Video: On MSNOW, Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA11) Says Anti-Corruption’s a Powerful Message for Dems, Given That Trump “IS THE SWAMP”

Recently, in Hungary, we saw how an anti-corruption message can have great political potency, when delivered by a skilled messenger of course, but also – more importantly, I’d argue – when it’s tied directly, credibly, and relentlessly to people’s real lives, namely how that corruption (whether by Viktor Orban and his regime in Hungary or by Donald Trump and his regime in the US) isn’t just some abstract concept, but how it harms YOU, PERSONALLY and TANGIBALLY.

So this morning on MSNOW, Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA11) was asked about anti-corruption messaging, and as usual he gave an excellent answer. See below for video of that, as well as highlights from his appearance. Also, I’ll use this as your periodic reminder that Rep. Walkinshaw is doing a SUPERB job (kind of a younger, more progressive version of Gerry Connolly), absolutely deserves to be reelected, and really should NOT have to waste his time and money on a ridiculous Democratic primary. Just sayin’…

• Rep. James Walkinshaw (responding to a question about whether the “culture of corruption” is a message Democrats can run on successfully this fall and beyond):  “I think it has the potential to be a very powerful message for us for a couple of reasons. One, there’s a hypocrisy, right? Donald Trump said he was going to drain the swamp. We now know he’s $4.5 billion, at least, wealthier than he was when he came into office. He IS THE SWAMP! I also think increasingly people feel and, you know, we talk a lot about the Epstein files issue around this table. People feel like there’s a different set of rules for the wealthy and the well connected, especially in Washington. And our effort is going to be to take that to the voters between now and November. I think it can be very powerful and it cuts across party lines. It’s not a partisan issue. Democrats, Independents, Republican voters across the country fed up with the corruption of the Trump administration and some in Congress.”
• Rep. James Walkinshaw (responding to a question about how to make this connection for voters): “Well, we took a vote on the House floor this past week to commemorate the passage of the so-called ‘Big Beautiful Bill’. My Republican colleagues were celebrating it. But I think that’s going to be Exhibit A, because while Republicans were voting to slash health care, take health care away from hardworking American people, why did they do that? To give a tax cut to the wealthiest Americans, the well-connected Americans. So this corruption directly impacts people’s day to day lives, pocketbooks, the conversations they have around the kitchen table.”
• Rep. James Walkinshaw (on whether Democrats are gearing up for if/when they take back the majority to really go after Trump): “To your first question, in terms of are we staffing up and preparing, the answer is yes. We already have an incredible team of investigators and staff on the Oversight Committee….Democrats will expand that if we’re in the majority…I’m confident we’ll have the capacity. And we’ve been laying the groundwork. We’re preparing these investigations already. You saw Jamie Raskin’s letter to Jared Kushner, letters that Oversight Democrats have sent to make sure that there’s a paper trail already and investigations ready to go. In terms of prioritization, I think the important thing is, and will be that we not get bogged down in procedural disputes, right? Whether the committee that approves the ballroom or doesn’t approve the ballroom is appropriately managed. And all of those procedural arcana were followed, right? The key is connecting it to the American people’s lives, right? So while you’re struggling to pay for gas, while you’re struggling to pay for groceries, while you’re struggling to put your kids into college or pay your rent or mortgage, Trump’s focused on building a golden ballroom for as wealthy buddies…Any time if a law is broken, if a policy is broken, there’s going to need to be accountability around that.”
• Rep. James Walkinshaw (asked about the strong early vote numbers in Virginia for the redistricting amendment). “One, I believe the referendum will pass. I don’t think it will be a blowout, but I think it will pass. Two, I’ve already voted for it. I voted early, a couple of weeks ago. And three, I think when you look at the turnout numbers, look, I won a special election in Virginia in September. We had record turnout for that special election governor’s race in November. We had record turnout and a record margin. So we continue to see that in Virginia. Why? Because the Trump administration has attacked Virginia more than any other state, fired tens of thousands of Virginians, attacked our federal workers, closed small businesses. Virginia has been on the front lines of the Trump administration’s assault and abuse in voters, every opportunity they’ve had. My special election, November election, Abigail Spanberger, I believe on Tuesday, Virginia voters are coming out and sending a very strong statement in terms of how they feel about that. And the Republican Congress has either sat silently or waved their pom poms while the Trump administration has attacked Virginia.”
• Rep. James Walkinshaw (asked about Pam Bondi ever testifying): “We sent a letter to Chairman Comer this week, asking him what is the status of the negotiations and the conversations between him and Pam Bondi and her lawyers. He claims that he is working with her lawyers to try to schedule a date. If that’s happening, it has been incomplete, private…radio silence. We don’t know. I hope he’s in good faith working to enforce the committee’s subpoena. That’s his responsibility as chairman of the committee, a bipartisan subpoena. We’re going to continue to press him and press her to follow the law and comply with the subpoena.”