Washington Journal 04/28/2026 opens with House rule enforcement during a joint meeting featuring callers criticizing President Trump's handling of a plane crash and alleging gang stalking. Senator Lindsey Graham advocates for $400 million to build a secure presidential ballroom after an assassination attempt, contrasting with fiscal concerns from caller Nikki. The broadcast highlights Emma Davidson-Tribbs' report revealing that only 211 sexual harassment accusations against state officials and Congress members since 2013 represent a fraction of actual incidents due to systemic underreporting, while callers share personal experiences and the segment concludes with announcements regarding King Charles III and Queen Camilla's upcoming state visit. [Automatically generated summary]
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Bullying The Florida Legislature00:03:55
Privilege of the floor of the House.
Due to the large attendance that is anticipated, the rule regarding the privilege of the floor must be strictly enforced.
Children of members will not be permitted on the floor.
The cooperation of all members is requested.
The practice of reserving seats prior to the joint meeting by placard will not be allowed.
Members may reserve their seats by physical presence only following the security sweep of the chamber.
Pursuant to the order of the House of Monday, April 20, 2026, the House stands in recess, subject to the call of the chair.
That was the gavel in the House of Representatives.
So we are back with you here on Washington Journal and we'll be taking your calls.
It's open forum.
Anything you'd like to weigh in on, any news of the day that you'd like to mention, things that have been on your mind and you'd like to share with us, go ahead and start calling in now.
Republicans are on 202-748-8001.
Democrats call us on 202-748-8000.
Independents, 202-748-8002.
We also have a line for texting.
That's at 202-748-8003.
For your schedule, I mentioned earlier that King Charles and Queen Camilla are in Washington, D.C. for a state visit.
This coincides with the 250th year of the United States declaring independence from British rule.
This morning, they're officially greeted by President Trump and the First Lady at the White House just after 10:30 a.m. Eastern.
Then later in the afternoon, King Charles will address a joint meeting of Congress as part of his first official state visit to the U.S. since his ascension to the British throne.
And at 7 p.m. Eastern, the White House hosts a state dinner for Charles and Camilla with U.S. and U.K. government officials and other dignitaries.
You can follow all that live on C-SPAN, also on C-SPAN Now, our app, and c-span.org online.
As you're calling in for open forum, this is the top Democrat in the House, Hakeem Jeffries.
He talked about Governor Ron DeSantis' new Florida map and that it now favors Republicans.
Here he is.
The so-called map, which is a DeSantis dummy mander, actually is blatantly unconstitutional.
The Florida Constitution is pretty clear as a result of the Fair District's amendments that were enacted back in 2010.
It explicitly prohibits partisan gerrymandering.
And so, what is the reason that in the middle of the decade, Ron DeSantis has come forward with a map that is designed by his own description to add four additional Republican-leaning seats?
It is blatantly unconstitutional.
If Ron DeSantis wants a different map, he should do what Democrats did in California and Virginia.
Take it to the voters, Ron.
The problem is, he's afraid of that.
And so he's going to try to bully the legislature to enact a map that clearly violates the Florida State Constitution.
And by the way, because it goes after communities of color in South Florida and in Central Florida also violates the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution.
It is open forum for about the next 25 minutes or so.
We'll start with Elizabeth in New York.
Democrat, hi, Elizabeth.
Violating Constitutional Rights00:15:37
Hi.
Thank you for taking my call.
I'm calling because I just wanted to say that we need leadership to promote harmony in this country.
We really were looking for it with Trump's second term.
We thought, oh, things are going to get better.
He's going to invite everyone into the tent.
But of course, that didn't happen.
And the first test, I think, was when that horrible tragedy occurred where the plane was hit in Washington, over the Potomac in Washington, D.C. With my daughter, we waited and wanted to hear what the president was going to say.
More or less waited for comfort.
But he instead, while the people were still trying to think about their loved ones who were on that plane, who were still not recovered from the waters, said that DEI had played a role in the crash and went on to say some things about people who were hired as DEI people and jobs.
And we were so disheartened and we both said, nope, he hasn't changed.
And I think that he missed an opportunity along the way even later by saying, let's all come together and lower the temperature.
And recently he said that the governor of California, who he gave a new name, he called him new scum, and said that because he has dyslexia, he should not be allowed to become president.
All these things matter when he says these things because children have this problem.
Many other adults have that problem.
When he made fun of the reporter who was handicapped in his first term, I think that was, that was so disheartening.
These things matter.
And if you want people to come together, when you have to reach out to them and invite them in, and you have to be the one to say, I've made some mistakes and let's go forward together.
But he never did that.
When he said Taylor Swift had endorsed him for his second term as president and she came out and said, no, I did not, he posted on his Truth Social, I hate Taylor Swift.
What kind of message does that send, especially to the young people?
He really missed so many opportunities to bring the nation together.
He went after the press.
All right, Elizabeth.
And I got that.
And this is CNN with that headline, Trump repeatedly suggests Newsom can't be president because he has dyslexia.
And here is Michael in Texas, Republican.
You're on the air, Michael.
Good morning.
Morning.
I would like to go back to the violence in America and against the Republican Party.
It comes off as in Western New York, there is like they stalk and harass by gang stalking.
They use treading as a location mechanism.
To stop who, Michael?
They harass and they go as far as to terrorize the public around me.
And they are so skilled at it.
I've filed many reports.
They do extortion on me and my girlfriend.
And it has just been enough.
I've filed so many reports.
And you feel like you're being targeted because you're a Republican?
Right.
And these people have like destroyed the areas where I go.
And nearby, there'll be like these violences.
Like I'm in Texas and then Louisiana, there was those shootings.
And I have my phone in airplane mode.
And I just feel like they hacked in to like the 911 system.
And they are harassing everybody around there because I'm near that area.
All right, Michael.
And this is Brian, Sacramento, California, Independent Lion.
Go ahead, Brian.
Good morning.
I want to, first of all, say God bless America, but I want to say something to you.
And what I have to talk about is the Congress.
You can say what you want about President Trump.
He is who he is, but he's a president.
If we do have three separate and equal branches, I want to ask one question of the whole Congress, not just Republicans and Democrats or Republicans.
I want to ask the Democrats too.
What, since this administration has started, have the Congress done for Americans at all?
Making America great again?
When are you going to make Americans great?
This is my question.
Because all I see is stealing.
All I see is firing.
All I see is denial of rights.
All I see is the most ruthless administration and Congress.
See, people are not paying attention.
The Congress, the Democrats act like they're mad about it, but all they do is filibuster.
The Republicans do what Mr. Trump says.
But the whole thing is that Americans suffer.
This is the worst Congress and administration.
And about your specific representative, Brian, out there in Sacramento, California, who is that?
And are you pleased with how they're handling their job?
My specific representative, I really don't know.
I'm 63 years old.
I'm a songwriter.
You're going to hear my song this summer coming out.
I'm not trying to promote that.
It's called Make a Change, and you're going to hear about it.
But the bottom line, I want to say this before I get cut off, and thank you for allowing me to speak as a disabled veteran.
It's time for the Republicans and the Democrats to come together, or else we're going to be under a new flag within 10 years.
I guarantee you.
Jim, Democrat, Georgetown, Delaware, you're on the air.
Good morning, Mimi.
Thank you for taking my call.
Thank you for C-SPAN.
I agree with that last call.
Congress should be doing a lot more to make Americans better.
I want to remind people of some things.
The level of discourse certainly has declined, but there's been nasty rhetoric throughout our history.
Two things, quotes from Mr. Trump include when he said in Mar-a-Lago, smart people don't like him.
And I happened to be watching the morning he was on Fox and Friends in the studio said, I really couldn't care less about uniting the country.
And he does.
You know, he told his billionaire buddies, you give me a billion dollars and you can do whatever you want.
So he has some responsibility.
I have not seen any pickup trucks driving around with pictures of Donald Trump hogtied in the bed of the pickup truck as we did with Joe Biden.
But it saddens me that the level of discourse has declined so much.
Thank you very much.
And here's Robin in Gadston, Alabama, Republican.
Hi, Robin.
Hello, how are y'all today?
And thank you for taking my call.
I have a lot of smart people calling in today.
It makes a lot of sense.
And what I don't understand is when it's like when Trump hires some of his people, you know, his cabinet and stuff, when they don't agree with him, he gets rid of them.
Wouldn't you want, you know.
Do you believe that the firing, the firings of the cabinet, like Attorney General Pam Bondi, Christy Noam, Laurie Chavez-DeReamer, do you believe that's because they didn't agree with President Trump?
I feel like that's why.
Okay, it may not be, but I just, I really feel like it's like that.
You don't, you know, when you hire people, you know, you can listen to them.
You can disagree.
I had a manager one time, and he said, that's one thing I liked about you.
He said, we didn't always agree, but we didn't get mad at each other.
Would, you know, make up.
All right.
All right, Robin.
And this is open forum.
So if you would like to call in and weigh in on something that you heard on the news or something that's been on your mind, something in Congress, something in the executive branch, whatever you'd like to talk about, Supreme Court, you can call now.
Republicans are on 202-748-8001.
It's 202-748-8000 for Democrats and 202748-8002 for Independents.
This is the front page of the Washington Post about the visit by King Charles and Queen Camilla to the United States.
They're on a four-day tour.
They're in Washington now.
It says, Washington welcomes royal visitors.
King and Queen's trip offers Britain a chance to mend ties with Trump.
It says, days after a shooting that apparently targeted President Donald Trump's administration and sparked fresh concerns about security in the nation's capital, King Charles III embarked Monday on a rare state visit that promised to pit the president's admiration for British royalty against his fury at the British government.
And we will have all those events taking place around Washington on C-SPAN.
So please do stay with us.
It's on your screen there.
There's the White House arrival ceremony happening this morning.
There's the joint address to Congress at 3 p.m.
And then the House, the White House state dinner at 7 p.m.
Robert in Illinois, Democrat, good morning.
Well, good morning, and thank you for having me on.
You're welcome.
Go ahead.
Okay, what I want to ask or say is that why is it that the journalists allow Donald Trump to talk to them and disrespect them the way that he does?
I mean, he's in interviews and he tells the journalists, you're horrible people.
I know you're a horrible person and things like that.
And they just sit there and take that.
Why don't they just fight back, speak up and tell them, you know, that they won't be talked to that way.
You would recommend that journalists talk back to the president and say, you can't speak to me that way?
Exactly.
What do you think would happen if that happened, Robert?
Well, what would happen is that their network would probably kick in out and fire that journalist and then just cow tile down to Trump and do whatever Trump tells the network to do.
And this is what's wrong right now, and he's always done that type of thing.
And somebody should hold him accountable for it.
And I guess that would be the voters, right?
In a democracy, it would be the voters.
Yes, it would be the voters, but a lot of voters are apathetic.
They say, well, that's just Trump.
That's just the way he is.
And everybody laughs about it.
But that's not funny.
Oh, sorry.
And here is on the Republican line in Yorkville, Illinois.
Jim, good morning.
Hi, I'm wondering if we could do something on C-SPAN to help lower the temperature and get some common grounding.
So when you maybe you could screen calls instead of just asking for a name and zip code, if you could actually get people to commit that they're against political violence, that seems like a pretty low bar to get to.
I would think everyone could support that.
So explain how that would happen.
Somebody would call in, we'd ask for their name, where they're calling from, and then say, do you commit to being against political violence?
Yes, at least as a start.
I mean, my goodness, such a low bar, but we see percentages of up to 15, 17, 18% of people who wouldn't even be able to support that.
So at least that maybe you could keep some of the, you know, start to set the tone.
Even if they lied, it could set the tone to say, here's the lowest bar we're going to go for.
All right, Jim.
And we are going to continue to take your calls and open forum for the next 15, 20 minutes or so.
But I do want to show you this from yesterday.
This is Senator Lindsey Graham.
He was at a news conference and he said that the White House ballroom was not a vanity project like many of its critics have argued, but instead is necessary for the security of the president.
Take a look.
And the ballroom.
Many people, I think, originally saw it as a vanity project that President Trump wanted to build this grand ballroom as kind of a vanity project.
I don't see it that way, and I don't think he ever did.
A meeting space that is ultimately secured on the White House grounds that would allow people to do what they did at the Hilton Hotel is necessary.
I'm convinced if there had been a presidential ballroom adjacent to the White House, the guy would have never gotten in.
Agreed.
You had an event with the line of succession in a ballroom where a thousand people were in a hotel above it.
This guy apparently checked in the night before and was able to get shotguns and pistols and knives and made a rush for the ballroom door and thank God he didn't make it.
Securing A Presidential Ballroom00:05:57
I want to thank the Secret Service and all who stopped him.
But if this is not a wake-up call, who would be?
So here's what we're going to do.
We're going to introduce legislation that would authorize $400 million to be spent to secure the president to build the presidential ballroom.
Underneath, there will be a lot of military stuff.
There will be a Secret Service annex.
And we've paid for it by offsetting it with custom fees.
But the estimate is $332 million.
We're going to do $400 million because I think it's probably going to take more.
Private donations can be used, but I think they should be used for buying China and stuff like that.
Underneath this ballroom will be infrastructure that is national security centric.
The ballroom itself will avoid the dilemma of having to leave the White House grounds with future presidents and this presidents to go downtown in a place that's less secure.
President Trump said to me this morning, excuse me, yesterday, we need the ballroom not just for me, but for future presidents.
He literally could have left his bedroom, walked out the back of the White House, and been at the ballroom.
That's what needs to happen when you have 1,000 or 2,000 people gathered in Day's environment.
And the sooner we get the ballroom built, the more hardened it is, the better for the country.
So I hope and pray that most people in the Senate after Saturday night will support this bill.
This is not about Trump.
It's about the presidency of the United States.
It's about the person who occupies that office not being put at risk if they choose to go off campus.
And the Washington Press Corps, the Correspondents Association, should be very proud of the fact that so many people wanted to come and participate at the highest level of government.
Literally, you had the entire line of succession in one place.
You had a large amount of cabinet members.
Only God knows what would have happened if he'd gotten in the room.
What if it had been three?
What if it had been five?
I honestly believe the likelihood of that happening if we had a secure facility attached to the White House would go down exponentially.
It's Republican Senator Lindsey Graham talking about the ballroom and its open forum.
Lisa is in Louisiana, Independent Line.
Good morning, Lisa.
Hi.
I know that you believe in free speech and everything, don't you?
I think we all believe in free speech as Americans.
Yes.
Well, I was wondering what you thought about President Trump being censored on all the social media the time that he was censored.
What do you think about that?
Also, about research.
Why don't everybody do their research?
Why did they cover up the Hunter-Biden laptop?
Why didn't they talk about Ashley Biden's diary where Joe Biden had a shower with her?
Why didn't they talk about Obama and Larry Sinclair?
Why?
All right, Lisa.
Nikki, Huntsville, Ohio, Democrat, you're on the air.
Yeah, good morning.
Morning.
I want to clarify some things.
Like, everybody cuts down the new King's Rally.
It's a name.
We had to have somebody that could gather we the people around.
We stand up for everything from our local and our state and our federal government.
We're out there individually as we the people standing up for one cause to another.
They are good causes.
We can't afford a ballroom.
In my state, people are scoundreling for food and shelter.
So, Nikki, you know, the ballroom is being funded by private donors.
That's not what Senator Graham just said.
He wants $400 billion or $1 million, million.
Yeah.
Okay, he wants $400 million from state, from us taxpayers.
Okay, the tariffs are just now kicking all in on us taxpayers.
It's costing us $300 plus extra a month just to live.
You want to talk about people being rude.
Trump's making his own enemies.
I sat there way back during his first term when he made fun of a journalist that had a disability.
What kind of people go around making fun of people with disabilities?
And as for Iran, I was around during 1979 when we were selling bons to Iran.
We never paid no attention to those people saying death to America.
That's free speech.
Yeah, maybe it was bad, but this was not our war to fight.
Interviewing Author Anthony Bieber00:02:07
All right, Nikki, and coming up next, we've got Emma Davidson Tribbs, the co-founder and director of the National Women's Defense League, will be talking about sexual misconduct in state and federal government.
Stay with us.
King Charles and Queen Camilla are in the United States this week for a state visit.
Today, the King will address a joint session of Congress at 3 p.m. Eastern.
Later at 7 p.m. Eastern, President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump will host the royal couple for a state dinner at the White House.
The visit also includes stops in New York and Virginia, where they'll attend a block party celebrating America's 250th birthday.
Watch live coverage of the Royal State visit all this week on the C-SPAN networks.
On this episode of Book Notes Plus with our host Brian Lamb.
Sir Anthony Bieber, an historian based in London, has authored 13 books, which have sold at least 8.5 million copies and been translated into 35 different languages.
In his latest book, he focuses on Ras Putin and the downfall of the Romanovs.
The country is Russia, and the timeframe is the early 1900s.
Sir Anthony Bieber on his official website sums up his findings this way.
Gregory Rasputin, a very literate peasant from Siberia, is one of the most enigmatic and influential figures in modern history.
Anthony Bieber points out, quote, in a bizarre reverse of the great man theory of history, he had no official position and no mass following, unquote.
His book details Ras Putin's relationship with the Tsar and Tsarina of Russia before their downfall.
A new interview with author Anthony Bieber about his book, Ras Putin and the Downfall of the Romanovs.
BookNotes Plus with our host Brian Lamb is available wherever you get your podcasts and on the C-SPAN Now app.
Washington Journal continues.
Welcome back to Washington Journal.
We're joined now by Emma Davidson-Tribbs.
Reporting Sexual Misconduct In Congress00:10:58
She's co-founder and director at the National Women's Defense League.
We'll be talking about sexual misconduct in state and federal government.
Emma, welcome to the program.
Thank you so much for having me.
Can you first just talk about the National Women's Defense League, what your mission is, and why you decided to found it?
Yes.
The National Women's Defense League is a national nonpartisan organization dedicated to ending workplace sexual harassment.
We research the issue of sexual harassment and advocate to address harassment and misconduct in governments, specifically state houses and Congress, alongside survivors.
And your funding, how are you funded?
We are funded through private donations, some very supportive and generous donors.
And was there a specific incident that caused you to feel that there was a need for an organization like this?
Or was this something that you had been working on for a long time?
My co-founder and I founded NWDL really as the Me Too movement had hit its height and started to decrease in political power.
We were both from state legislatures.
We've been working as advocates and campaigners in state legislatures our whole careers.
And we certainly saw and experienced sexual harassment in our own jobs and then had several friends across multiple states who had experienced really the worst parts of sexual harassment and misconduct in state legislatures.
And so we saw that this was not about a single bad apple.
It was about a systemic issue, something that was holding back women from running for office, from taking on leadership positions, from being successful lobbyists and advocates.
And so we said we can do something about this.
And so that's why NWDL was founded.
Now, you did put out a report.
It's just been released.
It's an annual abuse of power report.
I've got it up here.
If people would like to look at it, it's nationalwomen'sdefenseleague.org.
Can you explain what this report is and what it tracks?
Sure.
We did our first abuse of power report back in 2023, looking at a decade of public accusations against sitting state elected officials.
So going back to 2013, this is all publicly available information.
There's no, you know, behind the scenes FOIA or anything like that.
This is what we know publicly.
So it was initially released in 2023.
That was the first time that anyone had really looked, done a comprehensive study of sexual harassment and misconduct in state government.
We've done that.
We updated those numbers and released those earlier this week.
And then we also added in a companion piece looking at the public accusations of sitting congresspeople.
So those two reports were released last week.
In the states, we have identified 162 sitting state elected officials since 2013 who have been publicly accused of workplace sexual harassment.
That's from 424 accusations.
And in Congress, we've identified 49 members of Congress who have been publicly accused of some kind of sexual workplace sexual harassment or sexual misconduct from 137 accusers.
So what are the trends, Emma?
You said you first put this out in 2023.
What have you seen?
Has it been increasing or has it been decreasing?
Well, the number one thing we know is that our numbers are way off.
There is a massive underreporting issue in all levels of government on this issue.
Survivors do not feel comfortable or safe coming forward.
The rules and policies do not allow for simple reporting, easy investigations, and certainly not a thorough or consistent set of outcomes.
So we know that it's only about 30% of people who ever report workplace sexual harassment.
So one of the biggest takeaway is these numbers are hip of the iceberg.
If you've got a question.
Another thing that we tell people that if you've got a question about sexual misconduct or sexual harassment in Congress, in the state houses, you can give us a call now.
The numbers are Republicans 2027-8001, Democrats, 202748, 8000.
And Independents, 202748, 8002.
Go ahead, Emma.
You are going to continue.
Yeah, another thing that we see across all of the data set is that this is a problem for both parties.
In the state legislatures, the numbers are actually pretty even.
We've seen those who, the people who have been accused, it's about 52% Republican, 48% Democrat.
And in Congress, we know that it's about 60% Republican and 40% Democrat.
So this is a box on both houses.
This is a problem that both parties need to take time to address.
And the other thing that we know across all of it is that legislative staffers are the number one target for sexual harassment and misconduct.
At the state level, they make up about 40% of accusers and about 77% in Congress.
Well, let's take a step back.
And if you will, define for us what constitutes workplace sexual harassment.
We see it as anything that brings a sexual connotation or discomfort or conversation into the workplace.
I think it's hard sometimes for people to see that the government is a workplace and a somewhat unconventional workplace.
It is not like corporate America where you have set procedures and policies that, you know, getting an employee handbook that you can refer to if you are uncomfortable or if there's been a really inappropriate conversation.
Most state houses don't have an HR department.
There's no one overseeing the behavior and the appropriateness of what's going on in a workplace setting.
And so coming forward is a tremendous undertaking because it's not as simple as I'm just going to make a meeting with HR and have a conversation.
It takes, it has a lot of different pieces that weigh on survivors and who really are showing up to not only do their jobs, but to serve our country.
These are federal and state employees that our government and our democracy really relies on.
So Emma, what do you mean that there's no HR department that you can go to?
Like, how does that work with these state or congressional offices?
Who runs those kinds of functions?
I mean, who are people supposed to go to if they are having a problem at work?
It varies wildly depending on the state.
Sometimes it differs between the caucuses or the chambers themselves.
So one state Senate might have a different procedure than a state House of Representatives.
In most cases, there is some kind of ethics committee that you can report to.
But usually what happens is they develop a whisper campaign where people on the ground in the building, staffers, lobbyists, journalists, everybody starts telling other people, hey, don't go into this office.
And eventually that will become a large enough situation that hopefully someone reports it to the official channels.
But really in every statehouse that we go into, it is very unclear about the full procedure, who is the best person to report to, who is going to do and run an investigation, and then how are you going to come to a conclusion and what that means for both the accuser and the survivor.
It's really, there is very little transparency.
There is very little written procedure.
Most of it is not codified into law.
It is part of the rules of decorum when you start talking about what a lawmaker, the lawmakers' behavior themselves.
So we actually don't really know the full answer of what you're supposed to do.
And then, Emma, where did you get the data for your report?
If this is very underreported, as you're saying, where are the reports that you're relying on to draw on this data?
In the states, we mainly use media reports.
The media is one of the only ways that survivors can get their story out there.
The systems that are in place are not transparent and do not provide any kind of reporting out of how many complaints there have been and any kind of resolution.
So it's typically media reports, obviously legislative and court documents, if and when we can get our hands on them.
And then at the federal level, the Congress actually does put out some report on some of the incidents.
It's usually what cases have actually moved forward to a full ethics committee.
And so we get that from several offices in the congressional records and then accountability websites like GovTrack.
And then you mentioned the ethics investigations in Congress.
A lot of times a member can just resign and then that ethics investigation just goes away.
Is that a lack of accountability from your perspective?
Not only a lack of accountability, it's a get-out of jail-free card.
These lawmakers are able to resign with some kind of stature.
Usually if you resign, you get to keep a lot of your benefits from being a lawmaker.
That can include your pension.
That includes retaining floor privileges in several states where you get to come back to the chamber whenever you feel like it.
So resignation is helpful.
It gets the perpetrator out of the building and makes sure that they cannot further harm anyone.
But that's usually where the accountability ends.
New York actually has a great law where if a lawmaker does resign, the legislature maintains jurisdiction and gets to continue moving forward with investigations for up to three years after those resignations.
But that is an exception and not the rule.
Usually it's resignation means we have dealt with the bad actor.
Training Starts In Grade School00:14:12
This situation is over.
We can go back to business as usual.
All right.
And Emma Davidson Tribbs is our guest and she'll be with us until the end of the program at 10 Eastern.
If you'd like to join the conversation, you can call us.
We'll talk to Linda, King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, Democrat.
Good morning, Linda.
Yeah, good morning.
Hi.
Thanks for C-SPAN.
I've had my own experiences.
I once took a class at a public university, a two-year college anyways.
And the professor lied to me.
He wanted me to go on a date with him when the whole class was done.
And I said no.
And right then and there, he threatened me that because of that, I would not get the A I deserve.
And I mean, that sent my whole body shaking.
I went to the library to calm myself.
So I do believe that there is a show of power with sexual abuse.
Okay, I'm sure I have to ask a question.
No, well, Linda, I have a question for you.
What year did this happen?
Oh, my gosh.
I'm out of, yeah, I should have done it.
I'm actually 70 years old, and it happened when I was 25.
And did you actually not get an A?
Did you get a B?
What happened?
No, no, he knew right from wrong.
When I got my paper grade in the mail, it was an A.
But he threatened you nonetheless.
Yeah.
Yeah, I mean, that was very, very uncomfortable.
And that's actually one of the topics I wanted to mention is I think sometimes when women are uncomfortable, let's say with harassment, because sexual abuse is a legal issue, and everything you're talking about needs to move forward in the legal way.
But I think that when women are uncomfortable, you know, like I had been, seeking help, I did go to therapy some years later, not for that, for other things as well.
Anyways, I think our women can become stronger and not feel as weak as we can feel sometimes.
I also think there's good men that may become shy to meet women.
And I think that's an absolute shame.
I don't understand why the sex abuse training, again, I'm pulling harassment separate from training, okay?
That I don't know why the training that our legislative folks get isn't working for them.
So I think, you know, can we re-look?
Can we re-look at the training process?
Got it.
Go ahead, Emma.
Yeah, Linda, thank you for sharing that.
I'm so sorry that you experienced that kind of harassment and threats.
I'm so sorry.
You bring up a great point about training, and it is something that I think certainly is a standard in corporate America.
We have surveyed the state legislatures all across the country, and what we have found is 40% of state lawmakers do not receive required sexual harassment training.
So that is the place that we can certainly, that is a political and policy change we can be making.
Let's make sure everyone is getting full sexual harassment training.
I think what has been so wonderful about the last few weeks is we've seen really strong women come forward and not only share their stories, but support each other.
And sexual harassment and misconduct is a tool meant to separate and isolate survivors.
And we've been really inspired and so touched by the voices of the survivors that have come forward against former Congressmen Swalwell and Gonzalez.
We see it across the country where survivors find each other and are able to move forward together in a real sense of power.
And NWDL was founded to really help support that and to provide this sisterhood that we think really helps shine the light on the problem.
Jeff in Binghamton, New York, Independent Line.
Good morning, Jeff.
Good morning.
So I think there's definitely a problem there, but I mean, one is one thing in common.
We have congressmen we had in the last five years, 10 years.
So Anthony Weiner, we had President Bill Clinton.
You had Attorney General and Governor of New York, Elliot Spitzer.
You had Andrew Como.
Now we have Eric Swalwell.
It seems to be a real big problem in the Democrat Party.
And I thought they were supposed to be the party for women.
Emma.
Yeah.
So what we're seeing is it is a problem for both parties.
Based on our numbers in Congress at the federal level, the numbers since 2006 show 60% of those who've been accused are Republican.
40% are Democrat.
It is much more even in the states.
It's 52% Republican, 48% Democrat.
So it may feel like it's one party versus the other, but really both of them have very serious issues with this and need to be doing more to address it.
David in Cape May, New Jersey, Republican, you're on with Emma Davidson-Tribs.
Hello, ma'am.
Thank you for taking my call today.
I really appreciate it.
As a survivor myself, I wanted to ask you about this.
I had a problem when I was in university that I was falsely accused of sexual harassment, and I had to go through this whole process to show that it was because I had rejected her advancements that she had accused me of this.
So as a survivor of harassing myself, what would you recommend I do now?
Because it's been a few years, but I'm still traumatized by this.
What ended up happening, David, in that case?
Well, in that case, and this is the, I'll be very plain, very, very short.
I was just told to stay away from her.
And they basically told me, the administration basically told me, men up and just walk away from it.
Did they believe you or did they believe her?
After a lot of people, a lot of discussion and having to bring multiple witnesses forward to say, no, no, she approached him, he rejected her, and then all of a sudden, a week later, she said, you're harassing her.
So I took witnesses, took time, but instead of the believe in me because I'm saying, no, I'm innocent, I had to come up with all these witnesses.
But when she said, oh, the big bad man harassed me, instantly the administration believed her and was ready to throw me out of school.
All right.
Let's get a response for you.
Yes, I'm so sorry that you got embroiled in one of these situations.
What I will say is false allegations are very, very rare.
It's between, from an NAH study, we know it's about anywhere from 2% to 8% of accusations are false.
Doesn't mean that it doesn't happen, but they are exceedingly rare and even more so in government workplaces.
When you combine the huge disincentives and the risks, power imbalances, the retaliatory threats that these survivors face if and when they come forward, it is very, very rare that we see false accusations.
However, this is exactly one of the reasons why we would push for better policies, more transparent procedures, easy ways to report, therefore easy ways to come back and investigate and solve some of these issues.
So it doesn't become a he said, she said, or a larger dandel in the state or in the federal government.
By having procedures in place, we're able to really provide everyone who is involved in the situation with full investigation and what we would see is hopefully a very fair outcome.
In Washington, D.C., on the independent line, Susie, you're on the air.
Hi, yeah, I just wanted to recount my experience trying to get help with some sexual harassment at work.
I got like professionally just taken down.
I worked in like a West Coast corridor of power, media, and big tech, and in a creative capacity, in a freelance capacity.
And when I reported it, I literally had my insurance company proactively call me to talk about my new diagnosis of psychosis.
My neurologist of 30 years transferred me to a different one who said there was no such thing as migraines.
I could not use technology to update my union classes, including the sexual harassment one, ironically.
And I've had some kind of like man-in-restricted software for the entire eight years this has happened.
It's like my life became a John Grisham novel.
And I mean, I was just taken down.
So Susie, have you been able to?
Have you been able to work after that?
Did you change fields?
I had to do early retirement.
I worked happily in peace.
I was like a well-regarded person in the film industry, but lots of commercials and meaning big tech ultimately and broadcasters were my employers.
So, I mean, just totally powerless as an independent, you know, freelancer.
All right.
Susie, let's get you a response.
Izzy, I'm so sorry.
I don't think that people always understand how long the trauma of one of these situations lasts.
Even if the person who harassed you receives some kind of censure or is removed from the situation, the trauma that survivors carry with them lasts far longer than I think people fully understand.
So thank you for sharing.
I would say you can call us.
Hello at nationalwomen'sdefenseleague.org.
We would love to talk to you and please, please share your story with us.
We can't always fix every part of the problem, but the solidarity of other survivors is usually a really impactful way to move forward.
And we would love to talk to you.
Roxy Hagerstown, Maryland, Independent Line, you're on the air.
Oh, hi.
I was a sexual assault counselor at Fort Stewart, Georgia, for about five years.
And this was about probably 30, 40 years ago.
And every single soldier had to come through sexual assault and rape counseling where they were trained then.
But I think that once you're an adult and you're into this culture, that that's too late for training, although you're getting the new information and it can prevent you from doing something heinous like that.
Training needs to begin in grade school.
When a person says no, it's no.
And what are boundaries that are set between the male and the female and what should and shouldn't happen in the workplace and waiting until they get into a workplace and you may or may not have an HR staff that can give this training, it's almost like begging issues to happen.
And I'm wondering, with all of the experience of your guests there, are inroads being made to have training start and maybe middle school?
Emma.
Thank you so much for that question.
We have not seen a huge amount of movement at the state level in terms of legislation or policy about bringing some of this training into younger people.
I will say any not, I mean really any workplace, but certainly the more non-traditional workplaces, for us that means governments.
A lot of the people who are being targeted for the harassment are very young.
They are the interns and the pages.
They are usually it's their first job out of college.
And in many cases, those programs are run alongside the universities.
So making sure that young people have the information of what's appropriate in a workplace, where they can go to report something that didn't feel quite right, making sure that they have trust in the system itself are all really vital places to start, especially when you're starting your career.
And for our purposes, you want to be in public service.
We certainly think that that is an important piece that any job should be training people on, especially if it's a more non-traditional workplace where there isn't a lot of these guardrails already established.
We've got a question on X from Laura in Spokane, Washington, who says, glad to see this topic because it's overlooked frequently.
My question is, has she gotten access to the Hush Fund files yet?
If not, please do so.
Do you know anything about that, Emma?
Addressing Workplace Harassment Issues00:03:31
We have seen the reports about the fund that is there to pay out some of these settlements.
We have not gotten access to it.
We have seen a lot of the reporting and are grateful for the investigative reporters who are talking more about this.
We are looking into doing more research on the cost of sexual harassment in workplace situations.
I will say the taxpayers of New York have been shelling out millions of dollars for former Governor Andrew Cuomo to initiate lawsuits against his survivors, against the women, in an attempt to clear his name.
And because he's a former governor, he gets to utilize state funds for that.
So taxpayer money is certainly being utilized in not the best way for this topic.
So I think it's a great place for more investigation.
John, Washington, D.C., Line for Democrats.
Good morning.
John, are you there?
Yeah, yes.
Can you hear me?
Yes, go right ahead.
Yeah, I wasn't going to call, but I heard a man and it kind of prompted me and it brought back memories.
Something similar happened to me.
I was on a team that traveled around the country and I had a female supervisor.
And we used to hang out after work just to get to know the city.
But one day, my supervisor, the female, knocked on my door and had a borrow White Russian.
I felt very uncomfortable.
I let her in.
I was watching the basketball game.
So we continued to watch the basketball game and finished the White Russian.
And so about one o'clock in the morning, I said, well, I'm going to bed and you can let yourself out.
She lives right around the next two doors down.
And so I go in my bedroom, close the door, and all of a sudden my door opens.
My female supervisor sits on my bed.
I'm afraid to even look at her, pretend like I'm asleep.
Long story short, I didn't do anything with her.
This was a Saturday night.
On Monday morning, her whole demeanor changed.
And I was going to be with her for another three months at this location.
When we get back to town, she tells her boss that I wasn't a team player.
And so I was removed from the team, and I couldn't, I was so embarrassed, and I didn't think anyone would believe me that she had come to my room, sat on my bed, got in the bed, and I did nothing.
I didn't think it was believable.
So, John, we are running out of time, so I'm going to ask Emma to make a final comment.
Yeah, I'm so sorry that you experienced that, John.
I will say we have seen that perpetrators of sexual harassment and misconduct can be both men and women.
Our numbers show that in state governments, it's around 93% of those who are accused are men, and in Congress, 97% are men.
But we certainly have seen examples where women in power are also abusing it in this way.
So, it is less common, but it absolutely happens.
And I'm so sorry that you experienced that.
All right, that is Emma Davidson-Tribs.
She's co-founder and director at the National Women's Defense League.
That is their website, NationalWomen's Defense League.org.
Live Coverage Of Royal Visit00:04:23
If you'd like more information, Emma, thanks so much for joining us today.
Thanks for having me.
And that does it for our show today.
We have another edition of Washington Journal coming tomorrow morning, 7 a.m. Eastern.
Have a great day, everybody.
Thanks for watching.
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Well, coming up here on C-SPAN, we're going to bring you live coverage of the state visit of British monarch King Charles III and Queen Camilla.
This morning, they'll be officially greeted by President Trump and the First Lady at the White House.
And later this afternoon at 3 Eastern, the King will deliver a speech to a joint meeting of Congress, his first since his ascension to the throne.
Later tonight, the White House will host a state dinner for the King and Queen Camilla, whose state visit also coincides with the 250th year of the United States declaring independence from British rule.
We'll have all that and more coming up in our live special coverage here on C-SPAN.
After arriving yesterday, the King and Queen attended a garden party at the British Embassy here in Washington, D.C., where they were given a tour of the grounds and spoke with lawmakers, cabinet officials, journalists, and others.