Ayanna Pressley

Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley is taking it one day at a time.

“How do you eat an elephant, as the old adage goes? One bite at a time,” the Massachusetts Democrat said.

The four-term U.S. House representative has become a key player on Capitol Hill, pushing for accountability on critical issues like the Epstein files.

“We need all the files. They have unredacted many of the victims', the survivors', names, and meanwhile protected the powerful, the wealthy and the well-connected, and every single one of them who had anything to do with this,” said Pressley. “They need to be named and they need to be shamed.”

During the week, first lady Melania Trump spoke out on Epstein, saying, “I call on Congress to provide the women who have been victimized by Epstein with a public hearing.”

Those comments brought rare agreement from Pressley, who wrote in a statement, "I hope Melania talks to Chairman [James] Comer and [President Donald] Trump to make this happen. Survivors have waited long enough."

But the House Oversight Committee is scheduled to speak with several people named in the Epstein files or who played a role in the investigation, including former Attorney General Pam Bondi. In our interview, Pressley called her “a chief obstructionist of that justice.”

“That subpoena stands and she will have to come before us,” Pressley said.

Beyond the Epstein issue, she has an eye on the war with Iran and questions about the president approach.

“We have to do everything possible to stop this war and to stop this president, everything should be on the table,” said Pressley. “I’m appealing to Vice President JD Vance, to cabinet members, to be people of conscience … and to invoke the 25th Amendment.”

All the while, Pressley has an eye on the future and why she stayed away from a 2026 challenge to Sen. Ed Markey.

“I took a hard look at it,” said Pressley. “What ultimately had me ruminating on a run was that there was a fair amount of positive incoming.”