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Feb. 18, 2025 10:01-10:47 - CSPAN
45:58
New Members of Congress
Participants
Main
h
herb conaway
rep/d 06:58
r
riley moore
rep/r 07:34
Appearances
m
michael baumgartner
rep/r 03:44
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Speaker Time Text
unidentified
Word address every year since 1896.
Lawmakers will also vote to confirm Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick to be Commerce Secretary.
Later in the week, the Senate will consider President Trump's nomination of Kash Patel to serve as FBI Director.
Watch live coverage of the House on C-SPAN, the Senate on C-SPAN 2, and all of our congressional coverage is available on our free video app, C-SPANNOW and online at c-span.org.
Democracy.
It isn't just an idea, it's a process.
A process shaped by leaders elected to the highest offices and entrusted to a select few with guarding its basic principles.
It's where debates unfold, decisions are made, and the nation's course is charted.
Democracy in real time.
This is your government at work.
This is C-SPAN, giving you your democracy unfiltered.
And now we'll get to know some of the new members of the 119th Congress over the next 45 minutes.
We'll share your conversations with Representatives Janelle Bynum of Oregon, Ryan McKenzie of Pennsylvania, George Latimer of New York, Riley Moore of West Virginia, Michael Baumgartner of Washington State, and Herb Conaway of New Jersey.
Representative Janelle Bynum of Oregon is one of more than 60 new members of the U.S. House.
The Democrat is an engineer, holds an MBA, has served in the Oregon legislature, and has been a McDonald's franchisee.
She talks here about her background and the distinction of being the first African-American ever elected to Congress from her state.
Well, I come from a family where my mother graduated in 1970 from one of the last segregated high schools in the state, in the country, rather, in South Carolina.
And I think about all of the opportunities that weren't afforded her, you know, coming out of segregation.
And I bring that perspective to Oregon, saying, you know, my mom was a rural kid that didn't have a lot of opportunities, but I'm going to make sure that I bring that forth for all of the kids in Oregon.
And so that's what I think about.
Let's go to your background.
I understand you were born or raised here in Washington, D.C. Born and raised here.
What was that like?
What was family life like for you in the district?
We were a really small family.
My parents were educators.
They worked for DC Public Schools, and I went to public schools up until the last two years.
And I had the world at my fingertips.
My playground was the Natural History Museum and the Library of Congress.
It was fascinating to grow up here, and it's exciting to be back.
What kind of interesting or fond memories do you have of childhood in DC?
My first job was at the zoo, and I worked in the Department of Zoological Research.
And then one of my other summer jobs was at the Department of Naval Research.
I wrote a paper on silicon-germanium MOSFET transistors.
Finger that.
You went on to study engineering and get a degree in engineering.
Why did you choose that field initially?
I loved math.
I was a really, I was kind of a smart, nerdy kid.
I went to UDC on Saturdays and did engineering classes at Project Yes, and they got the ball rolling.
I did the egg drop and building the bridges.
And I was just kind of a kid that was interested in building things.
And you went on, I understand, to work for General Motors.
Boeing and General Motors.
What did you do for those two companies?
So General Motors, I was a product engineer, supplier quality.
I worked in Luxembourg.
I worked on the border.
I'm the candidate that had the border experience.
And I worked on electro-hydraulic power steering and electric power steering in the hydraulic space.
You also have a really interesting and diverse background.
Engineering, you have an MBA.
Yes.
So you are a business person.
Yes.
University of Michigan, Go Blue.
And that has taken you places as well.
Tell us about that part of your career.
Well, I always wanted to merge business and engineering or the law and engineering.
And so it was really an opportunity to just study how capital moves, how you get ideas and you take them to market.
And so I've been able to do that now in my former life as a McDonald's owner operator and being able to give kids their first job.
That's the most exciting thing, Rita.
Are there similarities at all between engineering and business and being a member of the House?
What do you see?
Well, I try to bring like a problem-solving approach to things, like being very logical, but also understanding like decisions are very emotional and personal.
And so, for instance, when people come into our restaurants, they're connecting, like they want something to eat, but they're also connecting with their kids.
They're sharing a moment, you know, maybe with their mom that they bring out once a week for a coffee or an ice cream.
And so some things are emotional and some things are very technical.
And I think being a good lawmaker is being able to bridge the two at just the right time.
Tell us how you made your way to Oregon.
Oh, wow.
It was after September 11th.
I was a supplier quality engineer, and life changed.
We were expecting our first child, and we decided we wanted to be near family.
So we chose either DC or Oregon.
And Oregon was where we were going to invest in my husband's family business.
And that's how we ended back up in his hometown.
What is the family business?
McDonald's.
McDonald's.
One franchise, multiple franchises?
We have multiple franchises.
I'll be stepping away from that.
What is that like?
Oh, my gosh.
We have golden moments at our restaurants.
Like I said, a grandparent taking their kid or a mom taking their mom.
And during the pandemic, it was really interesting to see how important it was, for instance, to keep our drive-through open because it allowed people to keep some regularity in their life.
So families with a disabled member, they would always come through.
And it was just a way to keep something very special and close in their lives.
So you decided to run for the House in Oregon.
You spent eight years there.
Why did you take the turn into politics?
Wow.
I think I was listening to Speaker Johnson talk the other day about Providence.
I was looking for things to agree with him on.
And I think that was just my calling.
I was a mom who was really concerned about educational investments.
My parents were teachers.
I have a lot of education, and I think it is the pathway to opportunity.
So I wanted the state to invest more in our kids, and I got that.
How and when did you decide to run for Congress?
Oh, boy.
Again, that's more Providence.
I was ready to retire from the legislature, but I think there are women like Fannie Lou Hamer who are great patriots of this country.
She was in Mississippi and fought for the right to vote for black people to vote.
And so being someone who's been incredibly blessed with opportunities, having grown up in DC, having been very well educated around the country, this was an opportunity to be patriotic.
I wanted, of course, to see leader Hakeem Jeffries be Speaker of Hakeem Jeffries.
You mentioned those other names.
I wanted to point out your own middle name.
It's Sojourner.
Sojourner.
Tell us the story behind that.
Well, I was born in 1975, and during that time, you either got a name like Nia or Shaki or I got Janelle, which is a little bit different.
Michelle was kind of the going name at the time.
And parents often wanted to give their children something to like hold on to.
So my parents chose Sojourner after Sojourner Truth.
She was an abolitionist and women's suffragist.
And I feel like I've followed in her footsteps and I've just been relentless about making sure the American Dream is possible for everyone.
What are your earliest memories of being politically aware?
You know, as a seventh grader, I would come to these buildings, these house office buildings, and deliver speeches.
There was a group called Concerned Black Men, and they would hold speech contests.
My dad and I would practice.
And there were two speeches I remember.
The themes were, if I were mayor, and should DC become a state.
And so, like, from the appropriations room or the Ways in the Means room, like as a little girl from the rostrum, I was delivering these grand speeches.
And so that's a sweet memory I have of this place.
What other major influences, people, or events or things have shaped you?
My grandmother, my grandmother worked in hotels, and she was a hotel maid, but she was very articulate.
And she used to watch the people's court.
And so when I would go to her house, we would sit there and watch Judge Waupner.
And she made me order the U.S. Constitution.
And there was a calendar as well.
And so I wrote the note.
And so I kind of got into like justice and law with my grandmother watching Judge Waupner.
You have four children.
What are their ages?
Oh, Christine, Ellis, Caroline, and Asa, 23, 20, 16, and 14.
They are my hearts.
One will be a dentist, one is a football player.
He's in the transfer portal.
Shout out.
And he was a running back with the Ducks.
And so I'm an avid football and sports fan.
And then my other two kids, my daughter Caroline, is an amazing basketball player.
What do they think about all this?
They just want me to watch their games.
So if I can log in and I can cheer them on and I can talk about their highlights, that's what we'll do.
You also have the distinction, not many people do, this of flipping a seat in Congress, a red seat in that fifth district to blue.
How did you get that done?
I understand that Hakeem Jeffries, the minority leader, gave you a call.
Well, I've always had to run in a swing seat.
So I had the most expensive races in the state, and I'm a fairly disciplined person.
Even though we were on the West Coast three hours behind, I would start my campaign activities at 6 a.m.
And so I am a relentless campaigner.
I am a relentless lawmaker.
And I run everything.
Like once you're on Team Bynum, you're always on Team Bynum.
So we run it like a sports team.
I mentioned Hakeem Jeffries giving you a call.
What did he say to you?
He was very encouraging and wanted me to consider very seriously running for this office.
I was a reluctant candidate, but again, it was an opportunity to be patriotic.
Final question.
What is it like to be here?
It's amazing.
A little girl coming home and being able to affect change in a major way is pretty special.
One of more than 60 new members of the U.S. House is Congressman Ryan McKenzie of Pennsylvania.
The Republican holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and chose a career in public service, first as a member of the Pennsylvania House, where his mother also serves.
After a dozen years as a state representative, he explains what it means to now be in Washington.
Well, I think it's a great opportunity for not only the greater Lehigh Valley, but Pennsylvania and America to make a real significant difference.
And personally, it's an honor and a privilege to represent my hometown area, a place where I was born and raised.
My family is a ninth generation family in the greater Lehigh Valley.
And right now, we face so many challenges in our country that stem from the federal government and can only be fixed here.
And so we have an opportunity to make those changes, get our country back in a positive direction.
Tell us a little bit about your district.
Well, it's a very diverse community.
I always say it's evenly divided into thirds.
We have an urban core, places like Allentown, Bethlehem, and Easton.
Then you have a suburban area, a concentric circle around those cities.
That's another third of the district.
And then also beyond that, you have more rural areas, parts in Carbon County, northern Lehigh, northern Northampton, southern Lehigh County as well.
Evenly divided into thirds.
But that's great because that brings the nature of the district to life.
That's why we are a swing district.
We very accurately accurately reflect the entire Pennsylvania region and the entire country.
Let's talk a little bit about you and your background.
You have an MBA from Harvard.
You could have chosen many paths.
You chose elective office.
How come?
Yeah, well, I grew up in a family where we talked about public service and government around the dinner table.
And so those are things that I grew up with.
And as much as I love business, what it actually did going from Harvard Business School and that kind of business training into public service was that it gave me a better way to actually look at problems, analyze them very quickly, come up with solutions, and then also communicate the potential solutions to larger audiences.
That same kind of mindset and thinking that they trained us on at Harvard Business School is very applicable to government as well.
And it served me well in the state legislature, and I think it'll do the same here in Congress as well.
Tell us more about your family or grew up in Allentown.
That's correct.
Tell us more about family life growing up.
Yeah, so typical middle-class family.
I mean, started out in a twin kind of home, row home situation there, and had an older brother, parents that were both involved politically.
And my dad was a township supervisor.
So, you know, he was involved in elected office.
But that was a part-time position.
So I never really thought about government as a full-time position.
But then it was an internship that when I was in my senior year of college, I interned for our hometown congressman at the time and just fell in love with public service, the ability to be able to interact with people, look at problems, help them solve them.
And all of that led me to actually taking full-time positions in government as a staff member.
And then ultimately, when the opportunity came up to run, people asked me to step up and run for state representative.
And it was a challenge at the time, but was happy to take it on.
What is it about elective office that moves you?
Well, there are really two parts to the job.
So the first part is what we do back home with constituent services.
It's very rewarding when you actually are faced with a problem that somebody has in government and you can help them solve that problem.
And so those types of things we deal with on a daily basis.
So when you see and deal with those situations and you actually fix it and somebody comes back to you and tells you how meaningful it was for them and their lives, that's very rewarding.
So that's the first part of the job is the constituent services that we do at home.
The second part of the job is the legislating that we do here in Washington, D.C.
And I saw as a state representative, you can have a very meaningful impact in a much larger way by the legislation that you author and pass.
So one example that I'll talk about is what I did for veterans.
We created a program called Pennsylvania Startups for Soldiers, whereby veterans returning from their military service can now start a business in Pennsylvania and have all of their startup filing fees waived and they can do that.
And so we've had thousands of people across Pennsylvania utilize that program, starting businesses right in our home state that are hopefully going to grow and employ lots more people.
And we saved them millions of dollars doing that.
I think it's a great program and we can do things like that at the federal government as well.
More about your background.
You intrigued me by talking about those family dinners that got you not just in politics.
What early memories do you have about those conversations?
Well, you know, some of them are actually chronicled in some pictures that we have in our family and letters that my parents have where, you know, our state representative sent us a letter on the birth on my birth to my parents saying congratulations.
And then ultimately, it was that same, because I ran and won a state house seat in the same community and same area that I grew up in.
It was that position that I was actually elected to in the state house.
So those are great memories that we have that are very personal for me and our family.
But at the same time, the most rewarding thing about the job is what we can do to help people in the community and across our Commonwealth.
Other influences in your life?
Well, you know, I have an older brother, and so I think, you know, in a family where there are two siblings and one older brother, I think I naturally looked up to my older brother, provided great guidance and direction throughout my life.
And so, you know, somebody that I still stay in close contact with.
Mary?
Yep, so married and have a nine-month-old son at this point.
And so all of us, my wife, thankfully she works remotely, our son, and we have a rescue dog.
We pile up in the car every week and kind of carpool down here to Washington, D.C. Thankfully, it's not too far and too long of a trip.
As long as you don't hit traffic, you can make it in three to four hours, and we'll go back and forth for a session each week.
Your race was somewhat of a bellwether for the election in 2024.
You flipped a seat from blue to red, a lot of money spent, won by a few thousand votes.
What was that experience like for you?
Well, look, we knew that it was going to be a challenging race going into it.
There was no doubt about it.
It's what they consider an R plus two district, meaning that it just slightly leans generically in favor of Republicans.
At the same time, we had been represented by a Democratic congresswoman for three terms.
Now, she came in in the 2018 wave year, a blue wave in 2018, is how she got elected.
And I felt like, and our community felt like clearly, that she was out of touch with our district.
And so on so many issues, she was voting a hard left position up and down the line that was just out of step with that swing district nature and an evenly divided district.
So we highlighted that.
We also highlighted some failures we felt like on the constituent services front.
And again, that's something that's very important to me is actually representing your constituents and doing work on their behalf.
So we're going to try to correct those things as we move forward.
How do you like to spend your time when you're not working?
Well, you know, one of my favorite activities is actually skiing.
So we have some great resorts right in our local area in Pennsylvania.
So I like to go skiing when I have some time and then always like to do family ski trips as well once a year if possible.
Democrat George Latimer of New York is one of more than 60 new members of the U.S. House.
He's had a career as a marketing executive and has served in elected positions in his home state for many years.
The lawmaker talks here about his district and what he hopes his experience will bring to Congress.
The 16th District is on the border of New York City and includes a little bit of New York City.
It's the southern half of Westchester County where I live, Westchester being the million-person population suburb just north.
And then it has a section of the Bronx Center that includes Co-op City, some of the North Bronx, about 70,000 people from the North Bronx.
So I have both urban and suburban in rather significant numbers in that district.
Now you first ran for office way back in the late 80s, correct?
A long time ago.
What did you do prior to that?
Well, and during the first 10 years of my elected career, I had a career as a sales and marketing executive.
I worked for subsidiaries of Nestle and ITT, master's degree from New York University, undergraduate at Fordham.
And running for the Rice City Council, which is the first position I held in 1987, unpaid position.
In the community that you live in, it's much more like you serve on a voluntary board, a library board, or a community center board in that regard, small suburban community.
I served that in the Westchester County Legislature, multiple communities, 55,000 people, and did that for a long period of time.
And in those kinds of jobs, you still maintain the rest of your life, your corporate life.
You don't do that as a full-time job.
I did get to chair the Westchester Legislature, and this is all over 25 years ago, before going on to the state legislature.
Where did the interest in politics first come from?
Well, I grew up in an era in which the Vietnam War during high school and the Watergate scandal during my college years really transfixed attention in my generation on what was happening in government and politics.
I didn't envision that I'd ever be here in Washington.
I thought that my service would be at a more localized level.
But one road led to another over an extended period of time.
But we would talk about politics at the dinner table because of Vietnam and what was happening in those days, very tumultuous year of 1968.
It's a long time ago.
I was a tweener in those days.
And then, of course, during college, the debate about what was happening in Watergate was overwhelming.
And so it sparked an interest in politics that might be a little unique for that generation.
You may have alluded to this, but how do you, how did you know?
When did you know that you're a Democrat?
And that was your way of thinking.
Well, I grew up in a Democratic household.
My mom and dad were working class blue-collar folks, both worked with their hands.
They were Roosevelt-Truman Democrats.
And being Roman Catholic, John F. Kennedy's presidency connected with us demographically.
I'm part Irish in heritage, part Italian.
So with that, I was pretty surely a Democrat.
Now, things over the course of political years give you ranges of Democrats.
And now we divide ourselves by all different other titles.
But as a kid, I rooted for Lyndon Johnson and Hubert Humphrey and George McGovern, very different Democrats, in consecutive cycles.
I thought I read that you consider yourself more of a moderate Democrat.
Is that an accurate description?
Well, you know, I think that term has come to be defined because of the two polarities.
If you see yourself as very far left or very far right, and you're neither one of those two polarities, then you identify sort of in the middle of moderate.
On some issues, I think I project definitely progressive values, what we've done on the environment, what we've done in social justice in my public career, particularly during my tenure as county executive.
There are some issues in terms of keeping taxes low, honoring our veterans, dealing with violent crime, that you might describe as right of center.
And so the balance is on all of those different things.
I guess you come out in the middle because you hold some views on either side of that divided line.
Based on those experiences you mentioned in business, in industry, of course in politics for these many years, collectively, how do they inform you as you begin your career in Congress?
Well, what's interesting is that because I've been at different levels of government, I've served in the state legislature, and not only the county legislature as its chair, but for seven years as chief executive, Westchester County executive.
Westchester's a million person population.
It is a large, significant government within the overall structure of New York State.
I've learned how to not only just advocate for ideas and be a supporter of things, but also how you have to actually implement them.
And in the crafting of legislation, you have to craft it if you want it to succeed with an eye to how it's actually going to be used.
And so the last seven years of my career helped me sort of frame that a bit as an executive.
The executive to legislative shift, now that I'm back to being a legislator here, I'm a junior legislator, I'm in the minority, I'm not a young man, but I've sort of seen life from all sides now, so I understand in the cosmos that I'm not driving the train down here.
I want to make a contribution that's productive through the committees, through the bills that I sponsor, and hopefully through things that I can have accomplished.
And finally, tell us about your family.
I've been married to my wife, Robin.
We have one daughter, grown daughter, Megan.
She's married, two grandchildren.
They live in Lexington, Kentucky, so like many parents and grandparents, the kids are at a distance.
They were all here for the swearing-in ceremony.
I have a sister and her family who are based here in the D.C. area.
So that's a nice family combination.
I'm the only person in my family that ever got involved in politics, so I'm a bit of a unicorn compared to the careers of the rest of my friends.
And what do they all think of that?
In some ways you're a little unusual, George, why you're doing this.
And particularly, you know, I'm 71 years of age.
I'm not exactly the average age of a freshman here.
But I think people find whatever their calling is and whatever they do.
I've met people who have defined careers in science, those who are law enforcement, people who are medical professionals, all sorts of involvements.
My involvement in the public sector in decision-making capacity has proven to be what it is that I do well and I have energy and drive for it.
And I've been able to have the support of the voters throughout all of these different situations.
Republican Riley Moore of West Virginia is one of more than 60 new members of the U.S. House.
He served in the West Virginia House and as that state's treasurer.
He's also grandson of the late West Virginia Governor Archmoore and talks here about coming from a well-known political family.
riley moore ▲ ● ▼
Well, yeah, certainly we have a history of public service in West Virginia.
My grandfather serving as the only three-term governor of the state of West Virginia and my aunt currently serving in the United States Senate right now and then my cousin who was in the House of Delegates.
So certainly we have a long family history of service in the state of West Virginia and certainly proud to be able to carry on that tradition.
unidentified
And we're talking about Archmoor, the former governor, and Shelley Moore Capitos, the current senator from West Virginia.
What did you learn from all those family members about public service?
riley moore ▲ ● ▼
Well, you know, when my grandfather was governor, I was quite young in his last term.
So a lot of it was for the learning process for me was that you could order anything you wanted in the governor's mansion to eat.
Other than that, not too much in terms of his actual service, but I did learn a lot from him in terms of his life and just talking about that.
He had served in World War II.
He was in combat.
He was wounded and Siegfried Line in Germany and what that did in terms of changing his life and his service to this nation and put him on that path.
He was not on that path before then and really felt like he had a calling towards it.
And obviously I talked to my aunt Shelly all the time, Senator Capito, and she's been a real good sounding board for me in terms of how to get things done in this type of legislative body as she has served in the House previously and was also in the House of Delegates in West Virginia.
unidentified
When did you realize at what age that this might be for you?
riley moore ▲ ● ▼
Oh, this wasn't like until later in life.
I started my career off actually as a welder.
I worked in a mining operation.
I went to trade school and I didn't go to college right after high school.
So, you know, my mother's family, they're all union labor, and that was kind of the route that I went was I went into the trades, had no interest in politics whatsoever.
I just liked building things and ended up going to college and majoring in government and international relations.
Ended up being pretty significantly affected by the events in 9-11 and that's what kind of pushed me towards that.
unidentified
Tell us more about that.
riley moore ▲ ● ▼
Well, I was in college during 9-11.
I was in school here in Virginia at George Mason University.
So I was here during that.
And before that, I was studying kind of computer programming, right?
And then ended up going on to switch my major after 9-11 took place.
I wanted to understand why this happened.
What can I do to try to serve in some type of capacity, government or otherwise, to try to prevent these types of things from happening again?
And so that set me on that course and ended up contractor over at Homeland Security and eventually came up here to the Hill as a young man and actually worked here.
And that's kind of got me on the path.
unidentified
Tell us about those Hill experiences.
riley moore ▲ ● ▼
Well, I worked on the House Foreign Affairs Committee and I worked for, as you may remember, Chairman Hyde, Henry Hyde, who passed away I think 2007.
Wonderful man.
It was a real honor to be able to serve and work for him.
Obviously well known for the Hyde Amendment, which is something that's very important to me and I support.
So started off with him and I left with Chairman Ileana Ross Leighton and then went into the private sector working in defense and aerospace industry.
unidentified
And then you got into a career in government in West Virginia.
Which positions did you hold?
riley moore ▲ ● ▼
Yes, so I first ran for the House of Delegates and won my House of Delegates seat by 100 votes 2016 as part of the Trump train wave in West Virginia.
Won that seat, was in House leadership in the House of Delegates, and then went on to run for state treasurer in West Virginia, which I was the first Republican elected state treasurer in West Virginia in 92 years to take that position, which I obviously just ended that term right now, four-year term, and then ended up running for Congress, and here I am.
unidentified
You mention all these life experiences, professional experiences you've had collectively.
How have they prepared you for what you're now facing?
riley moore ▲ ● ▼
Well, you know, some might say, oh, you worked on the hill, I'm sure that prepared you to be a congressman.
Yes and no.
I'd say more to the point of what prepared me to serve the people of West Virginia was my career in the trades, being a welder, working in a mining operation, doing steel structural, also in a fab shop, doing the types of jobs that normal people are doing.
This is not like a normal job.
This is not what normal people do.
I wouldn't suggest going out and trying to do it for a living.
But normal people, people of America, people of the great state of West Virginia, those are the types of jobs they do.
We got coal miners and truck drivers, electricians, and welders and steel workers and things like that.
These are jobs that actually matter in this country.
So that, I think, prepared me to be able to represent the hardworking people of West Virginia and their interests and equities in a town like this that so many of our problems emanate from.
unidentified
Tell us about the 2nd District of West Virginia and the folks back home.
riley moore ▲ ● ▼
Well, 2nd District runs from the eastern panhandle, as you mentioned, Harpers Ferry, you know it, which is my hometown.
I was actually born in Morgantown, West Virginia, which is the central part of the district.
That's where West Virginia University is.
It runs up to the northern panhandle, Wheeling being the most notable city there.
And then all the way over to Parkersburg, which is on the western side of the state, borders Ohio and the Ohio River, Mariette, Ohio on the other side of that.
Runs all the way down south to Randolph County.
That's about as far south as I go.
You might know Seneca Rocks is down there.
And then we have Canane, which is kind of in the middle there, Canane Valley.
Great ski resort.
Please come to Timberline.
It's snowing right now there.
It's a great time to be in the district.
The district is really, like a lot of the state of West Virginia, focused on, as we have been, extractive industries, but also manufacturing.
So that'd be coal mining, natural gas.
We also do oil.
So we do all three, coal, oil, and gas.
But a lot of manufacturing there, particularly Northern Panhandle, like a place like Weerton, West Virginia, is only 30 minutes from Pittsburgh.
So when you think of the Northern Panhandle, think of it more like that.
We have a lot of steel workers that are still working there at our Cleveland Cliffs facility.
And we're trying to ramp up the amount of manufacturing we're doing in the district.
And I think since we've taken over control of the legislature, we've done a really good job at that.
unidentified
Tell us about your family.
riley moore ▲ ● ▼
Well, I have three beautiful children and my wife who are back in Harper's Ferry right now.
Another snow day, so my wife is dealing with them.
I actually live right next door to my parents.
And my side yard opens up into their backyard.
And we're all just living there in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia.
So we got a really nice little setup with our family and couldn't be more blessed.
unidentified
What do you like to do in your spare time?
riley moore ▲ ● ▼
Sleep.
Now, in my spare time, I guess you could call it spare time, but most of what I do is I'm really focused on my church.
I'm a Roman Catholic.
I'm a sacristan at my parish.
And so I volunteer my time with my church when I can.
And yeah, that's really a lot of my extracurricular activities, I guess you could say.
Other than I kind of do some kind of fun stuff.
I go hunting.
I bagged a couple deers this season, so I always go out, go hunting, got a buck, so that was good news there.
Then on top of that, go to the gym, and I also like to ride skateboards.
Hard to believe.
I'm in the skateboarding.
Real life, yes.
unidentified
And you still do it?
riley moore ▲ ● ▼
Yeah, I can still do it.
You go check my feed.
I was doing a kick flip the other day.
A few, well, it was a few months ago.
I went to this skate park.
Tim Poole, who's like this podcast gentleman, does a great program.
And I went to a skate park and we were able to skate together.
It was kind of fun.
I started doing it when I was real young.
I'm still doing it now.
unidentified
I can imagine the number of skateboarding congresspeople is pretty low.
riley moore ▲ ● ▼
I think it's really low.
Maybe I should start a skateboarding caucus, you know, and a member of one.
unidentified
Congressman Moore, thank you for your time.
riley moore ▲ ● ▼
Thank you very much.
michael baumgartner ▲ ● ▼
Appreciate it.
unidentified
Appreciate it.
Republican Michael Baumgartner of Washington State is one of more than 60 new members of the U.S. House.
The Harvard graduate has served in the Washington Senate, worked in the State Department during the Iraq War, and as a contractor in Afghanistan.
He talks here about his career, including some of his early experiences overseas.
michael baumgartner ▲ ● ▼
Before going to Harvard, I volunteered with a group of Jesuit priests in Beira, Mozambique.
I'm a Catholic and felt compelled to have a little adventure and do a little service.
So I, while not being a Jesuit, I lived with the Jesuits and taught school and did social work.
unidentified
And you've been in Syria as well?
I did.
michael baumgartner ▲ ● ▼
In high school, I was a Kerr scholar from the National Council on U.S. Arab Relations to go to Syria and Jordan for the summer in 1994.
unidentified
We read that you served in the Iraq war with a lot of distinction.
What were you doing in your life at that time?
And what did you do in Iraq?
michael baumgartner ▲ ● ▼
Well, after I left Harvard, of all things, I studied development economics.
And at first, I was going to go back to Africa, but then when 9-11 happened, I got interested again in the Middle East.
So I worked for the Crown Prince of Dubai, trying to help turn Dubai into the next Singapore.
But when I was working in Dubai and then Saudi Arabia, the Iraq war was going on, and I felt very compelled to go.
So I'm not a military veteran.
I went with the State Department, but during the Iraq surge, I worked on counterinsurgency operations in Baghdad and did some governance work there as well.
unidentified
What was it like to be there at that time?
michael baumgartner ▲ ● ▼
It was a tremendous privilege.
I got to work alongside our best Americans, which are men and women in the military.
And during the Iraq surge, it felt like we took a war that was losing, and we turned it around and gave America and the Iraqi people a chance there.
So it was a tremendous experience.
unidentified
You went on to Afghanistan as well.
We read.
Tell us about that part of your life.
michael baumgartner ▲ ● ▼
Yeah, in Iraq, I was doing real high-level things.
Every week, I would go with General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker to see the Iraqi prime minister and then work on issues at the highest levels of government.
In Afghanistan, I wanted to have a different experience, and so I wanted to push out.
In Iraq, I was an official State Department officer.
In Afghanistan, I was a contractor run by the State Department.
But there I was embedded to an Afghan government counter-narcotics team in Helmut Province, a real hotbed of Taliban activity and opium poppies.
And of all things, that's where I met my wife, Eleanor.
She was British-born, but we met and fell in love.
So I always say on the campaign trail, or I'm a campaigning, just a general speaking in public.
Baumgartner can find love in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
All things are possible to keep hope alive.
And we now have five little kids.
unidentified
Great.
When and how did politics enter the picture for you?
michael baumgartner ▲ ● ▼
Really, when I was in the Middle East, you know, we were working on democracy and representative government there.
I was seeing some of the good things about American national security and some of the mistakes in American national security.
And so I thought, you know, this would be a good time to use my efforts.
And I've been in both the private sector and the public sector, and where I've felt the most happy is when I've been doing something bigger than myself.
I felt that when I was working with the Jesuits in Mozambique, I felt it in Iraq and Afghanistan, and I felt it in our state Senate as well, too.
And I'm definitely feeling it here.
unidentified
What are those takeaways from your experience in the state Senate and how do they translate to a career in Congress?
michael baumgartner ▲ ● ▼
Well, I think in Washington State, we have 10 delegates, and about 90% of them have come through our state legislature.
So I think it's good to play a little AAA ball before you get here.
But the idea that if you want to turn an idea into a law, you have to build consensus.
And how do you work in a team?
How do you bring people along with you?
So in our state legislature, there were 49 members of the Senate, 98 members of the House, and one governor.
So I used to say the magic code is 25 plus 50 plus 1.
And here, the magic code is 218 plus 60 plus 1.
So I'll be working on that magic code to turn ideas into laws.
unidentified
And here in Washington and Congress, you now hold the seat vacated by Kathy McMurris-Rogers, who retired.
We actually taped a retirement interview with her as well, so we're getting the new member.
What did she tell you?
Did she give you any advice about this job?
michael baumgartner ▲ ● ▼
You know, Kathy was just a tremendous representative of Eastern Washington, and those are the people that I work for.
So I'll be here every day fighting for Eastern Washington values, you know, whether it's in my hometown, Pullman, Washington, on the Palouse, or in Spokane, where I live now, or up north in Timber Country, or down south in Walla Walla, and everywhere in between.
So she was just a tremendous representative of the people, and I have big shoes to fill, and I'll look forward to trying to do the same thing.
unidentified
Tell us more about that big family of yours and what you all like to do together.
michael baumgartner ▲ ● ▼
Yeah, we have five children.
I like to say that the Baumgartners are doing our part to keep Social Security solvent.
My oldest is 13.
My youngest is four.
My kids are very involved in scouts, and we go to church every Sunday, sit in the front row at Mass like my mother used to make us do.
And then we do a lot of sports and hiking.
So we're very blessed.
It's a little rambunctious at times, but we're very blessed.
unidentified
Congressman Herb Conaway of New Jersey is a doctor, has a law degree, served in the New Jersey legislature, and as a U.S. Air Force captain.
The Democrat is one of more than 60 new members of the U.S. House.
He explains here why he made a second run for Congress after an unsuccessful bid 20 years earlier.
herb conaway ▲ ● ▼
Well, an opportunity arose to serve, continue really a lifelong service for me.
I have been served in the military and the Joint Base McGuire.
I've been an insurance working in the community.
I also took care of veterans and active duty members when I was serving on the base.
And I've been in the legislature of New Jersey for 26 years until a couple of days ago.
So I've lived a life of service, and this opportunity arose so that I can continue to serve, as has always been my goal.
unidentified
Wanted to talk more about your background in a couple of minutes, but talk to us first about those nearly 30 years at the New Jersey State House.
What are the key lessons that you learned in that part of your career that you can apply now?
herb conaway ▲ ● ▼
Well, being a truth teller, always leading with the facts and letting the facts drive policy, working collegially with my colleagues, both in my own caucus and in the other caucus.
I mean, it's about working together for the betterment of the people we serve.
We, whether you're Democrat or Republican, that's the goal.
And I've always worked toward that in my service.
And I understand that the best things that we have done have been done on a bipartisan basis.
And that's even more so here in Washington in my observations as a citizen.
The things that last, the things that work well generally have brought bipartisan support.
And so those are the main lessons I would take.
Let's leave with the facts, treat everybody as you would wish to be treated with cordiality, trying to understand where they're coming from so you can figure out where the common ground lies and then work from there.
unidentified
Let's talk more about the early years.
You were born in the area surrounding Trenton, but tell us more about early life in New Jersey, your family, your influences.
herb conaway ▲ ● ▼
I grew up, I was born in Trenton, at St. Francis Hospital, where my mother was a nurse.
I am the oldest of four children.
I have three younger sisters.
And I was raised by a history teaching father who was also a coach, and my mother, who was a nurse.
And we really grew up as a typical American family with a backyard and safety and good, great public schools, and access to recreation, and just a neighborhood that was supportive.
So, in many ways, the ideal American life, if there is such a thing.
unidentified
You have a medical degree, and you have a law degree, we understand.
Internal medicine, you had mentioned.
Why did you pick that field?
herb conaway ▲ ● ▼
Well, I picked it because I'm sort of a generalist.
I'm one of these guys that are interested in many things.
So, growing up, I mean, I can build you a closet, I can run pipe and run electricity.
This is what my dad sort of taught me to do.
And you're out there holding the flashlight, learning how to do things I'm constantly learning, and have a broad interest in my personal life.
And internal medicine, you know, we are generalists.
We look at the whole person, deal with the whole body, and it's sort of consistent with the way I was raised to do everything, wash dishes, scrub the floors if you have to, learn how to build stuff and fix things.
And when you're in the middle class and you've got four kids to raise and get them all through college, you had better learn how to manage your house and your life in a way that allows you to achieve those goals for your kids.
unidentified
Do you plan to continue to practice medicine?
herb conaway ▲ ● ▼
I will be able to volunteer.
I won't be able to practice medicine for money, that's for sure, but I will be able to volunteer for a short while, I think, and then we'll see how things go.
It's only going to get busier from here.
unidentified
Sure, how about law?
What kind of law, and why did you get into that field as well?
herb conaway ▲ ● ▼
Well, I never practiced law.
I always say to people, if I'd gotten married a little sooner, I might not have had time to go to law school.
But I went to law school at night while I was serving in the Air Force as a captain, general medical officer, as I said, taking care of active duty and members and retirees and their families.
And so, you know, I had time on my hands, and I had always wanted to get a second degree.
I chose to go to law school and get a law degree at night.
unidentified
Let's talk about your interest in politics.
When did that start?
How did it start?
Was there an event or a person?
herb conaway ▲ ● ▼
Tell us the story.
I'm one of those kids that's always been interested in government and politics and leadership.
I always knew who the president was.
I always, you know, I was present in my class everywhere I've been.
I was elected Boy State Governor in New Jersey and sat and had lunch with Brendan Byrne, who was governor at the time.
And Jim Saxon, who I ran against for Congress back in 2004, lived a couple streets over from us.
He actually sold the realtor, sold my parents their house in their neighborhood.
So I have been in and around and thinking about politics.
I'm a history person like my dad.
You know, history informs, should inform our present and the future.
Nothing is new on this earth.
And so I often reflect on history as I think about the challenges of the day.
And yeah, I'm just one of those kids.
unidentified
What did your parents teach you and especially teach you about public service?
herb conaway ▲ ● ▼
Well, you know, we were raised in a house that where dad would say, you know, what's the fair thing to do?
What's the right thing to do?
Content of character has always been what we strove, what he taught, and my mother too.
You know, I would say, you know, he would reflect on his life growing up in Bordentown, a little town where he grew up.
And he'd said, I remember having to go to the back door of people's homes to play with my neighbors.
And there were places that I couldn't go.
And here in my household, everybody from no matter what's your color or stripe can come to our house and play together and do whatever else.
I understand that, and he taught us really to accept people as they are and to treat people fairly.
You know, fairness has been a big thing in our family, and I try to live my life that way.
What's fair, what's best?
unidentified
Other influences, people, events, other things?
herb conaway ▲ ● ▼
Well, my dad's been the driver of the order of my steps.
A mom, too, in a quiet way.
You know, when I go to the hospital, I've run into nurses all the time that said, your mother was always calm, always leading us, always settling things down.
What's the plan?
How are we going to get this patient taken care of?
And dad is one of these guys, a good fellow well met, one of the hardest working people you'll ever meet in your life, still at 89 years of age, still works part-time, running around after grandkids and the like, cuts his own grass.
We're just get-up endoers.
We bear burdens lightly, try to be a force for good.
That's what I was taught to do, and that's what I'll continue to do as long as I can.
unidentified
Tell us more about those years in the Air Force.
herb conaway ▲ ● ▼
Well, you know, they were a time of growth for me, certainly.
As I say, I learned to fly Cessna planes, and I, as well, get a law school degree at night and serve my country, which is something that I've always wanted to do.
One of the reasons you go to Congress, in my view, is to deal with some of these great international questions that you don't get to do at the state level.
We have enormous challenges on the world stage with a rising China and growing strength.
We've got a warlike Russia who is threatening its neighbors and threatening world peace.
And so the United States is the essential nation.
And if not us, who?
We must be the leaders of the free world, pushing back against tyranny.
Most people live under tyrannical and authoritarian rule, but we have to be the beacon of hope and freedom for all those who struggle for freedom around the world.
We have it here in our partners and allies across Europe and other places.
We have to be the leader of the free world and freedom in this world, in my view.
And that's one of the things you get to do in Congress that you can't do when you're serving at the state level.
unidentified
As we wrap up, when you were in New Jersey at that state level, you did serve for time in leadership positions.
What does that experience in leadership mean to your future career in Congress?
herb conaway ▲ ● ▼
Well, I understand that there are a lot of people in this body who know a lot more about getting things done here.
And one of the things that I have learned from my residency, whatever else, you know, you listen more than you talk.
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