My decision - to run for Congress

I want you to be the very first to know

You’ve been with me since I decided to take on the Trump administration back in 2020, and you have no idea how much that means to me.

I want you to be the very first to know:

I’m running for Congress in Virginia as MAGA’s greatest enemy. We need leaders with courage to fight for you.

This is a long post about why I’m running, what it means, and who I’m fighting for. If you’re already with me from Day One, I hope I can count on you to become a Founding Donor to my campaign to start things off the right way.

Otherwise, keep reading…

I’m the daughter of a truck driver and a Mexican immigrant. I grew up in a working-class Texas border town and learned English watching Sesame Street. After my parents divorced, my mom and I leaned on family and made ends meet without health insurance. When I found out my stepfather was abusing her, I helped her flee in the middle of the night.

So, I know what it means to fight when the stakes are real.

After September 11th, I felt called to serve. I went to work at the Pentagon, spent a year in a warzone in Iraq, and served under both President Bush and President Obama in counter-terrorism roles. I worked at the National Counterterrorism Center, at the Department of Homeland Security, and at the Department of Energy’s intelligence arm — anywhere I could help keep Americans safe.

Then I was asked to serve in the White House. I sat in the Situation Room. I staffed the Coronavirus Task Force. I worked alongside people who still believed the job meant something.

But behind closed doors, I watched Donald Trump treat a pandemic that killed over a million Americans like a PR problem. I watched Stephen Miller scream at career officials for not being cruel enough at the border — my border, where I grew up, where my family still lives. I watched good people get ground down and pushed out for telling the truth.

So in 2020, I did something that terrified me: I resigned, and I went public.

I became one of the first senior Trump officials to speak out. I stood on stage at the Democratic National Convention. I campaigned against Trump in 2024. I wrote about everything I’d seen on my Substack — and you read it.

They sued me. MAGA stooge Richard Grenell dragged me through years of lawfare trying to silence me — and just last week, a federal court threw out his case with prejudice. They tried to break me financially, professionally, and personally. It didn’t work.

I’m proud to have earned the right enemies.

I’m not connected. I’m not rich. I’m not carrying a famous last name. But that’s exactly why I’m running – to represent the people, not the powerful.

Northern Virginia needs a fighter in Congress. Someone who won’t back down when courage requires it. Someone who’s already proven they can take the heat.

I’m running to protect your healthcare — because I grew up without it. To hold the line on democracy — because I’ve seen what happens when no one does. And to make damn sure the people who work hard, raise families, and play by the rules aren’t forgotten by the people they send to Washington.

MAGA wants us afraid. They want us quiet. They want us to give up. I’ve already shown them that’s not going to happen. Now I need you to stand with me.

This is the moment. Our country is on the line.

Will you make a donation right now to become a Founding Donor of my campaign? Every dollar we raise in this first week sends a signal that Northern Virginia is ready for a different kind of leader.

I’ve spent my career standing up to bullies – in my family, in warzones, in the White House. I’m ready to do it again in Congress.

Please join me in this fight.

Olivia