When longtime California Congresswoman Barbara Lee lost her bid for Senate last month, she alluded to her supporters that part of her campaign’s failure to launch stemmed from financial struggles.

“We know that there’s been a lot of money in this campaign, but that’s OK. We have a people-powered campaign,” she told those gathered at Lee headquarters on election night. “We made $15 out of $1, and so I really thank everybody for that.”

It’s something Lee stands by — though the other candidates out-fundraised her, she had a strong ground game in the Golden State. 

What You Need To Know

  • Oakland Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., finished in a distant fourth place in last month's U.S. Senate primary

  • Since then, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has floated Lee as a potential replacement for HUD Secretary, with Secretary Marcia Fudge stepping down from the role last month

  • Lee told Spectrum News that "I would definitely consider" the position of HUD Secretary, but said “too early to say what’s next”

  • With time still remaining on her congressional term, Lee says "we're planning a lot," eyeing several policy priorities such as housing, reproductive rights, repealing the authorization for use of military force, and renewing PEPFAR

“My campaign demonstrated how money influences politics and how we have to get to public financing and campaigns — especially in states like California, where you can have people who can raise $20, $30, $40 million for a state race, and a progressive black woman with a long history experience, a coalition multiracial, multi-generational, multi-ethnic progressive coalition. We took the plurality of the vote, of course, at the Democratic Party convention. But it takes money, a heck of a lot more to win a statewide election for the United States Senate in California,” said Lee in an interview with Spectrum News Tuesday.

Lee hasn’t ruled out another potential run for office in the future (“we’re planning a lot,” she said coyly), but her name is being floated to be the next Housing and Urban Development Secretary by Los Angeles Mayor (and former member of Congress) Karen Bass.

“The Biden administration has to decide whether or not they will make a permanent appointment. And if they do, and it’s not an internal candidate, I think Representative Barbara Lee would be a wonderful champion on behalf of housing for America, because this is an issue that she has personally experienced challenges with. And it is an issue that has been at the core of her work here in Congress for many, many years,” said Bass Tuesday following a press conference on Capitol Hill on the issue of homelessness.

“She was a social worker before coming to Congress, so she understands the issue from the perspective of the individuals who experience homelessness, as well as understanding the systemic challenges.”

When we asked Lee about whether she considered the post, she was enigmatic.

“Being a Secretary of HUD is a position that I believe needs individuals such as former Secretary Marcia Fudge, who did a phenomenal job with strategies, new bold ideas as it relates to housing and, of course, all options are on the table for myself,” said Lee, who added that it’s “too early to say what’s next.”

“I’m always going to fight for the most vulnerable, low-income people, working people. And if a cabinet position or Secretary-hood position afforded me that opportunity — that I would definitely consider,” Lee said, with the caveat that “the timing would be extremely important.”

“I would never want to leave our Democratic caucus with being one vote short of what we needed to do for the country,” explained Lee, referencing the very slim margins by which the House operates.

We have reached out to the White House for comment on Bass’ suggestion and whether or not Lee is being considered for the post.

While Lee isn’t ruling anything out, she is laser-focused on the tasks that lay ahead. With just a few months left in her Congressional seat, she has a laundry list of to-do items, including reauthorizing the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR; protecting reproductive rights (“I co-chair the pro-choice caucus and we have a heck of a lot of work to do between now and November to make sure that we protect access to abortion care,”); and getting the Delivering Essential Protection, Opportunity, and Security for Tenants Act — or DEPOSIT Act — passed in order to provide federal funding to low-income renters to assist with security deposit payments. 

She’s also working to get the Authorization for Use of Military Force repealed. In 2001, Congress voted to pass the AUMF, an authorization that led to the invasion of Iraq under the mistaken belief that Iraq played a role in the terror attack. Lee was the only member of Congress to vote against the AUMF, and faced fierce criticism at the time for her “no” vote. But later, other members of Congress would admit that they wished they had voted against it, too. 

It has become a defining moment of her Congressional career. 

“When I brought it to the floor a couple of years ago, Republicans supported it. We need to get that off the books,” Lee said of her efforts to repeal the AUMF. “As long as it’s there, that legal authority is there — any president can use force wherever and never come to Congress. And I have Republican support for that. The President supports it. So we’re moving forward, trying to get that done this year.”

Lee has made the struggle for peace a core part of her political identity. She became one of the first members of Congress to call for a ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas, and was the first candidate in the race for U.S. Senate in California to do so. As protests have erupted on college campuses, Lee says she’s proud of students who are peacefully making their voices heard, but condemns the ever-more-frequent violence.

“Aggression against Jewish students, anti-Semitism, aggression against Muslim students, Islamophobia, aggression against any student is wrong. I condemn violence and I condemn hate wherever it comes in, so there is no way that I would support any hate in any anti-anything on any college campus,” said Lee. 

Lee has a long history of protesting violence and injustice, standing up against the apartheid regime in South Africa, against the Vietnam War and in favor of the abortion-rights movement. She even protested at her Oakland alma mater, Mills College (now a campus in the Northeastern University system) when Mills was considering admitting men. A private liberal arts women’s college, Mills was famed as a progressive safe-haven for women, especially women of color. It would also become the first single-sex college to admit transgender and nonbinary people.

“Students have a right to protest, and they should protest. But let me tell you, you have to be able to make sure that it’s peaceful. I mean, they have to be able — everyone who is protesting — to ensure that peaceful protests continue to be peaceful,” Lee said.

“People have different points of views, which is OK. I mean, I thought that was the essence of our democracy. And if it still is, then we can’t condemn people who are protesting — but what we can condemn is violence. And that’s what I condemn, but I’m really proud of the students who are peacefully protesting, raising their voices for what they believe in.”

As she closes this chapter of her career and puts the Senate race behind her, Lee remains optimistic. 

“There’s life after Congress, and that’s what I say to everyone,” said Lee with a smile. “If you lose, you can live with it, and there’s life after — then I’m OK with it. You know, I wanted to win, and I fought hard, you know, but I intend to keep fighting hard for justice and for what is right for people, and to really help change this world,” she added.

“That’s what this is about: being a public servant.”