Just days after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks Oakland Rep. Barbara Lee stood alone in the well of the House floor for a speech that would define a large part of her political career.

“This unspeakable act against the United States has really forced me, however, to rely on my moral compass, my conscience and my God for guidance,” Lee said, her voice welling with emotion. 

With that, she became the only person in Congress to vote against Senate Joint Resolution 23, the Authorization for Use of Military Force, which President George W. Bush requested to punish those perceived responsible for the attacks.

“This was a very difficult decision,” Lee told Spectrum News in a recent interview. “The trauma, the anxiety, the anger, the fear that I had, everyone had. I knew then though, as a social worker by profession, Psychology 101 says you don’t make hard decisions in the midst of grieving.”

The Bush administration used the authorization to invade Iraq - under the mistaken belief that Iraq played a role in the terror attack. Lee faced fierce criticism at the time for her “no” vote, which would become one of the defining moments of her congressional career. But other members of Congress would later go on to say they wished they voted against it, too. 

“When President Bush came forward, and the Congress agreed to this 60 word authorization to use military force, it set the stage for forever wars. It was overly broad. It gave away Congress’s responsibility to declare war and gave any president — then-President Bush, any subsequent president — the authority to go to war. And that is just downright wrong. And it should have never happened.”

Lee continues to advocate for the repeal of the authorization, through legislation. So far, her colleagues have yet to take up the measure.

“As hard as that was, for me, sometimes, here in this place, you have to make those hard decisions based on your conscience, based on what you think is morally right.”

Last February, Lee announced her bid for the U.S. Senate, seeking to fill the seat of the late Senator Dianne Feinstein, but she has lagged in the polls behind her fellow Californians in Congress, Democratic Reps. Adam Schiff and Katie Porter. 

Lee has reeled in a number of endorsements from prominent members of Congress such as former Democratic Whip Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and members of the progressive “Squad” — Reps. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., and Rep. Cori Bush, D-Mo. — but she has trailed Porter and Schiff in fundraising.

Lee arrived in Congress in 1998, after winning a special election to replace Ron Dellums, an anti-war firebrand who resigned in the middle of his 14th term. Representing Oakland and Berkeley, Lee’s seat is located in one of the most liberal districts in America. She’s hoping her 26 years of experience in Congress and her lived experiences will convince voters she can provide something that the other candidates can’t.

“I’ve always been a progressive when you look at my childhood, for example, growing up in El Paso, Texas, in an immigrant community. My mother, when she was about to deliver me, needed a C-section. She almost died in childbirth, because they would not admit her into the hospital,” said Lee. “I knew that story early on in my life: that black women died in childbirth more than any other woman, and that the infant mortality rates of black children were much higher, and fast forward to where we are today. Now, black maternal mortality is three times four times that of white women — more black kids die in childbirth.”

The racism and discrimination that she dealt with as a child, she said, forced her to look at the world through a lens in search of justice and equity.

The only Black woman in the race, Lee, has often been vocal about the challenges she has faced. As a young mother, she left an abusive relationship, and lived in hotels while she sought to make ends meet. During a debate last month, she was quick to seize on Republican candidate Steve Garvey’s comments about “touching” and speaking with individuals experiencing homelessness.

“I’ve just gotta say, as someone who’s been unsheltered, I cannot believe how he described his ‘walk’ and ‘touching,’” she said. 

Lee’s brand of politics has focused on lifting up the most marginalized individuals, unafraid to standalone and stand up for what she believes to be right, in spite of what the majority of her party might think. She was one of the first Democrats to call for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas when the war broke out in October, despite the leaders of her party standing staunchly behind Israel.  

“As someone who has a value system that believes one that innocent people should not be killed, I really condemned the Hamas attack early on. And I talked about Israel security, and I said, I believe in the security of Israel and believe that we must condemn terrorist attacks and Hamas. And I do believe we must condemn what is taking place in terms of the killing of civilians.”

“I have to stand up and call for a ceasefire because that’s the right thing to do,” she told Spectrum News.

Some of her supporters believe her position could help set Lee apart from the pack. 

“She was an early supporter of the ceasefire with the release of all hostages. That’s a differentiator in that race,” said Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif, who co-chairs her campaign.

“She has stood up for authorizing the use of force in Congress — not having the president conduct unauthorized strikes. And I think with her record on issues — on war and peace, of Medicare for all, free public college — become known, many progressive Democrats in California will vote for her,” he said. “Many of the people who help Bernie Sanders will vote for her.”

Lee has also been an outspoken lawmaker on Capitol Hill when it comes to the issue of reproductive freedoms, which Democrats have been warning is on the ballot this election cycle.

Lee has shared her own abortion story — testifying about it before the House Oversight Committee in 2021 - months before the Supreme Court would overturn Roe v. Wade. When Lee was 15 years, her mother helped her access abortion care by putting her under the supervision of a friend living in El Paso, Texas, who snuck her across the border to Juarez, Mexico, to have the procedure.

“It was very hard for me to talk about publicly — I had an abortion before Roe,” she explained. “I didn’t talk about it because it was my own decision. It was personal, it was private, it was nobody’s business the way it should be now.”

“The Dobbs decision — there was no way I was just going to let that go down and not be actively opposing these laws, actively sharing my story so that others could understand they have members of Congress who understand them, and who see them and who are fighting to make sure that their healthcare and their decisions of their own bodies are respected.”

In Lee’s nearly three decades in Congress, she’s held a number of high-profile positions and leadership roles; she’s served as the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus from 2009 to 2011, and co-chair of the Progressive Caucus from 2005 to 2009. She now is the highest-ranking Black woman in Democratic leadership as the co-chair of the Policy and Steering Committee. She is also a member of the Budget and Appropriations committees.

Lee says she’s one of the most notable things that has happened in her tenure is the expansion of diverse voices now within Congress.

“I have seen the focus on AAPI communities and Hispanic communities and African American communities and Native American communities in a way that I did not see when I first came to Congress now. We’re really looking at equity and all of our policies and how we can make sure that everyone, regardless of their background, and who they are, the people have a seat at the table.”

Despite her liberal leaning, Lee considers herself a bridge builder. In 2003, she worked with President Bush, despite their differences in 2001, to establish the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, also known as PEPFAR. 

“I’ve been able to help save 25 million lives around the world. I went to President Bush, who I totally disagreed with on every single policy. But I talked to him about so many people dying of HIV and AIDS — and he listened,” recalled Lee. “Those were some really difficult negotiations - because I had to work with President Bush, I had to work with Henry Hyde, I had to work with Chris Smith, some major Republicans who did not agree with me, but I was able to help bring consensus,” said Lee.

The effort to renew PEPFAR has been an ongoing battle in Congress over the last year. Republicans are accusing the Biden administration of using PEPFAR to fund abortion providers overseas and Democrats are against reinstating a Trump administration rule that prohibited foreign aid going to groups that provide or counsel on abortions. The renewal remains at a deadlock.

“It shouldn’t take this long — because now the programs are being derailed. People are getting sicker, and we need to do this because we have to get to an AIDS free generation in 2030,” said Lee, who remains frustrated by the impasse but perhaps more determined than ever to bridge the divide. “I’m going to find a path forward with Republicans to be able to extend this for five years.”

Regardless of the outcome of the primary or the general election, Lee will soon leave the House behind after over a quarter of a century of service. Asked her if she had any regrets, she said, “What I would do differently here in the House, probably would be more work around making sure that people understand the reason why people of color, especially African Americans in this country deserve reparations and deserve to be able to present the facts to the public so the public can understand why 250 years of being enslaved, Jim Crow, lynchings, why all of the systemic issues here in America have led to the disproportionate rates of African Americans being incarcerated.”

“What I want to see happen, what I haven’t been able to accomplish is to establish the truth, racial healing and transformation commission, so that the country would understand why black people deserve to be treated equally and why we have to pass like we’re doing in California now, an effort to begin to look at racial healing and transformation through reparations. And that in itself requires truth telling and educating the public so that everyone can come together and say, yes, you’re just as American as I am.”

Lee is hoping there is still time to accomplish that — just with a new title in front of her name: Senator.  

Click here to read our interview with Rep. Katie Porter

Click here to read our interview with Rep. Adam Schiff