On The Overcast, political reporters Jim Brunner and Dan Beekman sit down with 7th Congressional District Rep. Pramila Jayapal to talk about what it's like to serve in Congress in the Trump era.
It’s been nearly five months since Pramila Jayapal began serving as representative of Seattle’s 7th Congressional District, thrust into the constant crisis that is Washington, D.C., in the Trump era.
On Episode 39 of The Overcast, political reporters Jim Brunner and Dan Beekman sat down with Jayapal in her Seattle district office to talk about what it’s been like to serve in the Democratic minority, with few prospects in the short run for getting legislation passed.
A former state senator and longtime immigrant-rights activist, Jayapal says the rigidly partisan structure of the U.S. House has surprised her the most since arriving in D.C.
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“The House of Representatives is really set up to really favor the majority party,” she says. In the state Legislature, it’s “pretty rare” that there would not be a public hearing on a bill.
It’s more routine in Congress, Jayapal says, citing a recent Judiciary Committee meeting in which three bills were jammed through with no hearing, including a measure to deport 11 million undocumented immigrants.
Representing one of the most liberal districts in the country, Jayapal has been a loud voice of dissent against President Trump. She recently introduced a package of bills to challenge the president on Russia ties and his family’s business entanglements.
And she’s been one of the Democrats willing to talk about impeachment, citing revelations about Trump’s alleged efforts to halt an FBI investigation into possible collusion between his campaign and Russia.
“If those things are true, then, yeah, I believe that constitutes obstruction of justice, and I believe that that is an impeachable offense,” Jayapal says.
As a member of the Judiciary Committee, she’s been briefed by the Congressional Research Service on how impeachment would work. It’s not a move to be taken lightly, and Jayapal says Democrats must ensure they have their facts straight if they proceed.
There’s much more in the discussion, including whether Jayapal plans to work with Republicans, whether she’ll endorse anyone in Seattle’s mayoral race and the prospects of a federal government shutdown this fall.
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