Now in her fourth term in Congress but her first as part of the majority, U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, D-Fla., was named to the U.S. House Appropriations Committee.
Last week, U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., announced who the House Democratic Caucus named to the Appropriations Committee, the Energy and Commerce Committee and the Ways and Means Committee. Frankel and U.S. Rep. Charlie Crist, D-Fla., were named to the Appropriations Committee.
“Our new Democratic majority is ‘For The People,’ restoring a Congress that works for the public interest instead of the special interests,” said Pelosi. “We are thrilled to announce the appointments of these outstanding members to key committees, where their leadership will be critical as we fight to protect the health, safety and well-being of the American people.”
Frankel weighed in on her new assignment on Tuesday.
“In the new Democratic majority, I am honored to have an extraordinary opportunity to advocate for south Floridians at the highest level of government advancing investments in health care, education, better infrastructure and global peace,” Frankel said.
Winning a fourth term in November without facing opposition in the general election, Frankel has a pretty lengthy resume in Florida politics, having won a Florida House seat back in 1986. Moving up the ladder in Tallahassee, Frankel served in the Democratic leadership before rolling the dice on a congressional bid in 1992. She won the first round of the primary but was beaten by Alcee Hastings in the runoff.
After losing to Hastings, Frankel looked to get back to Tallahassee, but her former aide Mimi McAndrews was holding her old seat. Frankel bested McAndrews in an ugly primary battle back in 1994 and went on to serve four more terms in the House, eventually rising to become Democratic leader.
Frankel turned her attention to local politics, serving two terms as mayor of West Palm Beach. She won impressively both times, including besting Mayor Joel Daves in the Democratic primary. Even before redistricting in Tallahassee, Frankel set her sights on running for Congress. In 2012, Frankel beat Kristin Jacobs in the Democratic primary to face Hasner in the general election. Republicans had high hopes for Hasner but Frankel beat him by 9 percent. She has moved up the ladder since then, holding a leadership post in the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s (DCCC) “Red to Blue” program and co-chaired the Congressional Women’s Caucus in 2017 and 2018.
