Ayanna Pressley criticizes Trump in first speech on House floor

US Representative Ayanna Pressley, a Boston Democrat, lambasted President Trump Tuesday in her first speech on the floor of the House of Representatives, pinning the blame on him for a partial government shutdown that she said had caused ‘‘a tsunami of hurt.’’

‘‘Madam Speaker, I rise today in opposition to the occupant of the White House. Mr. Trump, you took an oath just as I did five days ago, to protect and defend the Constitution and the American people.

‘‘Sir, you dishonor that oath. You devalue the life of the immigrant, the worker, and the survivor. I see right through you, and so do the American people,’’ said Pressley, a former city councilor who is the first woman of color from Massachusetts to serve in the House.

‘‘This has nothing to do with border security,’’ she said of Trump’s demand for a border wall, which has led to an impasse with Democrats and the government shutdown.

Read more: https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/01/08/rep-pressley-lambastes-trump-first-speech-house-floor/jjnXNlhKacdGs5RqF0sHGK/story.html