Many decent Robert Garcia relatives in Peru have recently asked if they should identify with them as federal agents seem to be free to close out brown people.
His answer? Yes, but don’t quell your resistance to fear.
“It can happen in the fear of people seeing rifles running into the community and seeing masked men scooping people up, and in the fear of people seeing images they are looking at.
But “We cannot allow all of this, and we cannot ensure that we are not accountable for these actions,” Garcia added.
These days, Garcia is all about accountability. The Long Beach representative was recently elected by his democratic parliamentary peers, for his minority top job on a strong House committee on oversight and government reform.
For those not a government failure, it is a major position to oppose Trump. So, as the president says, that’s a big deal! Especially for young men – because the role usually goes to an older politician with seniority.
That’s what I wonder, myself included, if Garcia, 47, is our insider Zoran Mamdani – a young charismatic New Yorker whose recent victory in the mayoral primary has caused Democrats to shake up the reality that voters want fighters, and patriotism isn’t just about what Maga decides.
Garcia has the same kind of energy and confidence that his version of America (surprisingly inclusive, affordable and fair) is what his constituents want and what he is expected to fight.
“I love this country,” Garcia said. “It feels like Trump and his minions don’t understand what true patriotism is.”
If you missed Garcia’s amazing profile that my colleagues Seema Mehta and Andrea Castillo went a while ago, I’ll give you a highlight. Garcia came to this country from Peru when she was five years old. His parents like that many people want safety and opportunity.
The family exaggerated their visas and joined millions of undocumented Californians.
His mom cleaned the house and worked in a second-hand clothing store. Garcia learned Superman comics by reading English. He was excellent in school, and by the time he was in college, Ronald Reagan of All-People provided him with the path to citizenship along with the Immigration Reform Act of 1986. He grabbed it.
“When I swore my oath to the Constitution, it actually meant something to me,” he said. “I had to fight for citizenship.”
Garcia entered the public service and was elected mayor of Long Beach, the youngest in the city, first openly gay and first Latino mayor. He then jumped to Congress in 2022 and became a freshman democratic class president.
He is an American dream. But American nightmares are also nightmares for some people on the far right who may never allow someone who has never been documented to do the worst thing they can.
“I’m me,” he said. “I’m a US citizen. I have the right to be here and serve the same way he does. I’m not scared of Donald Trump.”
Garcia’s rapid rise in parliament shows that he is not just a brawl, but a finesse. Garcia defeated Massachusetts Rep. Stephen Lynch, 70, for his oversight committee work. And before that, Maryland Rep. Kwaisi Muhume (76) bowed and lacked support. He also defeated Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett, 44.
“It was clear from the numbers that my leadership style wasn’t exactly what it was. [Democrats] I was looking for it, so I didn’t think it would be fair to me to move forward and try to blam it,” Crockett told Politico after dropping her bid.
Garcia was able to combine her desire to sparr with her boring need to be a good manager of what she learned by running through Long Beach. Commission role Garcia was held when Virginia Rep. Jerry Connolly died of cancer in May.
New York State Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who had long been thinking of a young brand of Democrats, called for work earlier this year, but was rejected in Connolly’s favour due to his long-standing influence. But it was in front of the mum ticks, an internal explosion within the party, beyond age and attitude.
Ocasio-Cortez decided not to pursue a second role, but Garcia said he was one of the first people he spoke to when he decided to try his luck.
“It was clear to me that the party should welcome generational change,” he said. “There are people out there who want new ideas and people who want us to be offensive towards Trump.”
For Democrats in both Houses of Congress, there’s not much Garcia and Democrats can do to stop Trump’s agenda. However, according to Garcia, it is important to make noise, set markers for future actions and tell the truth. And we can lay the foundation for an era where the Democrats have a majority.
“The first thing is that we need to be serious about having an anti-corruption agenda. [Trump’s] Enriching myself and his family,” Garcia said.
A flashy dinner for investors in his cryptocurrency, Qatar jets, and his new perfume. There are many examples of Trump benefiting from the presidency.
Garcia calls it “a huge glyft” and “a big step backward for our democracy.”
And then there’s Stephen Miller of California, the architect of Trump’s immigration attacks.
If Democrats are back in power and Democrats on the Observation Committee are able to issue subpoenas and investigate, “please reassure Stephen Miller that they need to answer questions,” Garcia said. “Elon Musk needs to ask questions before the oversight committee, so the agenda becomes important.”
But it’s not just Trump.
“We also need to have a future-looking agenda. How do we improve government?” he said. “It’s not only about what country we live in now, but also about what country we can build in the future.”
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