The Fly-In

This week, co-hosts Marc Veasey (TX-33) and Greg Landsman (OH-01) are joined by Congresswoman Andrea Salinas (OR-06), New Dem Leadership Member and the Co-Chair of the bipartisan Mental Health Caucus. The Members start the episode with a discussion about the state of mental health in America, and delve into Congresswoman Salinas’s work in Congress to improve care, increase access, and lower costs.

Then, the group transitions to a wide-ranging conversation about the nationwide efforts by Republican lawmakers in the wake of the Supreme Court’s destruction of the Voting Rights Act.

They talk about how Republicans in states like Florida, Louisiana, Alabama, Tennessee, and elsewhere are gerrymandering congressional district maps to eliminate majority-minority districts, the implications for the American people, and what must be done to ensure voters have the final say in elections.

They also cover Rep. Salinas’s experience on a non-Jeopardy Alex Trebek-hosted game show in 1989, and react to a clip of President Trump insisting he doesn’t care about the finances of the average American.

In this special edition episode, co-hosts Greg Landsman (OH-01) and Marc Veasey (TX-33) discuss a chaotic week on the House floor that saw multiple bills pulled, votes left open for hours at a time, shouting matches between Republicans, and a testing of Mike Johnson’s Speakership. The members opine on Johnson’s future and which Republican member might take the reins of their Conference if he is ousted in the new Congress.

Later, Landsman and Veasey react to the Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais, which effectively gutted Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), creating a number of opportunities for Republican-controlled states to eliminate majority-minority districts and silence minority voices in Congress. Veasey gets into the history of the VRA and how Republican appointed Justices have long worked toward this goal, and Landsman recounts the many strong reactions in the immediate aftermath of the ruling.

This week, Fly-In co-hosts Greg Landsman (OH-01) and Marc Veasey (TX-33) are joined by Congressman Scott Peters (CA-50) from San Diego, one of the foremost experts on energy policy on the powerful House Energy & Commerce Committee. After discussing his personal connection to Martin Luther King Sr., Peters talks through his work in Congress to accelerate clean energy production and lower prices.

Then, the three Members discuss the impact of Trump’s war in Iran on the American people and Congressional Republican efforts to disenfranchise millions of voters through the SAVE Act.

Landsman, Veasey, and Peters also react to the clip of the week, which features Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent lying about consumer confidence. To wrap up, Peters is quizzed by the hosts on how well he knows his favorite musical artists’ discography – tune in to find out who it is!

This week, Congressman Greg Landsman (OH-01) is joined by special guest Congressman Jim Himes (CT-04), who is the Ranking Member of the House Intelligence Committee and an avid apiarist.

After sharing some of his knowledge on beekeeping, Rep. Himes gives an update on where things stand on Trump’s war with Iran, more than six weeks since its start and one week into a temporary ceasefire. He also shares the current state of negotiations, what his constituents are saying about the rising cost of gas, and more.

The members then react to a clip of Vice President JD Vance stumping for Viktor Orbán, who was defeated in a landslide election over the weekend, ending his 16-year rule as Prime Minister of Hungary.

Today, New Dem Members took to the House Floor to demand a vote on a War Powers Resolution to stop Trump’s reckless war. After the Republican Chair refused to recognize the members, they attended a press conference demanding that Speaker Johnson bring the House back in session immediately to take a vote. In a newly released video, New Dems call on House Republicans to join Democrats in finally listening to the American people and ending the war in Iran.

See below for a full transcript of the video, which features New Dem Members Sara Jacobs (CA-51), Don Beyer (VA-08), James Walkinshaw (VA-08), Glenn Ivey (MD-04), and Emily Randall (WA-06).

Rep. Sara Jacobs: It is Congress’s job to be here to put a real check on this president and make sure that he cannot go forward with this illegal, reckless war that is putting our servicemembers and our national security at risk.

Rep. Don Beyer: Congress needs to come back right away, take up the War Powers Resolution Act, pass it, and send the strongest possible signal to Donald Trump and the American people that he should not be waging this war.

Rep. James Walkinshaw: It’s costing the taxpayers billions of dollars a day, while you’ve cut healthcare.

Rep. Glenn Ivey: And it’s clear at this point that the Trump administration’s out of control. We saw the crazy threats that he was making a few days ago.

Rep. Emily Randall: Bring the House back into session so that we can vote on a War Powers Resolution and reign in this dangerous war that President Trump chose to get us into.

Last month, New Dems met with small business owners and industry representatives to learn more about how the Trump Administration’s sweeping tariffs have made every aspect of their operations more difficult and raised prices on working Americans. Two of these small business owners, Sarah Wells, Owner and Founder of Sarah Wells Bags, a breast pump bag consumer brand based out of Fairfax, VA, and Eva St. Clair, Co-Founder and Owner of Princess Awesome, an e-commerce family clothing brand based out of Washington, DC shared their experiences in a newly released video.

See below for a full transcript of the video, which features New Dem Trade and Tariffs Task Force Chair Don Beyer (VA-08), and includes personal stories from both Sarah Wells and Eva St. Clair about how Trump’s tariffs have made this past year one of their most difficult since opening their businesses.

Sarah Wells: No matter what I do, trying to do the right thing as an American small business employing Americans, it seems like the tariffs just keep chasing me down.

Rep. Don Beyer: We just had a really fascinating hour and a half with small business leaders about their trade experiences and what tariffs have meant to them, and the stories were horrifying.

Eva St. Clair: It has been one of the most difficult years in the history of our company, and we’ve been in business 13 years. We had to pay for the tariffs out of pocket, we had no runway to pay for that, which meant that my co-owner and I never got paid for several months. We went without our salaries, which directly impacted our families, obviously and our livelihoods. It was really hard.

Sarah Wells: This has been a devastating year-plus for us because of the Trump tariffs. We were hit really hard with our first container that came in last year from China with an unexpected IEEPA (International Emergency Economic Powers Act) tariff. It resulted in layoffs and downsizing our product catalog. We sold out of our best-selling inventory, and I ended up trying to move all of my manufacturing to Cambodia to try to get around some of that and get away from this reliance on China, and it was immediately hit with 49 percent IEEPA tariffs. No matter what I do, trying to do the right thing as an American small business employing Americans, it seems like the tariffs just keep chasing me down.

This week, co-hosts Greg Landsman (OH-01) and Marc Veasey (TX-33) are joined by a special guest, former Governor of Washington Jay Inslee, whose more than 30 year career in public service included eight terms in the House of Representatives and a run at the Presidency in the 2020 Democratic primary.

Throughout this wide-ranging discussion, Governor Inslee provides his takes on political polarization in Congress, the most unexpected realities of running for President, the reckless and corrupt actions by the Trump administration to push fossil fuels over clean energy, and how he’s not so different from NBA Hall of Famer Michael Jordan.

A leading expert on climate policy, Governor Inslee also offers Democrats a winning message for the midterms that ties the cost of living with the realities of climate change. Before they wrap up, Landsman, Veasey, and the Governor – representing Ohio, Texas, and Washington – compete to see who can convince the Fly-In team that their state is better than all the rest.

This week, Veasey and Landsman are joined by Resident Commissioner Pablo José Hernández (PR-AL), Puerto Rico’s sole elected representative in Congress, for a wide-ranging discussion on life and culture on the island. Hernández gives an overview of the unequal distribution of Medicaid and SNAP funds – which are provided via block grants to Puerto Rico – when compared to states, and the harm caused by Congressional Republicans’ cuts to these programs. The group also covers disaster relief, rising energy prices, and the ongoing debate about Puerto Rican statehood.

The members wrap up by reacting to Trump’s refusal to strike a deal that would end the DHS shutdown in the clip of the week, and debate Ricky Martin versus Bad Bunny, coffee versus piña coladas, and more in a Would You Rather game.

In this episode of The Fly-In, Congressman Marc Veasey (TX-33) and guest-host Congressman Johnny Olszewski (MD-02) provide updates on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown, including growing wait times at airports and impacts on TSA agents who missed their first paycheck last Friday. They also share their thoughts on Trump’s recent decision to fire former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, and whether her removal will lead to real change within the Department.

The members also discuss House Democrats’ attempts to hold ICE accountable, including this week’s House Democratic discharge petition to force a floor vote on legislation to fund all of DHS except for ICE and CBP. Additionally, Rep. Olszewski describes what he learned at his recent visit to an ICE detention center in Baltimore.

For the clip of the week, the members react to a series of videos from Americans across the country –all feeling the pain of higher gas prices due to Trump’s war in Iran – and talk through the President’s failure to plan for the impact of the war.

In this episode, hosts Congressman Greg Landsman (OH-01) and Congressman Marc Veasey (TX-33) give their unfiltered thoughts on Trump’s State of the Union Address after his first year back in office and share what it was like experiencing it from the House floor. Despite breaking the record for longest State of the Union speech in history, the members explain how Trump failed entirely to address any of the issues American families are struggling with — from cost of living and health care to public safety.