Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-Va.) presented a speech on the House floor using a voice assistance tool on Monday, more than a year after she announced her diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease.
Wexton started her floor speech on Monday by stating, “Last year I was diagnosed with progressive supranuclear palsy — or PSP,” and clarified that she uses a voice assistance app to communicate due to the difficulty caused by PSP in speaking.
During her speech, Wexton talked about her proposal to rename the Purcellville Post Office in honor of Madeleine Albright, the first female U.S. secretary of State who lived in Wexton’s 10th Congressional District in Virginia for many years.
Wexton, 55, made public her Parkinson’s disease last year, expressing that the disease has mainly affected her speech, mouth movements, walking, and balance.
When she announced her Parkinson’s disease in April 2023, she requested people not to feel pity for her and emphasized her positive attitude.
Months later, she made an announcement that she will not seek reelection due to the prognosis.
“I’m heartbroken to have to give up something I have loved after so many years of serving my community,” Wexton stated in September. “But considering the prognosis for my health over the coming years, I have decided not to seek reelection once my term is complete and instead spend my valued time with Andrew, our boys, and my friends and loved ones.”
The Virginia Democrat has represented the state’s 10th Congressional District since 2019, when she turned a Republican-held seat during the 2018 midterms. She has been reelected twice since then to represent Virginia’s 10th District, which includes the suburbs outside Washington.
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, PSP is “a rare neurological disorder that affects body movements, walking and balance, and eye movements.” The disease can cause severe disability and serious complications within three to five years, per the institute.
The positive reception of Wexton’s use of voice assistance for her speech on Monday’s floor was widely praised on social media.
“Congresswoman Wexton is such a fighter man; even in the face of illness that’s robbed her ability to speak, she’s still fighting every day for the folks she represents. Truly an inspiration we can all learn from,” stated Isaiah Martin, a Texas Democratic candidate for the U.S. House, wrote on the social platform X.
“Congresswoman Jennifer Wexton gets more inspiring each day. With remarkable courage and grace, she continues to dedicate herself to the 10th district. Her constituents are lucky to have her fighting for them,” mentioned Rip Sullivan, a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, also wrote on X.
