Democratic Consultant Adam Schiff would be the subsequent U.S. Senator for California after handily defeating first-time candidate Republican Steve Garvey within the November election.
In an interview with Inside California Politics’ Nikki Laurenzo days after the election, the Senator-elect mentioned he would give attention to points affecting working and middle-class households, akin to inflation and taxes, however he additionally gave his ideas on the presidential election and the way he’ll strategy the incoming presidential administration.
“I want to start delivering on day one, very much focused on housing, bringing down the cost of housing, bringing down the cost of child care, food, groceries and medicine. I’m ready to roll up my sleeves, find people across the aisle and make sure we deliver,” Schiff mentioned.
Schiff will be part of a Senate together with his occasion within the minority and on the similar time {that a} president he led an impeachment trial towards is re-entering the White Home.
Schiff mentioned that he’s keen to work with Trump since they each search to handle the identical points American households are going through, however mentioned that he would stand as much as him if wanted.
“The president says he’s also interested in those issues. If he is, I look forward to working with him…If he goes after people’s rights and freedoms, if he tries to tear down our democracy, then he will find a vigorous opponent like he did before, but I’m going to hope for the best and keep my focus on delivering for California,” Schiff mentioned.
The Senator-elect mentioned he has had a few conferences with Trump prior to now when he was president, the place they mentioned infrastructure and prescription drug costs.
“I raised issues with him that I thought we might find some common ground on. My approach is going to be to look for that common ground and see if there are ways to get things done,” Schiff mentioned.
“At the end of the day, what people are sending me to the Senate for is to deliver on these core economic issues, but people do expect me also to stand up to him or anyone else if they, you know, try to take steps that are not in the interest of Californians or the country or our democracy. You have to be able to do both, deliver and defend,” he mentioned.
This week, California Governor Gavin Newsom known as for a particular session of the Legislature to cross legal guidelines that his workplace says will “shield California values, together with elementary civil rights, reproductive freedom, local weather motion, immigrant households, and extra,” from the incoming presidential administration.
When requested if he thought that was the best selection, Schiff mentioned, “I’m going to keep my focus on my own work in the U.S. Senate, and finding those ways to work together and deliver. That, I think, is why I was successful in the election and really where I want to try to emphasize my use of time and resources, building those relationships.”
Schiff emphasised that the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, whose seat he has simply received, was profitable in her a long time within the chamber as a result of she developed relationships throughout the aisle and acquired to know the completely different elements of California.
“What I’m trying to communicate to folks is whether they voted for me or not, whether they’re in a blue county or red county, isn’t going to matter to me. I want to go to bat for the whole state and make sure that I’m doing what’s in their best interest,” Schiff mentioned.
When requested about his ideas on working-class Individuals leaving the Democratic Celebration, Schiff mentioned, “I do think that the reason voters chose Donald Trump and Republicans in this election is because they were voting their pocketbook. They were voting their discontent with the high cost of living and the fact that so many middle-class families are really struggling. Those issues have to be front and center on the Democratic agenda.”
“I don’t want to overstate matters because this was a strongly anti-incumbent election, not only in this country but all over the world. But nevertheless, there are real challenges that American families are facing and have been facing for decades. Neither party has adequately risen to the occasion, and I want to make sure the Democratic Party does,” he added.
Schiff repeated that sentiment when requested about why he thought Vice President Kamala Harris misplaced the election, saying that he is “not interested in the blame game.”
“I’m interested in how do we strengthen our party going forward. We were up against, I think, some pretty strong headwinds in that people were looking at the prices of the cost of living and comparing them to pre-pandemic, and even though we had done better than much of the rest of the world, it wasn’t enough and people were dissatisfied and they voted their dissatisfaction,” Schiff mentioned.
“Anyone working hard in America should be able to provide for themselves and their family and have access to good healthcare, a roof over their heads. It’s not too much to ask in a country as prosperous as ours.”
