Democrats plan to succeed Marjorie Taylor Green and Lauren Boebert

Both congressional Democrats and Republicans have now confirmed their slates of committee members to serve in this Congress, including the high-profile House Oversight and Accountability Committee.

The committee’s top Republican, Rep. James Comer, has promised it will be “probably the most exciting committee” in Congressional history, despite recent attempts to clarify what the committee is empowered to do. Plans to deliver on promises during the midterm campaign cycle, leading a slew of investigations into the Biden administration, the president’s family, and various red-meat conservative cultural issues, such as the cancellation of Newsmax on DirecTV.

Democrats on the committee will be led by Rep. Jamie Ruskin, one of the high-profile House managers in former President Donald Trump’s second impeachment trial and an all-star House Democrat He will also be joined by a lineup including eight new members.

Among them: 45 years old California Rep. Robert Garcia was the first-year Democratic Party chairperson and the first gay immigrant to serve in Congress. Garcia, a former mayor of Long Beach, California, a city south of Los Angeles, has taken over the mantle of the House Freedom Caucus gadfly — laugh at Some of the most high-profile figures on the right, such as Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert, for their conspiracy-theoretical musings on topics like the Covid-19 pandemic and vaccines. It’s a personal subject for Garcia, whose mother and stepfather died in 2020 of complications from COVID-19.

He and his first colleagues intended to hold those Republican investigators to account for themselves — in line with the Democrats’ new strategy of going after Republican investigators.

Anna Cash Cow/Getty Images

I interviewed Garcia on Friday, when he told me he was ready to “take [their] Bullshit” and question every claim the new committee tries to make. The conversation below has been edited for length and clarity.

Christian Paz

So you get your assignment, and you’ll be sitting across from some of the most colorful, conspiracy-theory, and controversial Republicans in Congress. How do you expect these committees to behave and what do you think it will look like from the outside?

Rep. Robert Garcia

Well, it’s clear that Kevin McCarthy is putting the most extreme members of his caucus under the watchful eye. We have people like Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert and Paul Gosar. These people are taking inspiration from QAnon, they’re attacking vaccines, they’re obsessed with Hunter Biden’s laptop and the president. So it’s important that we show up every day ready to fight back with the facts and with as much energy as possible. We are. I’m happy to take someone like Marjorie Taylor Greene, take her bullshit, take her lies and make sure we have strong voices on our side that are actually pushing the truth.

Christian Paz

Because you’ll be serving on the Oversight Board alongside some of the most prominent Freedom Caucus members. The chairman, Rep. James Comer (R. James), has said he wants it to be one of the most exciting committees in Congressional history. You’ll also have some star Democrats on this committee — Maxwell Frost, Dan Goldman, Summer Lee, Jamie Ruskin, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez — you Have you discussed with your colleagues what priorities you want to do and what is the narrative you are trying to set or change?

congressman garcia

Well, I’m very excited about the new students on the committee.i’ve been talking to maxwell [Frost, of Florida]and Dan [Goldman, of New York]and summer [Lee, of Pennsylvania] I think we are all fired up to accept the lies and accept the extremists on the other side. People like Marjorie Taylor Greene have a giant megaphone and they use it to hurt people. Take what they call vaccines, for example. Shamefully they are doing harm to Americans in this country and they will use this committee to weaponize science, facts and truth so our job is to speak up. I think we’re ready to do that.

It’s exciting for newcomers to this committee and the committee as a whole. To be able to join the committee with the likes of Katie Porter, AOC and Jamie Raskin and freshmen — we really prepared.

Christian Paz

Some of these issues – Covid, immigration – are also really personal issues, right? They have had an impact on your life and you have a connection to them. So I’m wondering how you’re thinking about addressing these topics and what you specifically worry about and expect Republicans to do.

congressman garcia

Chairman Comer points to first hearing on pandemic, and it’s going to happen [this week]The truth is, they’re going to use these hearings to try to break down support for pandemic prevention, and they’re going to attack the way the administration is responding.

I have been the mayor of my community throughout the time the pandemic has ravaged it. Schools are closed and people are dying. In my city alone, we lost over 1,300 people. I lost two parents to the pandemic. It also made me deeply understand the importance of vaccines, the importance of epidemic prevention, and what happened on the ground. Mayors are on the front lines of the response to this pandemic. If there’s anything wrong with government, it’s that the Trump administration left cities and states to fend for themselves early on.

So I look forward to speaking on this topic from the standpoint of authority and experience, including personal experience and personal loss, while also managing the city that President Biden calls [out as] Has one of the best pandemic responses in the country. He called Long Beach a national model. California Governor Gavin Newsom said we had the best response to the pandemic in the state. So I’m going to be very involved.

Christian Pass

Have you discussed with some of the other freshman representatives a specific issue or project that you all plan to confront or respond to?

congressman garcia

We’ve all talked — all the incoming freshmen who have supervised — we’ve all known each other, we’ve all been friends, we’ve all supported each other. One of the great things we are all united in is that we will not allow the extreme voices of the far right to go unchecked.So when you have someone like Greg [Casar of Texas]and Jared [Moskowitz of Florida] and [Dan Goldman] and [Maxwell Frost], and many others—we were all ready for this moment. We also appreciate the leadership trusting us to be that voice, because we understand the importance of this committee and what Republicans will do to the country through this committee. We know we are on the front lines of this fight.

Christian Paz

You must have started this fight at least on Twitter, with some attacks on Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert. What about them makes you specifically target them?

congressman garcia

Both of them, almost more than most people in Congress, have pushed the absolute craziest lies and lies. So I think it’s time for people to accept them and not let them or give them the space to continue doing that. The problem with our class is that we’re also impatient, we’re aggressive, and we want to make sure we fight back quickly. This is something we really focus on.

Christian Paz

It’s really interesting because quick reactions and counter-information aren’t necessarily things that previous Democrats in Congress were particularly good at, especially in today’s media environment. What makes you and your classmates more suitable for this competition?

congressman garcia

This freshman group has strong ties to our home community, and we understand the power of speaking to the public, young audiences, and people frustrated with politics. People like Comer, Taylor Greene, Boebert, and Gosar — all of these people don’t represent the mainstream or really the mainstream of American politics. They are on the edge. The Freedom Caucus is on the fringes of the country. So all of us who come in as freshmen – you can probably sense this – we are unapologetic, we are all outraged by the injustices in this country and personally when I hear or see people Like Marjorie Taylor Greene lying about the fact that the vaccine would have saved my mom’s life and that she would absolutely be the first in line to get vaccinated is unacceptable to me.

Christian Pass

It seems to me that this new class of Democrats is more savvy with social media, cultural references, and leveraging a different communications ecosystem, something that pre-Obama-era committees did not or could not do well.you are tweeting RuPaul’s Drag Racefor example, while teasing Rep. George Santos and Tyler Greene.

congressman garcia

I think that’s right. One of the things you get from a lot of freshmen is that we come from different types of backgrounds, and you started seeing that in Congress a few years ago when different types of people started getting elected. It’s more like a bunch of working-class newcomers. People can be a little bit more aggressive and a little bit more impatient, so that means we play our part.For me, yes, I happen to be a RuPaul’s Drag Race Fans, I love drag, I think it’s a great art form. I will not apologize for that.

When someone attacks an artist, like a drag performer, when someone attacks a trans person, they need to be called out. For me, as a gay person and as a queer person, it’s my responsibility to call them out. I will do this with whatever tools are available to me.

Christian Paz

You will also join the Homeland Security Council. What would it be like to be in the minority and try to get things done?

congressman garcia

Then our plan is to win back the House within two years. But yeah, not much is going to get through this Congress. Republicans focus on the national abortion ban, the demonization of gay children, the war against books and women — but we’re hearing from some more moderate Republicans interested in immigration reform, which they know is a labor shortage and that can help.

For the progressives on the committee, joining DHS is also an opportunity to…bring attention to issues of immigrant justice, asylum seekers at the border, and making sure that these agencies are actually doing their job and not hurting people. We want to protect the American people from all kinds of attacks, from domestic terrorists to white supremacists.

Christian Paz

You’ll also be on that committee with Marjorie Taylor Greene.

congressman garcia

Yeah, I don’t know what kind of luck I’ve had, she also happens to be at DHS, like, totally crazy.

But again, it will be important for the committee to stand against the demonization of immigrants and attacks on asylum seekers, as well as being in a position where federal law enforcement can come under scrutiny.

Christian Pass

Finally, on a more personal level – are you ready for the stress? Faced with the onslaught of supporters of these members of the right online or in real life, in Washington or at home?

congressman garcia

I’ve definitely thought about these things. But as a queer immigrant, I’ve been through more than most.gay [and] Immigrants are the most resilient people in this country. This moment requires a different type of leadership and MPs. That’s what our class brings, we’re motivated and ready.