Megan Rapinoe accepts USWNT invite to Congress, brushes off White House

Jack Baer
Updated

Megan Rapinoe and the United States Women’s National Team are officially headed to Congress after winning the 2019 Women’s World Cup.

Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer announced Tuesday that Rapinoe had accepted his invitation to visit the Senate at some point in the future.

“What they have accomplished on and off the pitch is a credit to our nation,” Schumer said. “Millions of young girls and young boys look up to these players. Millions of women, sports fans or not, admire the light they’ve shown on the disparities between the men’s and women’s game, part of a broader fight for equal treatment and fair pay in the workplace for all women.”

Schumer also called for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to bring a bill making it easier for women to get equal pay in the workplace to the floor, with the stated hope that the bill could be passed during the USWNT’s visit.

Schumer, Pelosi and AOC have all invited USWNT

Schumer isn’t the only politician to invite the team to Congress. The first Democrat to strike was Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who invited the team to tour the House of Representatives after its quarterfinal win over France. Rapinoe quickly accepted.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi also invited all USWNT players to visit the Capitol, either as a team or individually, following their win in the finals.

Rapinoe: ‘We’re all part of the same movement’

Rapinoe thanked Schumer for the invite while speaking with reporters on Monday, saying the team was happy to visit Congress. Rapinoe also noted the team has no interest in going to the White House, which shouldn’t be a surprise for anyone at this point.

“I think everybody is with me. We don’t want to go to the White House. So I figured that’s why the invitation hasn’t come, maybe he sent it by mail and it’s just slowly to get here? I doubt it,” Rapinoe said, per Reuters. “I think we will, at some point, be going to Washington. We’ve had so much support from so many politicians, from so many people there.

“Part of me thinks we’re all part of the same movement. That’s great, I love that. Interested to see what McConnell does. Thank you Chuck Schumer for inviting us out. We’re very happy to accept your invitation to come.”

President Donald Trump had previously extended a tentative invite to the team whether or not they won the World Cup, scolding Rapinoe for a perceived “disrespect” in the process. He also congratulated the team after it triumphed over the Netherlands in the World Cup final.

When asked what her message would be to a president she has no interest in meeting during an interview on CNN, Rapinoe

“I think that I would say that ‘Your message is excluding people,’” Rapinoe said. "'You’re excluding me. You’re excluding people that look like me. You’re excluding people of color. You’re excluding, you know, Americans that maybe support you.’

“I think that we need to have a reckoning with the message that you have, and what you’re saying about, ‘Make America great again. I think that you’re harking back to an era that was not great for everyone. It might have been great for a few people, and maybe America is great for a few people right now, but it’s not great for enough Americans in this world.”

United States women's soccer team member Megan Rapinoe holds the Women's World Cup trophy after arriving with teammates at Newark Liberty International Airport, Monday, July 8, 2019, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)
United States women's soccer team member Megan Rapinoe holds the Women's World Cup trophy after arriving with teammates at Newark Liberty International Airport, Monday, July 8, 2019, in Newark, N.J. (AP Photo/Kathy Willens)

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