Audio: On WAMU’s “Politics Hour,” Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA11) Says “the so-called crisis at the border is non-existent” and Gov. Youngkin Sending VA National Guard Troops to TX Border Was a “shameful use of VA resources”

On today’s “The Politics Hour with Kojo Nnamdi” show on WAMU, Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-VA11) had a number of interesting things to say (although he wasn’t asked about the two topics highlighted by WAMU in its promo for the show). See below for audio and a few highlights, including:

• On the disgusting behavior by former Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder and others in that organization, Rep. Connolly said: “I think we have to insist on [release of the full NFL report]. There are victims. I met with many of the women who were degraded and worse in the regime of Dan Snyder and his minions, and it was disgusting testimony, I can tell you – very demeaning, very degrading – and those women deserve the vindication of the release of that report. And I’m going to continue to fight for it and I think it’s absolutely imperative the NFL, now that we have changed ownership, if you really want to come to closure, release the full report.”
• On the Commanders’ new stadium possibly coming to Virginia, Rep. Connolly said, “I’d be happy to have the team come to Virginia now that Dan Snyder is gone.“
• On the FBI headquarters, Rep. Connolly said that locating it in Virginia would be about “the functionality of the FBI…what’s best for the FBI” and “not about the economic benefit to a particular jurisdiction.” He added that “if the decision is based on the merits, Virginia is likely to win.” Rep. Connolly said if the decision WERE being made for political reasons, Virginia is “critical for the Biden coalition going into 2024 that Virginia be in his corner.” Rep. Connolly said that Maryland has tried to “change the rules” because they couldn’t “win in fair competition.” As for when this decision might be made, Rep. Connolly said “it’s like ‘Waiting for Godot'”…
• On Youngkin sending Virginia National Guard troops to the Texas border, Rep. Connolly said: “This is just Republican grandstanding in an attempt to…maybe embarrass President Biden,” but “what’s ironic about it is that we have seen illegal crossings across the border with the Biden policies in place fall dramatically,” so “the so-called crisis at the border is non-existent” and “Youngkin was simply joining a Republican  playbook to try to make something out of nothing, and I…think it’s a shameful use of Virginia resources and we ought not to be party to that kind of partisan politicking with respect to the security of the border.”
• On federal workers going back to the offices at least three days a week, Rep. Connolly said “I think that’s good policy; I think the pandemic is over and I think we need to return to a robust telework program, but we need to end the universal remote working policy that we had to put in place during the pandemic, those are two different things.”
• On televising Trump’s legal cases, Rep. Connolly said: “I think…this is one of the most momentous legal proceedings in American history and the public is entitled to see and hear the evidence that’s presented and the defense that’s presented. I think it would be a healthy purgative for our politics right now and I also think it’s incumbent upon courts to be a lot more transparent than they have been, especially at the federal level.”