq. ‘‘It’s a hair ball,’’ she told the New York Times ‘‘The average time for admittance to the United States is more than 16 months, and that’s too long. Many will die.’’
Eshoo is, herself, the daughter of Christian refugees who came to the US because they were fleeing religious persecution in the Middle East. This issue is near and dear to her heart.
4. Eshoo, a Democrat, Has Slammed Trump for ‘Betraying Our Country’
Eshoo, a Democrat, is a staunch opponent of President Trump and his policies. She has loudly opposed his positions on Iran, on immigration, and on the DREAM act, to name just a few issues.
After Trump’s meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin, Eshoo issued a statement saying that the president had “betrayed” the country. The statement said, in part, “When President Trump took the Oath of Office, he pledged to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against enemies foreign and domestic. Yesterday he trashed this oath and brought great shame to the U.S. and the presidency itself by standing with Mr. Putin, an enemy of democracy…July 16, 2018 will be noted by historians as the day that the President of the United States betrayed our country.”
5. Eshoo Is Divorced and Has Been Named One of Capitol Hill’s 50 Most Beautiful People
In 2010, The Hill, a newspaper in Washington DC, put out a list of the 50 “most beautiful people” on Capitol Hill. Eshoo, 67 at the time, made the list, and was the oldest person to appear on the list of beautiful people. You can see the full list of beautiful people here.
The Hill praised Eshoo’s “Sophia Loren” style of beauty and her glamorous style.
Eshoo is divorced and has two grown children.