Yesterday, Trump delivered his State of the Union address and Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger gave the Democratic response. One side stood for truth and concrete policies that want help people; the other was steeped in lies and racist nonsense.
Elaine Luria, House candidate for Virginia’s 2nd district joins Jen to issue her response to Trump’s egregiously delusional speech. Additionally, as a previous member of the now defunct January 6 Committee, Luria explains how the rioters who attacked the Capitol were not just pardoned, but elevated to status of hero and martyr by the President.
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Elaine Luria served as the Representative for Virginia's Second Congressional District from 2019-2023. While in Congress, she served as the Vice Chair of the House Armed Services Committee and as a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security and the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs. She also served as a member of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol.
The following transcript has been edited for formatting.
Jen Rubin
Hi, this is Jen Rubin, Editor-in-Chief of The Contrarian. I am delighted to welcome Elaine Luria. She is a familiar name to many of you. She served for two terms in Congress. She served on the January 6th committee, and then lost her race. Well, the good news is she is back running to recover, slightly different district this time, thanks to redistricting, against an incumbent Republican. So, if House Democrats are going to take back the House majority, this is one of the critical seats. Welcome, Elaine, it’s good to see you after a long time.
Elaine Luria
Nice to see you, too!
Jen Rubin
We saw a big contrast last night between Donald Trump and your friend and former colleague in the House of Representatives, also a Virginian, Abigail Spanberger. What did that contrast tell you about the two parties right now?
Elaine Luria
I think the biggest part of the contrast to me is one party, that is founded in the truth and facts and real, concrete policies that want to do more for, in this case, for Virginians and Americans. And the other that just wants to repeat lies, you know, going all the way back to stolen elections, rewriting history, whitewashing the events of January 6th, and telling the American people a whole slew of falsehoods about, you know, how great the economy is, and, you know really just trying to paint a rosy picture, that is not the reality that many Americans feel today. I mean, people are having a tough time.
Jen Rubin
You sat on the January 6th committee, you went through all of the evidence, people were convicted in courts of law, they were sentenced, in some cases for violent action, and Trump pardoned them all, and then went after prosecutors and FBI agents who investigate these cases. What was your reaction when Trump announced these pardons?
Elaine Luria
You know, on one hand, it didn’t really surprise me, because I know that he wants to make this go away, he wants to make it disappear, he wants to whitewash and rewrite history. So not only did he issue these pardons, but he actually created a narrative where these people were elevated to the, you know, hero and martyr status. You know, the January 6th choir has a hymn, essentially. That, you know, memorializes, their actions on that day as though it’s some victory song. And it really is sick, to me. It just is really upsetting that… you know, the person who took an oath to defend our country, you know, stood by, as Adam Kinzinger and I laid out very clearly in the hearing that we did on the January 6th Committee, stood by for 187 minutes and did Nothing.
He had every ability to stand up, walk across the hall, be visible, on TV and every media stream in the world, to tell these people to stop, to go home, to stop the violence, and he sat by while it happened. And now, as several years have elapsed, we just had a five-year commemorative hearing where the committee came back together to lay out these facts and talk about, you know, what January 6th means five years on. He still wants to erase it and venerate those people who violently attacked police officers on that day.
Jen Rubin
Governor Spanberger spoke about deeply unserious people in national security roles. You served for a couple decades in the United States Navy, most of that time on ships and tours of duty. What is your view of what has become of the military in terms of its ability to operate above and beyond politics, and then at home, the way the Homeland Security is operating? Does that give you confidence, or are you… as Abigail Spanberger said, deeply concerned about the kind of people who are running these very large entities?
Elaine Luria
So I want to be very clear in drawing a distinction. I’m very concerned about the people at the top in leadership, such as the Secretary of Defense. I have great confidence in the young men and women who put on the uniform, want to serve our country, and are actual true patriots who will put their life on their line to do that. And what concerns me is these people in leadership are recklessly and seemingly haphazardly putting those young men and women in danger, who have raised their right hand to defend our nation. And, as we see now, there are two carrier strike groups in the Gulf region. It’s the largest massing of ships in that region since 2003 in the Iraq War. And, you know, it is questionable. The president has not come to Congress, he’s not come to the American people to state clearly what his objectives are. He’s apparently applying pressure to Iran, but to what end? To… and, without any… authority from Congress to use military force. You know, I think that we’re somewhat on the edge watching what will he do next. We likewise had the largest massing of forces, naval forces, in the Caribbean that I think any of us have seen in our lifetime. In order to carry out this operation in Venezuela. Again, president taking unilateral action without the consent of Congress, and, you know, I think that is… Very concerning.
Jen Rubin
And his plan for some kind of limited strike does not seem to be, part of any kind of coherent plan, and then what, or as you put it, to what end. I want to shift gears a bit to the job you’re running for, which is a congresswoman from the Great Commonwealth of Virginia. What are you hearing from voters as you travel around your potential, district? Are they happy with the leadership? Are they pleased with what Congress is doing? Are they angry, upset, nervous? Tell us a little bit about what you’re hearing from voters.
Elaine Luria
Well, I think they’re very disappointed, in this administration and the chaos in a Republican-led Congress, and the person who’s holding this seat now voting 100% of the time in line with Trump. You know, just looking locally at our district and the issues that are on people’s mind, people are very concerned about affordability, the cost of housing, the cost of healthcare, access to healthcare. The person who holds this seat now, I mean, is a healthcare practitioner. But she’s voted to cut healthcare, but voted for the one big, beautiful bill, the biggest gut that we’ve seen to Medicaid.
She also voted against extending the ACA premium subsidies, so making healthcare more difficult to access and making it more expensive. And, you know, so I think that that, coupled with the chaos that we’re seeing with the tariffs, the rising prices, I mean, every family is paying between $1,000 and $1,700 more per year, just Because of these tariffs and the rising prices that have, you know, come across to consumers, and, you know. people are struggling, and it’s the job of government to make people’s lives easier, to make them more affordable, and to really make sure that they’re predictable. And under this administration, none of those things have been true.
Jen Rubin
I sometimes wonder if we still have an Article 1 branch of government, because there is so little oversight, there is so little pushback against every bad idea that pops up into Donald Trump’s brain. And I want to specifically talk about corruption. number of Democrats who spoke at various events last night referred to the crypto scam, the foreign monies, paying, money to him, and then wonderfully getting a pardon. The White House, destruction and the building of the ballroom. How concerned are you, and what can and should Congress be doing to put an end to this?
Elaine Luria
Well, I definitely think it’s an administration that’s full of graft and corruption, and quid pro quos. It has been, you know, concerning for quite a while, but, you know, it just continues to become more and more blatant, more and more publicly exposed, the people who are essentially, you know, paying to curry Trump’s favor by, you know, becoming significant donors to this new ballroom construction project, for example. And, you know, the president should operate above that fray. It should not be a pay-to-play-to-have-influence-and-access type environment. And that’s exactly what it looks and feels like, you know, from the outside, and I think to many Americans. And I think, you know, this is just one of many ways that Congress has not exerted their Article I powers. It actually is quite interesting that, you know, recently the Democrats have taken control of Congress twice with these discharges recently, both for the ACA premiums and for releasing the Epstein files.
So, you know, as much chaos as there is in Washington with the Republicans in control, they can’t even keep control, count votes, or pass legislation that they put forward. I think people are ready for a change, in who runs Congress, who has the oversight power, who has the subpoena power, who has the gavel in every committee, so that we can lay out for the American people, the truth, we can provide oversight, And we really need to show the damage that’s been done, and this one… it’s short, but it seemed a very long year that this administration has been in power.
Jen Rubin
It’s actually a perfect segue to one of the big issues. Again, Democrats have stressed this. They passed a law in Congress, Donald Trump signed it, to release all of the Epstein files without redactions, with the exception of the women, without privileges, without any kind of excuses. The documents have still not been released, and there was just a news report that documents related to a specific allegation against the president have been held back. What can Congress do when the President and his Justice Department, Todd Blanch and Hannah Bondi and others are simply ignoring the law?
Elaine Luria
Well, I think that they need to do what some members have been doing, is just be absolutely relentless. Tom Massie and Ro Khanna have been leading this charge, other members of Congress have been given access to the unredacted files, and I think they just need to continue to look, expose, apply pressure. You know, these people who’ve been victims of these horrible crimes, deserve justice, and the American people also need to know what is behind this massive cover up that, you know, makes Watergate pale in comparison.
There’s information deliberately being withheld from the public. So, I think that Congress needs to absolutely continue to maintain that pressure, and I think that, you know, when Democrats have control of the House, after the first of the year, that ability to do that, to have the subpoenas, to call the people in and force them to testify, you know, will We’ll only apply more pressure to get the truth out there, but people, you know, do need this information, and people need to be held accountable for these crimes.
Jen Rubin
Absolutely. Last area I want to talk to you is border security and immigration. The American people, very rightly, do not want dangerous criminals, who shouldn’t be here in the country. But the country has almost, overwhelmingly, let’s put it, rejected the idea that ICE and Border Patrol people should be yanking people out of cars, using lethal force, going into homes without search warrants, masking themselves, not identifying themselves. Things that seem like basic Law enforcement procedure that are not being used. What’s your view of what’s going on, and do you think it’s reformable so long as someone like Kristi Noem is in charge?
Elaine Luria
Well, I think that we absolutely must have a rule of law, and the law must be enforced, but it must be enforced with dignity and people’s, you know, personal and human rights and constitutional rights. And what we have seen today is that there’s been terrorizing of communities. There has been excessive use of force and intimidation, and, you know, brutally ripping people out of their cars, shooting of American citizens in broad daylight on camera, and we’ve all seen it.
This type of violence and intimidation and overuse of force has to stop. And I think that, you know, unfortunately, many things, you know, get measured and, you know, responses made because of political pushback, but the political pushback is important in this case, because the Trump administration has reduced the number of ICE agents in Minnesota. They have pulled back. At least in recent days, you know, since the terrible, tragic deaths that we saw in Minneapolis. You know, seen less reporting, although obviously it clearly is still happening, of this type of brutal overuse of force.
And they have, you know, changed out their leadership at some level. But I want to believe that they can actually make changes. I’m not too confident that they can, and that they’re not just, you know, somehow managing the PR better. But, you know, Kristi Noem, as the head of the Department of Homeland Security, some of the things she said are important. You know, if we talk about this and kind of translate it into discussions about upcoming elections. She said, you know, we need to make sure that only the right people can vote. I mean, what does that mean? The right people are American citizens who are registered to vote, and everyone should have that access, and they should be able to go to the polls without intimidation, without worrying about ICE agents swarming around, without worrying about National Guard troops on the streets of the cities. And I think that the actions and the use of, you know, these essentially scare and intimidation tactics, you know, do have a lot of Americans on edge, and we, you know cannot let that, you know, stop people from exercising… exercising their constitutional right to vote.
Jen Rubin
So, if people want to find out more about your campaign, and people, understandably, don’t know what district they are in right now, and think, she might be on my ballot, but I’m not sure, what should they do?
Elaine Luria
Well, I am running to represent again, to go back to represent Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District. That’s in southeastern Virginia, so it covers a large portion of the Hampton Roads area, so the whole coast of Virginia, including the eastern shore, Virginia Beach. Chesapeake, Suffolk, Franklin, and, you know, there’s some splits in there, so not everyone in every one of those cities, is in the district. So, if you want to learn more about my campaign, and the work that I’ve done in Congress and, you know, my platform and things that I plan to work on for the 2nd District in the future. You can visit, my campaign website. It is Elaine4, spelled out F-O-R, congress.com. ElaineforCongress.com. Or also just Google my name, Elaine Luria, L-U-R-I-A, and you’ll find a lot of information about the work that I’ve done over the years.
Jen Rubin
Absolutely, and I have to say that, in serving on the January 6th committee, Elaine Luria put her obligation to the Constitution and to righting these wrongs really above electoral concerns. It was not a, plumb position if you’re running for re-election, needless to say. It was a duffier all around, but she did that, she made the sacrifice, so I think that That needs t be recognized.
Best of luck, Elaine. We’ll look forward to following this race. It’s one of the top races, folks. You keep asking what you can do. We’re going to keep bringing you people who have the ability to flip seats, and Elaine is certainly one of them. So we’ll look forward to having you back, Sue.
Elaine Luria
Well, thank you. Good to be here.
