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Rep. Maxine Waters / Getty

BY: Paul Crookston August 1, 2017 4:34 pm

After progressives turned "nevertheless, she persisted" into a rallying cry in support of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.), they have now moved onto the refrain"reclaiming my time," taken from Rep. Maxine Waters (D., Calif.).

Waters repeated those words to Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin during a House Financial Services Committee hearing last week, when she thought he was stalling in his answer about responding to a letter she sent him in May. Committee chairman Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R., Texas) stepped in toexplain that the time did indeed belong to Waters as a ranking member of the committee, and progressives found it to be an empowering moment of defiance in the face of male verbosity.

"As a de facto leader of the anti-Trump resistance, Waters has become a bit of a rallying point for progressives in recent months and her words to Mnuchin quickly became an internet meme among women, minorities, and anyone else who's run out of time to waste and f**ks to give," Aja Romano wrote at Vox.

Progressives have praised "Auntie Maxine" (a name that millennials have given her), shared clips from the hearing, and used "reclaiming my time" as a catchphrase. Similar to the outpouring of affection for Warren when Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) said, "Nevertheless, she persisted" in reference to her, the attention on Waters has been supportive and enthusiastic.

Vocalist Mykal Kilgore even recorded asong in honor of Waters, titled "Reclaiming My TimeGospel Mix" and the Washington Posthailed Waters' phrase as an "anthem."

Waters took to Twitter to thank Kilgore for the song and praise his talent.

Read more:
Progressives Turn Waters' Repetition of 'Reclaiming My Time' Into a Catchphrase - Washington Free Beacon