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Sylvia Garcia: Impeachment Manager Is a Lawyer and Former Judge

The freshman Democrat is one of the first two Latina congresswomen from Texas.

Representative Sylvia R. Garcia, Democrat of Texas, before the Judiciary Committee voted on the articles of impeachment last month on Capitol Hill.Credit...Erin Schaff/The New York Times

WASHINGTON — Representative Sylvia R. Garcia, a freshman Democrat who was named Wednesday as a House impeachment manager, made history last year when she was sworn in as one of the first two Latina congresswomen from Texas. A lawyer and former judge, she has an up-from-the-bootstraps personal story.

Born in a South Texas farming community, the eighth of 10 children, Ms. Garcia “saw her parents struggle to raise her and her siblings,” her website says, adding that her parents “taught her that with hard work and a good education she could accomplish anything.”

She attended Texas Woman’s University on a scholarship, graduated with a degree in social work and political science, and went on to obtain her law degree from Texas Southern University. She served as the presiding judge of the Houston Municipal System and was later elected city controller, then served in the Texas Senate. Elected to the House of Representatives in 2018, she became a member of the Judiciary Committee and a fierce critic of the president.

On Wednesday, she said on Twitter she was “honored” to have been chosen to be on the team of impeachment managers. “I take my responsibility seriously because we’re working to defend our Constitution at a pivotal moment in our democracy,” she said.

Hours earlier, before her selection had been announced, she appeared to preview a central plank of the group’s case against the president.

“Trump is a clear and present danger to our democracy, and he must be held accountable,” she wrote on Twitter.

Sheryl Gay Stolberg covers Congress, focusing on domestic policy. She has been a national correspondent, political features writer and White House correspondent and shared in two Pulitzer Prizes at The Los Angeles Times. More about Sheryl Gay Stolberg

A version of this article appears in print on  , Section A, Page 13 of the New York edition with the headline: Sylvia R. Garcia. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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