LA’s DSA Rep.-Elect Says She Won’t Back Hakeem Jeffries for House Speaker

The next Congress will include about 100 new lawmakers in the House of Representatives, the largest freshman wave in decades. That also includes six newly elected members of the Democratic Socialists of America, bringing the total number of DSA members in Congress to eight. One of the incoming DSA congressmembers will be California’s Angela Gonzales-Torres, who worked two other jobs while campaigning and was massively outspent by her opponent, incumbent Democratic Congressmember Jimmy Gomez.

In her first national TV interview, Gonzales-Torres tells Democracy Now! she will prioritize immigrant justice, Medicare for All and fighting corruption, when she is sworn in. She also explains why she has not yet committed to supporting Hakeem Jeffries for House speaker.

“As of right now, my vote is no,” she says. “Over 100,000 Angelenos voted for courage. They voted for change.”

TRANSCRIPT

This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.

AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org. I’m Amy Goodman.

Newly elected members of Congress are in Washington, D.C., this week for orientation. The new class of Democrats will include the largest-ever incoming class of progressives, including six newly elected members of DSA, the Democratic Socialists of America. This will bring the total number of DSA members in Congress to eight, joining Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib.

On Tuesday, our next guest, Angela Gonzales-Torres of Los Angeles, defeated the sitting Democratic Congressmember Jimmy Gomez, who’s under investigation by the House Ethics Committee over sexual misconduct allegations, which he denies. Gonzales-Torres grew up in the district she’ll represent, in Highland Park. She was raised by a single mom after her father was deported, and her family relied on Section 8, SNAP and Medicaid. She ran a campaign focused on affordable housing, abolishing ICE, rooting out corruption in Congress. This is Angela Gonzales-Torres speaking after her election.

REP.-ELECT ANGELA GONZALES-TORRES: We took on corporate donors and corruption, and this apparent culture in Congress in which men appear to abuse their positions of power and abuse women. And I am sick of it. And so I’m ready for change, because Los Angeles doesn’t belong to AIPAC, right? Los Angeles doesn’t belong to crypto or big AI lobbies. And Los Angeles certainly doesn’t belong to corporate real estate developers. And so, it belongs to us.

AMY GOODMAN: During the primary, Gonzales-Torres was working two jobs — in education, supporting formerly incarcerated students; as an affordable housing advocate — also served as president of the Highland Park neighborhood.

For more, we go to Washington, D.C., where we’re joined by Congressmember-elect Angela Gonzales-Torres.

Thank you so much for being with us. It’s great to have you. You’re in D.C. right now for the incoming congressmembers’ orientation. Can you talk about what you plan to bring to Congress? What are your demands, Congressmember-elect?

REP.-ELECT ANGELA GONZALES-TORRES: Sure. I’m so happy to be here.

Yes, we are in D.C. now. They threw me right in here. Our election was Tuesday, and here we are, ready to hit the ground running and take this information back home and fight for working families like my own.

I am really focused on why I got into this race in the first place, which is that I grew up in this district that has some of the highest costs of incarceration. One of the largest jail systems on the face of the planet is actually in the middle of California’s 34th Congressional District. And we have some of the dirtiest air in all of L.A. County, some of the largest eviction notices issued in the entire city. And I am so proud to be now, hopefully soon, representing one of the largest immigrant populations in the country.

I am really hoping to bring this urgency. I really feel the urgency of this moment, and I’m looking forward to representing Los Angeles with the respect that we deserve.

AMY GOODMAN: And tell us more about your district. You’re right next to where Stephen Miller —

REP.-ELECT ANGELA GONZALES-TORRES: Yeah.

AMY GOODMAN: — grew up. As you are there in Washington for your first days for orientation, he has started —

REP.-ELECT ANGELA GONZALES-TORRES: Yes.

AMY GOODMAN: — his first day, the architect of the immigration crackdown, as the chief of staff of President Trump.

REP.-ELECT ANGELA GONZALES-TORRES: Yeah. First of all, Stephen Miller is a fearmonger. He is a fool. And we definitely saw this coming. I think the Trump administration knew that they were going to lose big this midterm, and I think that this is proof that they’re trying to double down on their cruel and corrupt agenda.

And the reason I got into this race as the daughter of a deportee, as someone that proudly works with formerly incarcerated and undocumented students, is because we are going to need to fight back. And so, while they are trying to lean in on fear, we are going to lean in on love and courage in this time of extreme cowardice. And I’m ready to get to work.

AMY GOODMAN: Can you talk about the race for the House leader, for the House speaker? I mean, you have —

REP.-ELECT ANGELA GONZALES-TORRES: Yeah.

AMY GOODMAN: — a real controversy brewing. In the Senate, it’s around Chuck Schumer, now the Democratic minority leader. In the House, it’s Hakeem Jeffries. And will you be endorsing him for House speaker? In our headlines just now, we talked about progressives demanding new leadership. An online petition urging Democratic Congressmember Hakeem Jeffries to remove himself from the running to become next House speaker has surpassed 1 million signatures, facing mounting opposition over his pro-Israel interests, continued acceptance of corporate PAC money, including from AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Your thoughts?

REP.-ELECT ANGELA GONZALES-TORRES: As of right now, my vote is no. I know for sure that over 100,000 Angelenos voted for courage. They voted for change. And I think that what I don’t know is what Representative Hakeem Jeffries is offering my community and constituents of California’s 34th Congressional District for their vote. I think I know for sure that the incumbent would have rolled over and handed over the vote without keeping our community in mind, without one community conversation, and that is not the case anymore. Those days are behind us.

And so, respectfully, Representative Hakeem Jeffries will have to work for our vote. And again, we have not spoken yet. I just got here. This is my second day in D.C., and I’m really looking forward to the rest of orientation, learning as much as possible. But I’m really looking forward to getting back home and making sure my community feels heard.

AMY GOODMAN: Can you talk about your father being deported when you were a teenager? And talk about your own district more. You can talk about the critical issues one of the poorest districts in this country face, and the fact that you had, what, at least two jobs while you were running for Congress in order to support yourself.

REP.-ELECT ANGELA GONZALES-TORRES: Right. That is proof alone that anything is possible. We won the primary election while I was working two jobs, but also we had to stretch, you know, $200,000, which might sound like a lot to my neighbors and I, but in this political world, that was proof that anything is possible, and it’s possible not to sell out your community to corporate PACs and corporate donors.

And I think that, for me, the reason why I got into this race, again, is because I, for generations, have seen the same issues over and over and over again — largest eviction notices in the heart of Los Angeles, some of the dirtiest air in all of L.A. County. I mean, kids in East L.A. have lead found in their teeth, while we’re also trying to recover from the Lineage warehouse fire and an oil spill and ICE raids and the warmest year on record with no ACs in our public schools. It’s unacceptable.

And I think that being the — one of the poorest districts in the country, yet part of the fourth-largest economy in the world, I know that Angelenos are some of the hardest-working people you will ever meet. And I am here to represent them in the way that they deserve to be represented. So, we are looking forward to finally having in-person town halls to make sure that, you know, people know that even now in this transition period, they can go to Angela4Congress.com and leave a comment, especially for constituents of CA-34, to make sure that our office is prepared to meet people where they’re at.

AMY GOODMAN: And how do you fight for Medicare for All and abolishing ICE, two of the issues you ran on, as we wrap up this discussion?

REP.-ELECT ANGELA GONZALES-TORRES: Sure. I mean, fortunately, and I have to tell you, the energy here in D.C. is electric. I mean, the Progressive Caucus had a press conference yesterday alone, and you can feel that we are ready to actually fight for these bare minimum things that people should be guaranteed across the country. Medicare for All is bare minimum.

And I think that there’s certainly a difference between former elected officials, that would just co-sponsor or sign on to these bills, and those of us moving into Congress this January, that will actually fight for it and make sure that we’re doing everything that we can to let people know what abolish ICE even means, holding accountable those masked agents that are terrorizing our communities, redirecting those funds back into our districts. And really, it’s an energy that you can feel, and I’m really looking forward to carrying that through this transition, and certainly after we’re all sworn in.

AMY GOODMAN: And as you go off to your next meeting, I’m wondering how you feel in this first national TV broadcast to be standing in the Capitol Rotunda as an incoming congressmember from Los Angeles.

REP.-ELECT ANGELA GONZALES-TORRES: It’s incredible, honestly. Yeah, it’s really — I think, for me, this is exactly where we need to be, because that was a really hard past year and a half, and our community asked us to step up and throw our name in this race because they know I am in these fights already, this fight to get AIPAC and crypto and big AI funding out of our politics, certainly out of California’s Democratic Party. And it’s possible. We just proved that. And I’m really excited and proud that over 100,000 Angelenos made their voices very clear.

AMY GOODMAN: Well, I don’t want you to be late for one of your first meetings —

REP.-ELECT ANGELA GONZALES-TORRES: Thank you so much. Yeah.

AMY GOODMAN: — as congressmember-elect, Angela Gonzales-Torres, democratic socialist, elected to represent California’s 34th Congressional District in Los Angeles.

REP.-ELECT ANGELA GONZALES-TORRES: Yes.

AMY GOODMAN: I want to thank you so much for being with us, in her first national TV broadcast.

This is Democracy Now! Coming up, we look at the crackdown on press freedom in Egypt. We’ll speak with the editor-in-chief of the largest independent newspaper in Egypt, Mada Masr. She faces a criminal trial this week and possible prison. Stay with us.

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