Kamlager-Dove Discusses Speaker Vote, Israel on Spectrum News 1’s ‘Inside the Issues’ with Amrit Singh

WASHINGTON, DC – Last night, Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove (CA-37) sat down with Amrit Singh on Spectrum News 1’s ‘Inside the Issues’ to discuss the House vote for Speaker and Israel. Below are excerpts from her interview and a link to the video.

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To watch her full interview, click here.

ON HOUSE SPEAKER

“So everything is at stake. We're trying to get supplemental funding for war in Ukraine. This is about making sure that Putin and China don't continue their aggression with democracies across the world. We're also trying to pass a Farm Bill and an [agriculture appropriations] bill. We’re trying to make sure that we are standing up embassies around the world, that we're funding diplomatic actions, and we see that there are two wars happening right now at the very least, and all of that is compromised without a Speaker.”

ON JIM JORDAN

“I think Jim Jordan is the worst possible person we could have as Speaker. This is someone who is an election denier. He was participating in the attempted coup on January 6. He founded the House Freedom Caucus. He has passed almost zero pieces of legislation in the entire time that he has been in office. He does not believe in bipartisanship. He does not believe in consensus building. He does not support the war in Ukraine, and he is someone who has been complicit in the silencing and shaming of victims of sexual assault. So, I think everyone should be afraid of him being Speaker, and I am so curious that moderate Republicans in the state of California have decided that they're going to support him.”

ON SUPPORT FOR ISRAEL AND UKRAINE

“…Once we have a Speaker, hopefully we will pass a bipartisan resolution supporting Israel. You know, Russia and China have been playing in the war in Ukraine. They've also been playing in this war that Israel has against Hamas in conjunction with some complicity from Iran and Syria and Hezbollah. So I would think that folks who care about the national security of this country and also supporting our democratic allies overseas would want to make sure that we're offering a supplemental package that supports Israel and Taiwan and Ukraine because they're all fighting against the same kind of aggressors.”

“…It is important that we do all that is necessary to get rid of Hamas, which is a terrorist organization. [President Biden] has been vocal in saying that Hamas is not the Palestinian people. You know, [Secretary of State] Blinken came and met with Israeli officials to talk about a ground invasion. President Biden is going there I think on Wednesday. They've also been meeting not just with Israel, but with partners and other leaders in the region, and I think everyone is trying to be as focused on getting rid of Hamas as they are on limiting the amount of civilian casualties and making sure that humanitarian aid gets where it needs to be -- two things that Biden has also stated.”

ON REACTIONS TO ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR

“These past two weeks have been incredibly sobering and painful. You know, I’ve talked to Jewish constituents and friends, Israeli-Americans, Palestinians, Muslims – and people are feeling isolated. They are feeling afraid. We've seen uptick in antisemitic behavior. We've also, you know, seen a young six year-old Palestinian boy murdered in Chicago. This is when people start talking at each other and going in their corners, and it is so important that we employ diplomatic tactics where we’re actually listening to folks, to one another, hearing their pain and their mourning, so that we can begin to talk about peace, other ways that we can employ diplomatic tactics and strategy and find a path out of this war.”

ON HOUSE FOREIGN AFFAIRS COMMITTEE

“We're talking about making sure that Israel has the support that it needs to weather this storm. We're also talking about making sure that the American hostages get out. We're talking about humanitarian aid into Gaza and making sure that the diplomatic discussions are happening to create a path out for innocent civilians who are Palestinians, and we're talking about just making sure that this can be as strategic and incisive as possible because war is never good. I mean, war is never good, and people dying is never good.”

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