Pramila Jayapal Is Imposing Discipline on the Democratic Left

For the better part of four years, Pramila Jayapal was like most of the 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, able to come and go from the chamber and walk the Capitol halls with minimal fuss. These days, every time she leaves the House floor and passes through the metal detectors installed after the Jan. 6 insurrection, Jayapal is swarmed by reporters lobbing questions about climate change, health care, immigration reform, and whatever else is trending that day. “I hadn’t really been through that before,” Jayapal says, “but I just stayed focused on what I was trying to do.”

The change came after Jayapal—now in her third term, representing most of Seattle and some key suburbs—took over as chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Under her leadership, the caucus has gone from an ineffective assemblage to a focused voice for the left flank of the Democratic Party. Jayapal has strictly enforced a new rule requiring the 98 members to vote with the group at least two-thirds of the time on bills where the caucus has taken a position, and typical attendance at its weekly meetings has swelled from about 10 to more than half the membership. “My goal was about the outcome,” Jayapal says. “How do we make the progressive caucus stronger?”