Congratulations! California Rep. Barbara Jean Lee gets married on New Year’s Eve
Proving Black love is beautiful at any stage in life.
Longtime California Democratic Congresswoman, Barbara Jean Lee is bringing some good news to Capitol Hill by announcing that she got married on New Year Day.
Longtime California Democratic Congresswoman, Barbara Jean Lee is bringing some good news to Capitol Hill. The 73-year old brought in the new year as a freshly wed woman.
Rep. Lee got married on New Year’s Eve to a Los Angeles pastor and took to social media to introduce her “newest constituent” in a tweet announcing that she is now the wife of Rev. Clyde Oden Jr. of Los Angeles.
“An extra special welcome and #HappyNewYear to my newest constituent – Rev. Dr. Clyde Oden Jr., who I had the honor of marrying last night! I look forward to welcoming Clyde to the East Bay community and introducing him to you as my kind and loving husband,” Lee wrote in the sweet messagE, which was accompanied by a photo of the couple.
An extra special welcome and #HappyNewYear to my newest constituent – Rev. Dr. Clyde Oden Jr., who I had the honor of marrying last night! I look forward to welcoming Clyde to the East Bay community and introducing him to you as my kind and loving husband. pic.twitter.com/0fS5m01LRm
— Rep. Barbara Lee (@RepBarbaraLee) January 2, 2020
Lee was first elected to the House in 1998. Her district is comprised of Oakland, Berkeley and Emeryville. She was the only member of Congress to vote “no” against authorizing the war in Afghanistan in 2001, shortly after Sept 11.
This isn’t Lee’s first marriage, but it has been a while since she has been in an official union. Lee got divorced at age 20, according to The Mercury News. She has two sons whom she raised on her own as a single mom. Oden formerly headed up Bethel Oxnard African Methodist Episcopal Church but recently retired. He is widowed.
Two days after she tied the knot, Lee was back to business, criticizing President Donald Trump for the air missile strike in Syria that killed a top Iranian general.
“The airstrike and killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani and other senior Iranian military officials without Congressional authorization is a dangerous escalation of tensions with Iran that brings us close to the brink of war,” Lee said in a statement she posted to Twitter.
“Since day one, Trump and his war hawk administration have shunned diplomacy by ending the effective Iran nuclear deal, and have had no real strategy or plan to replace it,” she added. “The Trump administration has acted without any consultation with Congress or an authorization to use military force. It is beyond clear that Congress must act urgently to repeal the 2001 and 2002 Authorization of the Use of Military Force (AUMF). My amendment to repeal the 2002 AUMF was included in the House passed FY-2020 NDAA, but stripped by Republicans from the final bill.”
Lee ended her statement on a cautionary note.
“We must work to prevent further military action in the region. We have known for years that there is no military solution, and it’s past time to return to a diplomatic strategy with our allies. We must protect our national security, our brave troops, our allies, and the American people,” she wrote.
