Press Releases

On Monday, October 6, 2025, Democratic Women’s Caucus (DWC) Chair Teresa Leger Fernández (NM-03) joined Heather Cox Richardson’s “American Conversations” series for a conversation on the Trump administration’s attacks on women and families, and the Democratic Women’s Caucus’ leadership in fighting back and holding the President accountable.

Throughout the conversation, Chair Leger Fernández and Heather Cox Richardson discussed how Trump’s budget, dubbed the “Big Ugly Bill” is an unprecedented cut to health care, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s attacks on women and girls, and the administration’s work to take women backwards. They also spoke about what Democratic Women in the House of Representatives are doing to fight back, and how women from across the country can join the fight. 

Chair Leger Fernández on Hegseth’s Attacks on Women from the Trump Administration:

“It was so insulting what Trump did to have a Fox News Commentator [Pete Hegseth] say we’re not going to let women into combat anymore. There has never been a gendered physical requirement—it is a physical requirement that women meet,” said Chair Leger Fernández. “From the economic attacks on women, to the attacks on our health care, to their comments that we should just stay home and take abuse when it's given to us. My colleagues and I know that there is a target on the back of women's progress by Trump and the MAGA project, and that is why we work so hard.”

Chair Leger Fernández on DWC’s Fight Against the Republican Budget Bill:

“The Big Ugly Bill had such a target on women. 40% of our country's births are funded by Medicaid. Women were at the forefront of pushing back on that bill. We sponsored more than half of the amendments that would have brought some sanity back to make sure we could have access to reproductive health care, that we weren’t harming veterans, that we were protecting nutrition programs,” said Chair Leger Fernández. 

Chair Leger Fernández on DWC’s Better Future Agenda:

“We have a Better Future Agenda that says women should have equal pay, we should have full access to reproductive health care everywhere, we should have childcare… The Democratic Women’s Caucus calls attention to these issues and makes sure that the public knows about them. We write letters, we take positions, we hold hearings, we work with grassroots organizers. We craft legislation, and we craft the pushback to the Trumpian legislation. And we show up on programs like this one, because the world needs to know what is happening,” said Chair Leger Fernández.  

Chair Leger Fernández on Women’s Role in Congress and in Communities:

“The Democratic Women’s Caucus is 96, soon to be 97, women strong… that’s 44% of the Democratic Caucus. Our voices are now heard in every committee, we’re in leadership, we hold top positions in committees,” said Chair Leger Fernández …. “On the Democratic side, women are running; they’re giving money; they’re getting elected; and they are the grassroots organizers. They are the ones who are voting in higher numbers than men. It is a moment where I think there is a realization of the power of women. But you look at what Trump and the MAGA project is—it’s intended to push us back.”

Chair Leger Fernández on Women’s Power to Fight Back:

“We know that women have been part of every movement for American progress, from the Revolutionary war to the Civil War, to Dolores Huerta in the Labor Movement. Si Se Puede! I think women are going to save our Democracy… As my colleague Deborah Ross says, we need to get out and live the first amendment. Pray in the morning if you want to, and then get to work, we have the freedom of the press, freedom of speech… we have the ability to repost, share, and add our own commentary, and we need to exercise it, because the public has the power,” said Chair Leger Fernández.