The new Congress started this week, two weeks ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s swearing in as the 47th president. Congresswoman Sarah Jacobs spoke to KPBS about what to expect from Washington in the upcoming months.
So we last spoke before the November election. You were optimistic about Vice President Kamala Harris's prospects. Now as President-elect Donald Trump is about to embark on his second term in the White House, what are your thoughts?
Sara Jacobs: Look. I think it was a real wake up call that so many Americans feel so dissatisfied with the status quo. And I'll be honest, these are some of the issues I've been talking about for a long time. We know the cost of living is too high and, frankly, we as Democrats didn't do enough to address it. And I think that we need to do a lot more on that issue, and that's what I'm gonna focus on in these next two years, finding ways to continue to get things done for our community on issues like child care, like building more housing, like addressing the really high cost of living that folks in San Diego and all across the country are facing.
So Congresswoman Jacobs, is there common ground between congressional Democrats and President-elect Trump? I know 300 groups sent a letter to the new Congress this week urging them to protect Medicaid, which Republicans are threatening to underfund.
Jacobs: You know, it's really hard to tell at this point which Donald Trump you're gonna get. On the one hand, you know, he's proposing these big tax cuts for the wealthy and big corporations that would necessitate cutting Medicaid and Medicare and Social Security and other things that we know are incredibly important. On the other hand, people like Vice President-elect JD Vance spend a lot of time talking about child care and the child tax credit. And so we're going to try and find areas to work across the aisle and actually be able to get done these things while also recognizing that a lot of the incoming Trump administration's agenda will really hurt families in San Diego, in particular around the issues of mass deportation, which will really affect our economy in San Diego, and the trans troop ban that's going to severely hurt our military's ability to recruit and stay ready for whatever the future may hold.
Well, let's talk about mass deportations of undocumented people. Polls gaging American support for this plan are mixed. There are between 150,000 to 170,000 of those people who fall into that category in San Diego County and about another 150,000 who live in mixed status households. California is a sanctuary state. How do you think this issue will unfold?
Jacobs: I think we in San Diego know better than most how important our immigrant community is to our economy and to the fabric of our communities. And so I think what we need to understand when we're talking about this mass deportation plan of the incoming Trump administration is that there is no prioritization. It will be a broad based, broad swath deportation even if folks in mixed status families, even they've said potentially U.S. citizens in order to, quote, unquote, keep families together, and it will severely, severely hurt our economy in San Diego from raising the price of construction and food to hurting our cross-border economy that we know is so interlinked with the economy in Mexico. And it will also likely increase border wait times because so many of the resources will be going towards this unprioritized deportation.
So what do you view as your role if these deportations do get underway?
Jacobs: For me, I'm focusing on the things that we can do. So number one, that's oversight, oversight, making sure that laws and statutes are actually being followed, that there is, you know, insomuch as there are legal protections that those are staying in place, that we are putting pressure to make sure that there are humane processes in place, and then to see where we can find areas with some folks across the aisle. Remember, they will only have a one to three person majority here in the house where we can push back on some of these really harmful things and, you know, find a a couple of handful of folks on the other side of the aisle who are willing to do this. We were able to change the family separation policy when the American people learned about it. And so a big part of this is really making sure we're doing the oversight to call attention to issues and then seeing if we can find allies, even just a few, across the aisle to push back on these really harmful things.
So another group of people in the region looking at a second Trump presidency with some trepidation are scientists. Some have expressed worry that if they oppose the incoming administration's policies dealing with science, they might lose federal grants. Is that fear justified? And if it is, what will you do to ensure that doesn't happen?
Jacobs: We know that Republicans are looking for any way to cut funding and really needed funding for our communities. And one of the things we're gonna be doing is trying to make sure that we are finding ways to channel some of that into productive areas where we really do need reform of the government and protecting the areas that these government investments are so important. And so I think the fear is valid, but we will continue working and find allies across the aisle to push back on some of these really harmful cuts that the incoming Trump administration is talking about.
Okay. Before I let you go, Congresswoman, a quick question about the Equal Rights Amendment, which would guarantee equal rights for everyone irrespective of sex. Enough states have ratified it to become an amendment. But the deadline for the ratification passed 40 years ago. Democrats are urging President Biden to add the amendment to the Constitution arguing the deadline is unconstitutional, should he?
Jacobs: Absolutely. I think it's an incredibly important protection. And given that we have a Supreme Court who, you know, picks and chooses what they think is actually textual, adding this kind of important provision to the Constitution will help enable that we are able to push back against some of these really harmful things the new administration is going to do, and we'll make sure that I, as a young woman, actually are able to have rights. And right now, I have fewer rights than my mom and my grandma did.
Okay. We're gonna leave it there. Congresswoman Jacobs, thank you so much for speaking with me today.
Jacobs: Of course. Thanks for having me.
