'A Good Ally': From peacemaker to culture warrior, Rep. Becca Balint stands her ground

Rep. Becca Balint ran for Congress last year as a bridge builder and a peacemaker. But five months into the job, the first-term Vermont representative is appearing on national news and going viral on social media as she slams anti-LGBTQ+ attacks as “garbage” and slaps down far-right trolls such as Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo,<br />Balint’s willingness to rumble in the culture wars and push back against political opponents has earned her respect from her Democratic colleagues. This week, House Democrats voted to appoint her to the House Judiciary Committee, one of the most high-profile assignments. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said that Balint “will be a strong voice on the Judiciary Committee and I look forward to working with her to fight back against MAGA extremism and continue putting People Over Politics.”<br />Rep. Balint, who is filling a vacancy left by Rep. David Cicciline, D-R.I., on the Judiciary Committee, will be the committee’s sole openly gay member and the only democratic representative from the Northeast. She also serves on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee and the House Budget Committee, though she is likely to have to step down from one of those committees when she joins Judiciary.<br />Balint entered electoral politics after being a middle school teacher in Windham County for 14 years. She served eight years in the Vermont State Senate, including two years as Senate President Pro Tempore.<br />For Balint, the current wave of GOP attacks on queer and trans people — over  500 anti-LGBTQ+ bills have been introduced in state legislatures this year — is personal and infuriating.<br />“To bring in queer and trans kids into the conversation [Republicans] have decided that this is a boogeyman that they can use to raise money, turn people out to the polls …something else to rile the base.<br />“For me, it is so cynical and so cruel to decide that the enemy that you're going after are our children and their parents who are just trying to do the very best they can do.”<br />Balint said that the U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2015 legalizing same-sex marriage spawned a backlash.<br />“There is always a backlash when Americans gai