Trump created a new Dem superstar: LaMonica McIver
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Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) speaks during a rally at the U.S. Department of the Treasury in February. Photo: Jemal Countess/Getty Images for MoveOn
The Justice Department's decision to charge a sitting House lawmaker after a scuffle with ICE officers has launched her on the fast track to stardom in Democratic politics.
Why it matters: First-term Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.), 38, suddenly has a national profile and status among the Democratic base as something of a hero of the anti-Trump resistance.
- But it has also come at a cost: In addition to the financial burden and risks posed by her legal battle, McIver's office has been deluged by furious calls and messages, including many threats.
- The vitriol has risen to the point that her office has assigned a staffer to monitor Fox News for segments that will precipitate a new flood of angry calls, a source familiar with the matter told Axios.
State of play: The Justice Department has charged McIver with assaulting law enforcement based on a scuffle she and other Democratic lawmakers had with a group of ICE officers.
- The Department of Homeland Security has pointed to body cam footage of McIver elbowing an officer; McIver has said she was the one who was assaulted and cast the charges as politically motivated.
- The lawmakers were at the Delaney Hall Detention Center in Newark to protest its use as a migrant holding facility.
Driving the news: In the days after McIver was charged, she went from a virtually unknown member of Congress to a household name.
- Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) featured her in fundraising emails. So did the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and the Pennsylvania Democrats.
- That dynamic is typically only seen with some of the biggest names in Democratic politics: Think Barack Obama, Nancy Pelosi or Jamie Raskin.
Zoom out: Several Democratic lawmakers have fast-tracked their careers by positioning themselves as Trump's most truculent foes in Congress.
- Such was the case with Raskin, a former Trump impeachment manager and Jan. 6 committee member who now leads Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee.
- Adam Schiff, another Trump impeachment and Jan. 6 committee veteran, leveraged his anti-Trump bona fides to help him win a U.S. Senate seat.
What they're saying: "They've targeted her in a very unprecedented way, and so a lot of people are going to know about her and her story because we're all uplifting her and it's taken over the country," Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) told Axios.
- Several lawmakers said they believe the move has backfired on the administration by only further encouraging Democrats to visit ICE facilities.
- Said Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.): "People are doubling down and saying, 'This is the kind of courage we want to see from every single Democrat.'"
