Congresswoman Emily Randall On How She Sees It

I think it’s our job to continue highlighting what is happening — the truth, telling the truth — and working toward a government that is more reflective of the people and more respectful of the Constitution, due process, and the checks and balances that we rely on in a functioning democracy.”

“It’s a rollercoaster. There are highs and lows. Any new job takes some adjusting to and learning, but this is a particularly crazy time to be a new member of Congress,” U.S. Rep. Emily Randall (D-6th) told KP News. She was sworn in to her new job Jan. 3.

On a day-to-day basis, Randall said she goes from feeling amazed to be there — working with an incredible team and to have such great colleagues — to feeling frustrated and sad when constituents ask her for resources in the budget or a policy change. She’s candid about the current political reality.

“As a member of a minority, I don’t have a lot of tools to get that across the finish line.” Still, one of the things she’s most proud of is the work her team has done to stay engaged with the community at home. Randall’s team hosted eight town halls and was able to return nearly $600,000 to constituents through casework.

Her message to constituents is to keep reaching out to her office.

“Reach out if you have a perspective on a bill, a question about what’s happening in Congress, or if you’re having a challenge with a federal agency,” she said. “We can’t guarantee that we’ll get you the solution that you’re looking for, but we can certainly try. It’s helpful for us to know what the patterns are, where people are facing barriers.

“One thing that’s true about this Republican administration and the Republican majority in the House is that they’re not proactively communicating a lot to us about the changes and the challenges with federal agencies, so often we rely on neighbors who are experiencing them firsthand so that we can figure out how to be a partner in the fight.”

Randall serves on the House Natural Resources Committee and the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Of the two, she finds Natural Resources the most work-focused. She said she likes her Republican colleagues on the committee, who aren’t the sort of partisan ideologues most House members are.

“Yes, we have some different ideologies, but I think there’s some real collaborative spirit, particularly around tribal issues. That’s been positive,” she said.

Stepping up to the plate in other ways, Randall is playing softball for the first time since junior high school, but this time it’s on the U.S. Congressional Women’s Softball Team.

“We only have one game and it’s against the Women of the Washington, D.C., Press Corps in July, but we practice a couple of times a week at 7 a.m.,” Randall said.

“It’s great and a good way to start the day — building relationships with the resident commissioner from the Mariana Islands, a new Republican congress member from North Dakota, and a Democratic congress member I didn’t know before.”

The softball game has become a summer tradition on Capitol Hill since its inception in 2009, raising funds to benefit the Young Survivors Coalition, a charity that raises awareness about breast cancer affecting young women.

Randall remains on the lookout for ways to build bipartisan relationships, and the formation of the Congressional Ferry Caucus that launched in mid-June is one of them. The bipartisan effort will address the need for increased federal funding of waterway transportation systems from the Pacific Northwest to Alaska, San Francisco Bay, and New York. Her co-chairs include two Republicans, one from Alaska and one from New York, and her Democratic colleague from California.

Then there were events like the weekend of June 14, when the nation woke to learn that Democratic state legislators in Minnesota had been assassinated and others hospitalized after being shot.

“From learning that news to go see people in the streets, speaking out and fighting for a better future in Gig Harbor and Key Center, Poulsbo and Port Angeles, all around the district, the state, and the country?” she said. “There are definitely the high-highs of being in community as well as low-lows of the divisive political climate that we’re in.”

Randall said, “The Marines are trained for international engagement and required additional training that cost taxpayer money to engage domestically in a place where they were not needed, and in fact asked not to show up by the governor.”

But Randall said she is seeing some wins in court, though it’s certainly not the Supreme Court she once hoped for.

“What I tell neighbors who are worried about any number of things is that we’re fighting on multiple fronts. We’re fighting in Congress, we’re fighting in the courts, and we’re peacefully protesting in community.”

Randall credited some of those recent court victories to the efforts of new Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown.

“I’m really proud of AG Brown and his team here in our state, the attorney generals around the country, and the organizations, labor unions, and advocacy groups that are filing lawsuits to challenge really dangerous policy.”

Randall was in uptown Gig Harbor after the military was deployed to quell civil unrest in Los Angeles. She said the people she talked with were upset. Her California congressional colleagues who represent Los Angeles were even more so.

“I think it’s our job to continue highlighting what is happening — the truth, telling the truth — and working toward a government that is more reflective of the people and more respectful of the Constitution, due process, and the checks and balances that we rely on in a functioning democracy.”