Michigan Rep Rashida Tlaib: Many hope Biden tackles systematic racism

Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib says she hopes the Biden administration does not "shy away" from correcting policies that entrench "systematic racism."

"Many of my residents want to see an aggressive plan to deal with poverty, to deal with any inequity in education funding," Tlaib said.

"For so many of the uprising and so many folks, my black neighbors across the country, not only in my district, it is not just who killed George Floyd, about police brutality, it's also what. What systems are in place that really were intentionally placed and implemented in a way that very much left communities like mine out."

Tlaib represents the 13th Congressional district of Michigan - more than half of the district's residents are Black and it includes parts of Detroit.

Tlaib says she wants to see the Biden administration in its first 90 days pass a "really aggressive, bold, COVID package that meets the needs of now, needs of people now."

For her that would include recurring $2,000 payments to Americans. She also wants Democrats to improve access to clean water, a concern in her district and other parts of the US, and increase the federal minimum wage. While the Michigan Democrat has previously pressed for a $20 an hour minimum wage, she says it should be at least $15 an hour.

Tlaib, who was often the target of Former President Donald Trump, says she will continue to "speak truth to power, even if it's unpopular, no matter who the president is" and if there are disagreements between Tlaib and President Joe Biden she expects them not to be on policy goals, but on timeframes.

"Even though I know our goals are different, I'm going to be pushing them to move with that sense of urgency that my residents have been asking me to do," Tlaib said.