The Fly-In

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.


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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.


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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.



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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.



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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.


This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit newdemocratcoalition.substack.com