In the 236-year history of the influential House Ways and Means Committee, no Black woman has ever served in a leadership position on the important tax-writing committee or its subcommittees.

Until Wednesday, when Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Birmingham, was selected to serve as ranking member of the committee’s Oversight Subcommittee in the new Congress.

Sewell, who will be the subcommittee’s top Democrat, became the first Black woman to serve in a Ways and Means subcommittee leadership position.

“I am honored to have been selected by my Democratic colleagues to lead our work on the Ways and Means Oversight Subcommittee,” Sewell said in a statement.

“As Congress prepares to consider new changes to our tax code, I look forward to fighting alongside my colleagues to protect programs like Social Security and Medicare and ensure that our tax system benefits all Americans, not just billionaires and big corporations. As Ranking Member, I am prepared to work with my Republican colleagues where possible and hold the incoming administration accountable when necessary.”

Until Sewell’s elevation to a subcommittee leadership post, no Black woman had served in a similar position since the committee was established in 1789.

Sewell has served on the Ways and Means committee since 2017.

The committee is the oldest in Congress and is the chief tax-writing committee in the House, with jurisdiction over taxes, trade, Social Security and Medicare.

Sewell was also appointed to serve on the Trade and Social Security subcommittees.