Rep. Lori Trahan has been fighting in the trenches in Congress despite rarely making headlines. For instance, she quipped about the Trump regime attempting to freeze all federal funds early this year.
Reacting to reports that President Donald Trump rescinded his federal funds freeze order, Congresswoman Lori Trahan warned "the fight is far from over" and the White House made clear that efforts to "end the egregious waste of federal funding" will continue.
"Today, after immense public pressure, Donald Trump backed down from his reckless decision to withhold federal funding for programs that working families rely on to make ends meet," Trahan said Thursday. "This is a major victory — one made possible by millions of Americans who demanded that their government work for them, not make it harder to put food on the table or keep a roof over their heads.”
Privacy is at the forefront of her efforts and the “DOGE” actions prove that a modern privacy law is necessary to protect everyone. It is a slog but Rep. Lori Trahan isn’t a quitter.
U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan is leading a push in Congress to close loopholes in a half-century-old federal privacy law that critics say has allowed the Trump administration to “weaponize” the personal financial data of tens of millions of Americans.
Trahan, D-Westford, on Tuesday released an open “request for information” letter to civil society, groups, privacy experts, recently fired federal employees and the general public seeking input about potential misuse of the Privacy Act of 1974, which was approved by Congress in response to the Watergate scandal.
Trahan said Americans’ right to privacy, enshrined in our Constitution, is being “fundamentally challenged,” by the Trump administration and billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency as part of efforts to reduce the size of the federal government.
“Unaccountable billionaires, inexperienced programmers, and unvetted political appointees are perpetrating the biggest government privacy scandal since Watergate, when President Nixon weaponized his access to people’s personal information to target political opponents ranging from companies to politicians to everyday Americans,” Trahan wrote.
“These rogue individuals are accessing agency computer systems at an unprecedented pace and scale, with little to no transparency to the American public or Congress,” she added.
In the letter, Trahan alleges that the gathering of personal financial data by Musk’s DOGE masks “a deeper, more sinister undertaking: to build powerful AI systems that, with no human in the loop, perform all sorts of governmental functions from administering health and food benefits, to conducting background checks, to detecting fraud.”
“The Privacy Act, passed at the dawn of the computer age, was supposed to help the government use technology while upholding a key civil liberty,” Trahan wrote. “But its gaps are increasingly glaring and demand Congress’s attention.”
Trahan, who co-chairs the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, said the information gathering will guide her plans to file legislation to overhaul federal privacy laws.
Rep. Lori Trahan wants to pass many pieces of legislation in Congress. What are her priorities? How is she fighting behind the scenes against the Trump regime? What is her voting record in the House like? All of the questions will be answered below the fold.
Personal History
Rep. Lori Trahan arrives for an interview after winning the seat in the 2018 primary.
Rep. Lori Trahan was born in Lowell, Massachusetts on October 27, 1973 and grew up with three other sisters. Both of her parents had Portuguese ancestry which is why she qualifies for Congressional Hispanic Caucus membership. Like many American families, Trahan lived the immigrant dream despite living paycheck to paycheck. Her escape from poverty came through earning a volleyball scholarship and attending Georgetown University. While there, she graduated with a degree in international relations.
After college, she joined the office of Rep. Marty Meehan and rose through the ranks to eventually become his chief of staff. She would eventually leave Capitol Hill to join the private sector, acquiring jobs at both a software marketing company and a consulting firm. However, politics was her true calling and it wouldn’t be very long before she resurfaced.
In 2018, Rep. Nikki Tsongas decided to retire. Trahan joined a crowded field of candidates vying for this safely blue district. It was an extremely close primary election but Trahan prevailed 21.6% to 21.5% over her nearest primary rival. It was tantamount to election and she has not faced a serious contest ever since. On running for office:
"I'm proud of the fact that I have pushed myself out of my comfort zone a number of times. It's a hard thing to do. I did it when I left politics the first time to go to the tech sector. I did it again when I started my own company with two other women, the consulting company that was really at the end committed to getting more women into leadership roles. And I did it by putting my name on the ballot.
"And I don't believe ... anything comes easy in life. And I think that has been validated by the risks that I've taken, maybe career risks or the personal risks that I've taken in order to go where I've wanted to go.
"And along the way, if I can bring more women to the game, if I can elevate, women so that people see our power, if I can set the conditions so that women can thrive as casually as men have for centuries, I'm going to do that. And so whatever personal risk or personal sacrifice that I've taken on is hopefully something that women writ large benefit from and get a return on."
Issue Positions and Work in Congress
Rep. Lori Trahan speaking in favor of the first impeachment of Trump in 2019.
Rep. Lori Trahan is right in the middle of the Democratic caucus when it comes to ideology. Her DW Nominate score is -0.414 which puts her to the left of 79% of the entire House membership and 57% of her Democratic colleagues. She earns a 95% “A” rating from Progressive Punch as well. While not in the most progressive faction in the House, Trahan holds her own with a voting record that agreed with Biden’s stated position 100% of the time in the 118th and 119th Congresses.
Rep. Lori Trahan has not been the primary sponsor of any legislation that has become law. Four of her proposed bills have passed the House of Representatives but each time they died in the Senate. In the 119th Congress, she is the primary sponsor of 12 pieces of proposed legislation and has also co-sponsored 201 additional pieces of legislation. With the GOP having a trifecta, it is unlikely that her legislative priorities have a chance of becoming laws any time soon.
One of her main efforts has been protecting people online. She was an original sponsor of legislation than bans online suicide help forums. People were seeking these sites and they provided assistance regardless of age. She also tried to push a constitutional amendment to lower the voting age in the United States to 16. Obviously that one went nowhere as well.
Trahan tried her best to keep the Job Corps up and running after savage attacks from “DOGE” this year. Efforts were largely futile despite some initial favorable rulings from the courts.
Two of Massachusetts congressional representatives called on their constituents to raise their voices to protest the scheduled shuttering of the federal Jobs Corps program that offers vocational training to the country’s most vulnerable youth and provides skilled and reliable workers to local employers.
U.S. Rep. James McGovern, D-Worcester, joined U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan at the Devens Shriver Job Corps facility to assure the students, staff and employers that they would fight to ensure that funding for the program is reinstated.
“It is worth preserving; it is worth fighting for,” McGovern said, promising to ”knock some heads,” to persuade his legislative colleagues to agree with the premise. In his opening remarks, he admonished President Donald J. Trump, telling him to “keep his God dam hands off Job Corps.”
A federal judge sitting in New York extended a temporary restraining order that blocked the federal Department of Labor from shuttering the program pending a hearing June 17. That stay is set to expire June 25, Trahan said. The federal government had set June 30 as the proposed closure date.
Her latest fight with the Trump regime centers on LIHEAP funding. This critical program helps low income families afford heat during the brutal winter months. It is a fight she intends to win.
Today, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03) and Congressman Raul Ruiz, M.D. (CA-25) led 99 Democratic members of Congress urging U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Office of Budget and Management (OBM) Director Russell Vought to immediately release the highest possible amount of Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) funding available under the November 2025 Continuing Resolution. The members emphasized the urgent need to restore energy assistance to millions of vulnerable households facing rising utility costs and extreme weather conditions nationwide.
“LIHEAP is already an oversubscribed and underfunded program, reaching only about 17 percent of eligible households. Without immediate action, millions of families across the country could lose access to essential energy services, leaving families exposed to severe health and safety risks as temperatures continue to fluctuate between dangerous heat and cold,” the lawmakers wrote. “Ensuring the immediate release of LIHEAP funds is therefore not only a matter of compassion, but one of public health, safety, and economic stability.”
LIHEAP is a federal program that helps eligible households afford heating in the winter and cooling during dangerously high summer temperatures. Last winter, more than 159,000 households across Massachusetts used the LIHEAP program to help afford their home heating bills.. However, recent administrative actions have placed the program and millions of Americans who depend on it at risk.
Let’s hope Rep. Lori Trahan continues her fight for these critical programs!
CHC in the Media
A rather light week in this section as most CHC members spend time with their families during Thanksgiving.
Monday, November 24
Sen. Ruben Gallego CALLED OUT the Trump regime for targeting fellow Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly.
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Gallego to Hegseth: "You will never ever be half the man that Sen. Kelly is. You, sir, are a coward. And the fact that you are following this order from the president shows how big of a coward you are. I can't wait until you are no longer the secretary of defense."
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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) November 24, 2025 at 4:45 PM
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Gallego: "Donald Trump is gonna be gone in a couple years. And if you're part of the military that is going after sitting members of Congress and part of the weaponization of government, there will be consequences. Without a doubt."
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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) November 24, 2025 at 4:45 PM
Democrats hold a major shadow hearing on the conduct of ICE in the Trump regime. Prominent speakers included Rep. Robert Garcia.
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Garcia: The oversight committee and Democrats launched our official oversight immigration enforcement dashboard. The dashboard that allows our committee to investigate and document and archive for the public record, possible misconducts by federal agents, ICE, and DHS.
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— Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) November 24, 2025 at 11:18 PM
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Garcia: We know this is a nation of immigrants, and Donald Trump is attacking the very identity of our country. Right now, whether you are documented or not, whether you are seeking asylum at our border or have been here for decades, you could be targeted by this administration.
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— Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) November 24, 2025 at 11:24 PM
Rep. Lori Trahan isn’t the most well-known member of Congress but she definitely has some fight in her. The efforts to protect our privacy and save programs such as the Job Corps and LIHEAP are commendable despite the overwhelming odds against success right now. She is 100% correct in saying our fight is far from over and that the Trump regime won’t give up power easily. We need more legislators like her in order to fix all of the damage.
The CHC Roundup is a diary series meant to highlight the contributions of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus to the Democratic Party. These 43 members of Congress range from members of the Squad to the most conservative members of the party. The series will run every Saturday morning, at 8:00AM.
