Elizabeth Warren references contract after attack on pregnancy discrimination claim

As Elizabeth Warren's biography receives greater scrutiny, the 2020 Democratic presidential front-runner added a line to her stump speech at a gathering of Democratic women.

"I became a special needs teacher and I loved that job. But at the end of the first school year, I had an experience that at least some women will recognize," the Massachusetts senator said in Washington, D.C. "By June, I was visibly pregnant. And the principal told me that the job, that I'd already signed contract for the next year, would go somewhere else."

Warren, 70, often recalls how she lost her post as a speech therapist with the Riverdale Board of Education in New Jersey, but the contract is a rarely mentioned detail on the campaign trail. Its addition comes after Riverdale Board of Education meeting records revealed Warren’s contract was renewed in April 1971, but she submitted a letter of resignation. Her resignation was accepted by the board “with regret” in June 1971.

Warren's address at the Democratic National Committee's 2019 Women's Leadership Forum on Thursday was peppered with anecdotes about her struggles with childcare as her career ricocheted from early childhood teaching to law school to becoming a law professor. She used the story to tout her universal childcare and pre-K plan.

The top-tier 2020 Democrat and Wall Street critic also called for "more women in positions of power" because that "leads to progress." She alluded to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her clash with President Trump this week at the White House.

"Let's elect more women because we are sick of seeing photos of congressional meetings where everyone is a white guy, except Nancy," Warren said.

Trump on Wednesday tweeted a photo of Pelosi becoming agitated during a White House discussion, claiming Pelosi had an "unhinged meltdown."