Rep. Rouda Wants to Hit Ground Running on Wage Growth, Climate Change After Flipping GOP Seat
*By Justin Chermol and Carlo Versano*
Rep. Harley Rouda, the newly elected Democrat from California's 48th district, doesn't want to waste any time getting legislation to the floor that will stimulate wage growth, which showed better-than-expected strength in Friday's blowout jobs report but remains a concern for economists.
The freshman congressman, who flipped the seat held by 15-term GOP Rep. Dana Rohrabacher in the Republican bastion of Orange County, Calif., is concerned with the lack of income growth among American workers. Rouda intends to sponsor the Small Business Innovation Act, which will amend small business laws and allow federal agencies to dedicate money for research and grants to develop new products and technology. The [bill](https://twitter.com/RepHarley/status/1080967950385983488) is still in its inception, but Rouda said the goal is to help drive job growth.
"Everybody on both sides of the aisle supports small business's growth and development," he said.
Although Rouda is coming into Congress ready to work, the United States remains in the midst of a partial government shutdown, the fourth longest in U.S. history.
"It's unfortunate for the American public that we even have the Trump shutdown," said Rouda. He went on to echo a line repeated by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.): "His failure to do what our public wants, what our citizens deserve, is simply a temper-tantrum of the president."
The former Republican-turned-Democrat comes from a district that was swept from wildfires last year and represents nearly 80 percent of Orange County's expansive Pacific coastline. He said he intends to stake out ground on climate change initiatives, which will be a priority for Democrats in the House.
"This isn't an issue that just affects my district," he said. "It affects the entire world."
While other members of the Democratic freshman class have been dubbed the face of the new Congress, Rouda's traditional conservative looks aren't likely to attract the same attention. But Rouda expressed enthusiasm about the diversity on display Thursday as new Democratic representatives were sworn into office.
"That's exactly what our country needs is diversity in the House of the people to represent the people across our country," Rouda said. "It was a stark distinction between the two sides of that House yesterday and I'm very proud how the Democratic Party has embraced diversity at all levels, especially in the House of the people."
But Rouda differs from some of his progressive colleagues who are already calling for Trump's ouster, including fellow freshman, Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), who made waves by saying on the night of her swearing-in: "We’re gonna go in there and we’re gonna impeach the motherf**ker."
Another California Democrat, Rep. Brad Sherman, has already [introduced articles of impeachment](https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-congress-impeachment-20190103-story.html). Asked by Cheddar's Megan Pratz whether impeachment talk was distracting from the shutdown, Sherman said no, and that "impeachment is on the table."
Rouda, however, demurred on whether he would call for Trump's impeachment, saying he wanted to give the Mueller investigation time to wrap up.
"We need continue to let him have that process," Rouda said. "And take appropriate action if the conclusion suggests we have to."
The Supreme Court will reconsider race-based affirmative action in college admissions. The court will examine admissions policies at Harvard University and The University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, which count the race of applicants as a factor in admissions. The court has upheld affirmative action policies in the past, saying it helps to create more diverse student bodies. However, the conservative Supreme Court could be skeptical and even possibly hostile to such policies. Nick Anderson, Higher Education Writer, Washington Post joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
Stephanie Akin, Politics Reporter for CQ Roll Call, breaks down
Senator Manchin's donation pool, and highlights what this support means for the conservative Democrat as well as the Republican party.
The global oil benchmark surpassed $90 for the first time in more than seven years. This comes as growing tensions between Russia and Ukraine add to concerns about the already-tight market. Jay Hatfield, Chief Investment Officer at ICAP, joined Cheddar to discuss what this benchmark means for the oil industry, and what might happen if Russia does invade its neighbor.
With the Beijing Winter Olympics set to get underway on Friday, Dan Wolken, a national columnist for USA Today, joined Cheddar News to break down the big storylines as the pandemic and international conflicts threaten to cast a cloud over the event that is aspirationally seen as a beacon of international cooperation. Wolken noted specific issues over cybersecurity for visiting athletes and disputes over human rights leading to a diplomatic boycott have been making waves even before the opening ceremony. "So you've got sort of these barbs going back and forth already between the Americans and the Chinese, and things haven't even started yet," he said. "We don't even know what's going to happen once the games start and people actually start winning medals."
We are a week away from the 2022 Beijing Olympics, and China has already faced a host of problems leading up to the opening ceremony of the Beijing games. DJ Peterson, president of Longview Global Advisors, joins Cheddar News to discuss the many concerns and controversies surrounding the event.
In 2021, QAnon, the community which traffics in conspiracy theories saw a rapid growth in its numbers. As a result of vaccine rollouts, a number of conspiracies surrounding them also began to circulate which then led to the rise of "Anti-Vaxxers". As a result, the QAnon and anti-vax communities have become increasingly intertwined and the results could be costing lives. Senior Researcher at Media Matters Alex Kaplan, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Supreme Court Justice Breyer has announced that he will officially retire from his post. He has served as the senior member of the more liberal wing in recent years. Now his retirement puts pressure on President Biden to decide on who will replace Breyer. Attorney and Media Editor at SCOTUS blog Katie Barlow, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
A long awaited report in the UK looking into the alleged parties held at 10 Downing Street during lockdown finds a culture of excessive drinking and a "failure of leadership" in Boris Johnson's government. Cheddar News speaks with international journalist Thomas Cole, who is closely monitoring latest developments.
