Adam Schiff, California’s newest US senator, talks immigration, housing, working with the incoming president
The deadly attack in New Orleans on New Year’s Day only underscores the importance lawmakers must place on combatting homegrown extremism, said Sen. Adam Schiff.
At least 14 people died after Shamsud-Din Jabbar, a U.S. Army veteran, drove a pickup truck into a crowd of people early in the morning on Jan. 1, the FBI has said.
In the wake of the attack, Republicans have called on the Senate to swiftly approve President-elect Donald Trump’s nominees for national security jobs, including former Rep. Tulsi Gabbard for national intelligence director, Army veteran Pete Hegseth for defense secretary and Kash Patel for FBI director. But these are among some of Trump’s more controversial picks to join his incoming administration.
Schiff, a Democrat who once led the powerful House Intelligence Committee, said the attack puts “an urgent priority on these national security positions,” yet adding that it “also places a priority on having people there who know how to do the work … and who aren’t extreme ideologues who have other agendas.”
“The attack coming from an American citizen who briefly served in the Armed Forces illustrates the rising danger that we’ve been facing for years of homegrown extremism,” Schiff said in an interview. “This has to be an urgent priority.”
“In terms of the confirmation processes, we need people who are serious about this problem, who have experience in attacking it, and so it raises the importance of having well-qualified people in those positions,” he added.
Schiff, 64, is set to be sworn in Friday, Jan. 3, to a full, six-year term as California’s newest U.S. senator, a role that he’s been serving in for the past month as voters also selected him to finish out the remainder of the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s term. Sen. Laphonza Butler, who stepped into the role when Feinstein died, left the seat on Dec. 9.
This means Schiff will technically have been sworn in as a senator three times in less than a month: on Dec. 9 when Butler resigned, on Dec. 19 after California’s election results were certified and on Friday, for the full term. It’s a record, Schiff’s office says, for the most swearing-ins in such a short period of time.
On Thursday, Schiff was named to four committees: Judiciary; Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry; Environment and Public Works; and Small Business and Entrepreneurship. The Southern California News Group caught up with Schiff just as his full term is beginning to discuss not only the New Orleans attack, but immigration, housing, working with the incoming administration and more.
Below is the conversation with the senator, whose answers have only been edited for grammar or brevity.
Q: What are your top goals as a U.S. senator?
A: First, I want to deal with voters’ top concern, and that is the cost of living and, most particularly, the cost of housing.
We don’t have enough housing supply, and as a result, prices are through the roof. People’s rents are going up, hand over first. People can’t afford to get into their first home, and we’re not going to fix that unless we start building a lot more housing in California. We’re not going to really be able to address homelessness unless we have a lot more housing as well.
I want to focus on incentivizing the building of a lot more affordable housing. And I want to incentivize local governments getting to yes more quickly on approving housing.
But I also want to attack other high costs, the costs of anything from childcare to food and fuel.
And finally, I want to continue the work I’ve done to make sure we protect the freedoms of the American people and our way of life and our democracy so that everyone has the opportunity to succeed and get ahead in America.
Q: California’s economy is heavily reliant on agriculture. Is there something lawmakers could do to protect that industry or address potential labor shortages, given the uncertainty about the future of the country’s immigration policies with the incoming presidential administration?
A: One of the committees I really sought to get on is the Agriculture Committee. That may be unusual for a Democratic senator from a large urban area, but the agriculture industry is enormously important to the state. That committee (assignment) will really give me the opportunity to really champion the needs of the agriculture industry and everyone who works in it, to make sure that the kind of agriculture that California grows gets the resources and prioritization that it should — that’s sometimes in competition with other parts of the country.
I also want to continue meeting with stakeholders over one of the most important issues not just affecting agriculture, but affecting the whole state — and that is water. We are going to continue to experience the impacts of climate change, and this precious resource is going to become more and more precious. We’re going to need to figure out how to cope with that enormous challenge.
In terms of the soon-to-be president’s policies on immigration, I think there is a lot of concern in the agriculture community about deporting vast numbers of farm workers.
This is not work that many Americans want to do. It’s really hard, back-breaking work, often in extreme heat and often in cold temperatures. If we deport what could be 50% to 75% of that labor force, food prices are going to go through the roof. Part of my goal will be to make the case to the administration that if they want to bring down food prices, they can’t deport the workforce.
Q: During your time in the House, your tenure included Trump’s impeachment and pushing back on the administration. How do you plan to navigate that and work with the incoming Trump administration?
A: There’s a lot we can work hand-in-hand on. In particular, the incoming president says he wants to attack the high cost of goods and living. I’m in complete agreement. And when (Trump) was president before, I talked with him about working on infrastructure, something that is completely nonpartisan.
My orientation will be, No. 1, who can I work with to get stuff done for California? That’s my top priority, whether it’s Republicans in Congress or in the administration.
I also recognize it’s going to be important when there are problems of corruption, or there are threats to our democracy, that I’d be willing to stand up to people. I think Californians expect me to do both. They want me to get things done and deliver, but they also want me to protect their rights and freedoms, and I intend to do both.
Q: You’ve invited Officer Daniel Hodges, who was attacked during the Jan. 6 insurrection, as your guest to watch the upcoming electoral vote count. Can you tell us how that invitation came to be?
A: Of all the images from Jan. 6, the most painful for me to watch were the images of Officer Hodges being crushed in that revolving door. I consider him to be a real hero for what he did to protect us that day, and because of his work protecting us that day, we will have a peaceful Jan. 6 (when each state’s electoral votes are counted).
I wanted him to be present, to see that the peaceful transition of power has resumed once again. And he has an important role in protecting that sacred tradition.
I also wanted him to be there because I wanted to acknowledge how much those of us who were in the Capitol that day continue to be grateful to him for his profound service.
Q: You represented a Burbank-area House district seat for 23 years. But for your expanded base of constituents now, what do you want them to know about you?
A: There’s a good chunk of people who only know me from my caricature on Fox News, and I think they will be pleasantly surprised that I am not that villain they like to portray on Fox.
I care deeply about this state, and I am excited to represent every part of it.
I’m lucky enough to be married to the same woman for almost 30 years, and we’ve got two wonderful kids. I have a quirky sense of humor. “The Big Lebowski” is one of my favorite films.
Q: Is there anything you’ve learned as you’ve transitioned from the House over to the Senate in recent days?
A: It’s a very different culture in the Senate, which is apparent to me already. It’s much more collegial. There’s a much greater willingness to seek people out to get things done.
Because so much in the Senate operates by unanimous consent, that means you basically need people on the other side of the aisle in order to do anything. It compels you to work together.
It doesn’t mean there are not going to be high-profile fights over things like controversial nominations, but it does mean you can seek people out and say, “Hey, in California, rural hospitals are shutting down, labor and delivery rooms are shutting down. This is a big problem in California, and I know it’s a problem for you in your rural, red state. Why don’t we work together on it?”
It’s what excites me about the Senate, and I’m already experiencing that in the conversations and meetings I’m having with my Republican colleagues.