Washington: Many Democratic women in Congress wore pink to Tuesday nightβs joint session of Congress in protest of US President Donald Trumpβs policies and their effect on American women.
βThe press often pays attention to what women wear, for good or for bad,β said Representative Teresa Leger Fernandez, the chair of the Democratic Womenβs Caucus. βSo we want to wear this colour to raise the alarm about the negative impacts his policies are having on women.β
βOur safety and security is at risk. They are cutting the programs to protect women who have suffered from rape, from domestic violence, from abuse,β Leger Fernandez told The Washington Post. Women are also, Leger Fernandez noted, the grocery shoppers in many American households, and with the recent implementation of Trumpβs tariffs on imported goods, βheβs making life more expensive for usβ.
Democratic members of Congress wear pink to protest Donald Trump during his address to Congress.Credit: AP
At several high-profile political events in recent years β such as the Democratic National Convention and the State of the Union address in 2024 β Democratic women have organised to wear white as a show of unity and in homage to the suffragists who won women the right to vote in 1919. Some women in the chamber wore white at the joint-session address on Tuesday night, continuing tradition.
This time around, the colour pink was chosen not just because itβs harder to miss or because itβs traditionally associated with femininity. βPink has been used as a colour of protest against Trump,β Leger Fernandez said, referring to the pink hats worn at the inaugural Womenβs March in 2017. βPink has also been used as a colour of protest against [Russian President Vladimir] Putin.β
Leger Fernandez wore a magenta blazer, a pale pink blouse, a pink belt, pleated pink pants (bought on consignment, a spokeswoman noted) and a button that read, βBetrayed for Billionairesβ.
US congresswoman Nydia Velazquez joined her colleagues in protest pink.Credit: AP
The collective effort among Democratic members of Congress materialised swiftly β and recently. βWomen are flexible and nimble,β Leger Fernandez said with a laugh, hours before the joint session. βSuitcases were packed. People went to consignment stores. They shared clothes with each other β¦ We are sharing the colour of pink with each other even as we speak.β
Some other notable looks were:
