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- [00:00]
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- [00:33]
Congresswoman Shelley Pingree
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Podcast Host
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- [00:51]
Podcast Host
Hey everybody. Welcome back to the Find out podcast. We have a very special show today because it's all about Maine, which everybody knows, I love to talk about all the time. These guys sort of roll their eyes at me sometimes. But we are fortunate to have the congresswoman from the first district of Maine, My home district, Congresswoman Shelley Pingree is here today. Congresswoman, how are you?
- [01:12]
Congresswoman Shelley Pingree
I'm great. Thanks so much for having me.
- [01:14]
Podcast Host
Well, thanks, thanks for joining us and very, very glad that you have joined us. Obviously we have some things that are not super light to talk about and we want to start off with this horrific shooting that ICE committed in Biddeford earlier this week. Want to just get your initial thoughts where we stand in the investigation for that, what your understanding is of who they were looking for, all that stuff and then we can kind of go from there.
- [01:39]
Congresswoman Shelley Pingree
Sure. Well, it's a horrific, horrible, horrible shooting. I was actually headed to D.C. on Monday and decided to take a later flight so I could stop down to Biddeford and just took a look at the scene of the shooting. There was a vigil going on in the local park and people were just so incredibly upset and have continued to be. And I'm really proud of Manors for being out there on the streets saying this is not acceptable for the Biddeford community. Truly rallying around this individual's family and so many others and just caring so deeply about all of the New Mainers who are our friends and neighbors and co workers. They are not illegal aliens as the president and others call them. They are, you know, our friends and neighbors. This as, you know, the wrong individual was shot. It wasn't even the person they were allegedly targeting. And my understanding of the person they were going after, it was very Flimsy, as so many of these claims are when they go to pick people up. I don't know how much you want me to get into the weeds, but I have an office in Portland. We handle an enormous amount of constituent work of people who are, you know, New Mainers or some of them who have been here many years. But under this current iteration of the Trump administration, they've been targeted. And we have a steady stream of people who come into our office sometimes just to try to get their work permit renewed in a really difficult climate. But often it's someone who's looking for a family member who's been picked up and detained and they aren't even sure where they are. We have individuals who are afraid to leave their home because they know they're targeted and they're meant to go to work or school. And we do everything we can. I was actually down in Dilley Detention center in May to try to see if we could free up a 19 year old girl and luckily we did manage to get her out a couple of days later. But she had been there for six months. You know, nursing student, working as a CNA family has legitimate asylum claim. They're just waiting to go for the court process. So this was another horrendous thing. And my feeling is nobody should get, you know, in their car, drive out their driveway and worry that they might be shot and never see their three year old child again.
- [03:54]
Podcast Host
Well, right. I think that, you know, one of the important things here is that the three year old child was in the backseat, I believe when this happened, which is about as horrific as it possibly gets. But the other thing I want to, I want to tell, because obviously a lot of people don't know much about Maine because we are up in the corner there. But can you just talk a little bit about the community of Biddeford? Because it is not a place that has shootings on any sort of regular basis. I think there have been three over the past like five or ten years or something like that. I know my hometown of Bath, there's been like two in the last 50 years. So you just tell people because I think there's a story that this administration tells about undocumented immigrants being in communities. But I just love to hear a little bit about Biddeford and the community there and you know, to give some context.
- [04:38]
Congresswoman Shelley Pingree
Sure. I mean, as you recall, the president, you know, claimed he was just going to pick up murderers and rapists. We're the one of the lowest crime rate states in the country. Biddeford as you said, has had very few murders. Unfortunately, about half the murders in our state are usually domestic violence. They have nothing to do with, you know, random crime from outsiders or immigrants in Bideford, of all places. It's a small city and it's got a long tradition of immigration. The city was really built by Franco Americans who came to work in the mills in Biddeford and Saco, where, you know, the river runs through it. And there's been a long history of textile mills and others. And now the city's been going through an incredible resurgence, redevelopment of the mills. But a lot of people who are new to Maine have moved to Biddeford. There's some lower priced housing. It's about 20 to 30 minutes out of Portland. And it's continued its tradition of immigrants and people coming from all over the world. This particular individual was from Colombia. And, you know, there are people from just everywhere who have chosen to live in Biddeford. And Biddeford's a working class city for the most part, and people have really rallied around this person, felt that they lived in a safe city and now are feeling, you know, unsafe in their own city. And this murder was committed by ICE officers, not by immigrants or others who came from outside.
- [05:59]
Co-host or Guest Commentator
Right. Yeah. I saw this morning that he was, I believe it was his partner who said he was driving to work at 7am on Monday. I know I've, I've also seen, but I don't think it's been verified that he was. They had a Social Security number, was working here legally. I mean, he quite literally did it the right way. He did everything, every single thing the right way. His dad from Columbia said he was here to build a better future for himself, for his family. I mean, he was doing the thing that we call the American dream.
- [06:32]
Congresswoman Shelley Pingree
Exactly.
- [06:33]
Co-host or Guest Commentator
And I stops him on the way to work for no reason and shoots him and then they cuff his dead body in the street. And now as of this morning, Trump is out saying we can't stop doing traffic stops because it's. Because crime nationwide is down and it's. And so he's crediting traffic stops and deportations for keeping the street safe. In your experience, is ICE more dangerous in Maine or immigrants? What's, what's your take as of this morning?
- [07:07]
Congresswoman Shelley Pingree
Absolutely. ICE mean, no question about it. I mean, there are immigrants who commit crimes, there are non immigrants who commit crimes. We're going to have criminals in our country, and it's important to have law enforcement to protect our communities from that. But that's not what's going on here? We have ICE operations that are going in our state. I know you know, about the operation they had several months ago. They called it catch of the day, which was a disgusting thing to say. In our state, they picked up about 200 people. I think about 20 of them actually had some kind of criminal conviction or criminal record. But it wasn't even necessarily that they were all hardcore murderers. You know, there were a variety of different kinds of records anyway, almost none of them were criminals. And then I think Mainers breathed a sigh of relief when they suddenly left our state and thought, maybe that's all over. And as I said to you earlier, I mean, I know through my office, it's not been over. ISIS continued their operations in our state. And it does feel like they've picked up recently. And one of the reasons they've picked up is they're broadening their jurisdiction of who they pick up. You know, you used to have to actually be a criminal for ICE to go after you. And if you're a hardened drug dealer or you're trafficking in children, I think we all believe that's what they should be doing, picking up people like that. But these are people who generally are legally in the country, just as you were saying, they're doing all the things you're supposed to do to become American. And that's what, you know, the right always just tells us, you know, come in the legal way. So, you know, you've applied for asylum, which is an arduous process. You have to have a real claim that you weren't safe in your home country, get medical records, you got to get a lawyer. It's a long process in the court. And then you're allowed to get a work permit and go to work, which is also what people want to do, even though that takes a long time and you have to keep getting renewed. But these are people want to work, they're great. You know, every time I talk to an employer who's just lost somebody to ice, they say, oh my God, they were the hardest worker. They're the most wonderful people. They're good hearted. You know, they bring their families, they care deeply about this. But, you know, then ICE will come by and say, well, but you overstayed your visa. Oh, but we've got a removal order on you, which is just a court proceeding, not a legal warrant. And so now they've expanded it greatly and they're picking up people all the time. And as I've said, people are afraid to go to work. And now they're going to be afraid to go out and that they'll get shot. It was bad enough being detained, but now you got to worry about that. It's very upsetting. I actually was just talking to the Lewiston. I mean, I'm sorry, Biddeford mayor, this morning. And, you know, it's hard to deal with a climate of fear. And it's hard. It's a big impact on employers. And this is obviously more about the people, but I'm just saying these are great employees. And now their employers are saying, my people don't want to come to work. And you can't blame them. Who wants to leave there.
- [09:50]
Podcast Host
I. And I've heard that about the other operation you mentioned. Some, some activities in Lewiston, for example, which I know isn't your district, but it's pretty close. And, you know, hearing when they, because there's a strong Somali population, they're hearing that that community was staying home, which meant they weren't going to the corner store to buy things. They weren't going to work. They were. It was the same situation in Minneapolis where a bunch of people were staying home and it was costing the state millions of dollars. And the reason that I bring that up is that a lot of people, and some people in vain will say, immigrants are taking our jobs. Immigrants are taking our jobs. Well, I, as we've said a million times, I am from Bath, and there are restaurants in Bath that are no longer open seven days a week, not because there's not enough customers, it's because they can't find workers. Like the Cabin Pizza downtown across from Bath. Ironworks used to be open seven days a week when I was growing up. Now it's like, it's like Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday or something like that. And so the notion that all of these people, these in quotes, I'm saying, are coming to take jobs, it's a load of. It's a load of garbage. Right?
- [10:55]
Congresswoman Shelley Pingree
Absolutely. And I hear that from so many employers. And if you think about it, what often employers will say to me is without my immigrant workers, I can't employ my, you know, lifelong Mainers because I don't have, you know, the critical mass. And that's especially true in the service industry, as you said. But many, many of our hospitals and nursing homes are, you know, dependent on the New Mainers who have come to work there. And also many of them come with a higher level of degree attainment. You know, we, we think about them being in the service industry, but that's often because they can't get their medical license renewed when they get here. But they're former engineers and teachers, you know, educators. They're just, they're an amazing range of people who come, they're trying to learn the language as fast as they can and they really are. They're trying to make a better life. They're trying to be safe. If they used to be in a war torn country, you know, many of the asylum seekers were working against the government in the country that they were in, or there was gang violence. I mean, there's a whole variety of reasons people came. But you're right, they're a critical part of our workforce and especially see it in the medical system where, you know, they're, they're making the difference today. You know, if you have a grandmother in a nursing home, you're very lucky that there's a new mania there. Taking care care of her.
- [12:07]
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- [12:58]
Congresswoman Shelley Pingree
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- [13:05]
Congresswoman Shelley Pingree
Me slow when network is busy See terms.
- [13:06]
Podcast Host
We're going to give you a real world example in Bath. My, my grandmother who has since passed away, she had dementia but she ended up going. I don't know if you know this, but there's a place called the plant home which is a retirement community in Bath up on a hill. And we found out after she passed away that they were having, they were having a hard time keeping the like those certified nurses assistants and the people who make sure that our elderly residents and for everybody who doesn't know Maine Tends has an older Population. It affects us more directly than some of these other places. And so it's really important for us to distill, dispel this notion that they're taking jobs.
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Congresswoman Shelley Pingree
Yeah.
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Podcast Host
But I want to, I want to pivot to another question for you, because obviously, as the, as the representative in that district, I would assume, and I think a lot of people would assume that you would be getting cooperation from the administration to get information. Are you getting anything from them right now about what their investigation is going to look like to find out what the hell happened here?
- [14:04]
Congresswoman Shelley Pingree
This is not a forthcoming administration.
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Podcast Host
Right.
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Congresswoman Shelley Pingree
I unsurprised, you know, that would be very unusual and on any level. I mean, even Trump 1.0 compared to Trump 2.0, they don't talk to us any more than they possibly have to. Even on the committees, you know, where I'm the ranking member or anything else. Now, it's not to say, you know, Mark Wayne Mullen, Secretary of Homeland Security, has talked to every member of the delegation. I served with him in the House. But it doesn't mean that he's been forthcoming with a lot of information. And we don't know anything about the investigation. I mean, this is actually one case where, you know, most of us are pushing on the same thing. We really want the state to be involved in this investigation. I mean, you saw the fight that Minnesota went through, and my friend Tim Ellison, who was a, you know, attorney general there, just to get the information. I think I actually heard that they had finally released some of the documents on the same day that the Biddeford shooting took place. And you think how long ago the shootings in Minnesota happened? So Minnesota had to sue to get cooperation from ice. I'm hoping we'll get more cooperation this time. Our Attorney General, Aaron Fry, has already said that he's planning to conduct a separate investigation, and I hope we're able to do that. But we haven't gotten a lot of cooperation from them besides saying, yes, they're going to conduct an investigation which could go on for a very long time. They're not releasing the name of the officer. As you know, they weren't wearing body cameras. We've been told, Mark Wayne said, or Secretary Mullen said, Within 30 to 60 days, Maine agents will have body cameras. Were like, you got that big, ugly Bill money a long time ago, and your excuse is right, the government was shut down and we couldn't place the order. I mean, it's like, I'm sorry to say, but Amazon brings you something the next day. You telling Me, you really can't get the point.
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Podcast Host
Right.
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Congresswoman Shelley Pingree
Body cameras.
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Co-host or Guest Commentator
I'll personally have them shipped overnight. Body cameras for each of those agents.
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Congresswoman Shelley Pingree
There you go. Thank you.
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Co-host or Guest Commentator
We can just take care of it real quick. I mean, it's a better use of my tax.
- [16:12]
Podcast Host
They shelled out a bunch of money for it in April that they were supposed to have.
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Congresswoman Shelley Pingree
Oh, yeah, they got an extra $20 billion, I think. And you know, I mean, ICE has gotten a ridiculous amount of money, $170 billion and then some. I mean, and you know, they're building all these private detention centers. It's just horrendous what they're doing. And part of the problem is they've got too much money. They've got these quotas that come from the White House. They're supposed to pick up 2,000 people a day. And they have stretched the immigration laws, as I was saying, to make it so they can pick up almost anybody. And then it's a little bit of guilty till proven innocent. As I said, we're constantly trying to find our constituents who've been taken to a detention center in, in Arizona, Louisiana, Texas, New Hampshire. And then they've got to bond them. They got to get a lawyer. Their family has to find them. They've got to get a lawyer. Then they have to bond themselves out and wait for a judge's approval. It can take months. It can cost thousands of dollars to families that don't have them. And then you get released because you didn't do anything in the first place. But they, you know, they lock you up. They meet their quota for the day. It's so un American. It's so against the freedoms of our country, and it's a ridiculous waste of the taxpayers dollars that should go to, like, health care. Keeping our hospitals afloat.
- [17:33]
Podcast Host
It's awful, right, because we've, we've seen in Maine, right. Like how many hospitals have already. I mean, I know a lot of it tends to be centered in the northern part of the state, the more rural area. But have you had. Have we. Have there been hospitals closed in your district due to this bill that the Republicans passed?
- [17:50]
Congresswoman Shelley Pingree
Well, the Waterville hospital closed in the last year. Waterville is in my district. The hospital in Damascata is pending closure of its maternity ward. There's been incredible consolidation in the hospital industry in our state, which we don't have any for profit hospitals. These are nonprofit hospitals. But it's really hard to make ends meet. And the pending cut for Medicaid that the Republicans did in order to Give the richest people in our country a big tax cut. That's a trillion dollars that will kick in after the midterm elections. So they're trying to keep it covered up from people so they don't think about it in the midterm elections. But that's just gonna be holy hell, really, in states like mine, but in. Also in rural states all over the country, in urban states. And it's already kicked in as, you know, the inability to get the tax credits for the Affordable Care Act. So a lot of people may have dropped their health insurance and that just means more charity care for the hospitals and they don't have anywhere to turn.
- [18:51]
Podcast Host
Right. Well, and I want people to know. So DeMarcus, which is fairly close to where I grew up, but is a pretty rural, pretty rural area. And I am guessing then if the maternity ward of Damascar is closed that they have to go to Brunswick. Is that the next closest or do they go north? I'm, I'm Brunswick or getting some of my cities. So Brunswick or Rockland from Damascata. Brunswick is probably a 45 minute drive. So imagine if your wife goes into labor and then you've got to drive 45 minutes plus you've got to drive through Bath, which if you, if your wife happens to be going to labor when BIW lets out. That's 2,000 people, trust me.
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Congresswoman Shelley Pingree
Yeah, yeah.
- [19:29]
Podcast Host
The only. Yeah, the bath actually like doubles in size every from like nine to five and then it, then it shrinks back down. But, but it's, it's so it could be much longer and I don't think people understand the consequences of that and the fact that like this is going to affect. I think it's 300 hospitals across the country. And like you said, you mentioned, I mean, Waterville is where Colby is. There's a lot of people there. Like, it is just, it's just, it's just devastating. And I question for you though, it. Obviously the first district is a, I will say a, A bluer district. It is, I wouldn't say it's like, hey, we've had, there have been Republicans in that district before, but we don't
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Congresswoman Shelley Pingree
take it for granted, let's put it that way.
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Podcast Host
No, it's been a, it's been a little while. But yes, there are some. What are you hearing from constituents about this, the, the, the, this ICE situation? Because like I do have some people that I do growing up Facebook people that are.
- [20:20]
Additional Co-host or Guest
Sell.
- [20:21]
Podcast Host
Are like, seem like they, they like it. It's a minority but are, what are your, what are your constituents saying to you about all of this stuff? Because it's just all so crazy and is so damaging that it's.
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Congresswoman Shelley Pingree
Yeah, I mean, people are really angry. I mean, I think people are going to be on the streets about this particular situation for a while. I think we'll continue to see vigils and protests. But overall, this, you know, last year and a half with Trump and the damage that they've done in just so many ways, you know, every time you turn around, it's one thing that they're cutting, whether it's your health care or, you know, federal grants that were coming to our state for transportation or the farmers who supplied school to food and food to school lunches. I mean, it's just sort of one thing after another or people worried about their Social Security benefits. I mean, cutting back and staffing at everything people experience. And no, people are so angry. And, you know, even traditional Republicans don't like what's going on. It's, you know, Democrats obviously are more angry, but Maine isn't a particularly partisan state where, you know, we're a little more kind of everybody's in the middle. Oh, I vote for the person or I trust my common sense. But everybody is impacted by this and feels it in their own pocketbook. Gas prices have a huge impact in Maine. We're a state where people drive pickup trucks to work. A lot of blue collar workers, people in the trades, fishermen, farmers, loggers. I mean, we're just, you know, we're affected by all of this and people are just really, really angry and, and don't understand why. We've got another war going on in Iran. Don't understand why, you know, food prices are so out of control. It's just universal anger, I think, and we saw it in the primaries. Much more significant turnout of Democrats going to vote in the primaries than Republicans. And I wouldn't be surprised if that's what happens in November. Not that, not that Republicans are all going to instantly convert to voting for Democrats, but they might just not vote. And I think we'll see some of that.
- [22:31]
Additional Co-host or Guest
And we're live on Matchday as Doug reaches for a buffalo wing. He's got it. Oh, and he's gone for a can of Pepsi, too. What a finish. There's no doubt about it. He does. It just tastes better. Match Days deserve Pepsi.
- [22:50]
Evan Osnos
Right now, news and politics are moving awfully fast. It can feel overwhelming, to say the least. I'm Evan Osnos, a staff writer for the New Yorker. On the Political Scene podcast. We slow things down to understand how power really operates in Washington, D.C. and what it means for you. My co hosts Jane Mayer and Susan Glaser and I have decades of reporting experience. And every Friday we have conversations with insiders and experts to understand the forces remaking America. Join us Fridays for the Washington Roundtable from the Political Scene on Mondays and Wednesdays. You can also hear insightful episodes from our New Yorker colleagues, David Remnick and Tyler Fox Foggit, available wherever you get your podcasts.
- [23:40]
Podcast Host
Well, I want, that's a good, that's a good place to pivot to because obviously Maine, I don't, I don't know about you, but I am not used to Maine being in the news so much for many different things. This is a very unusual couple months, I should say, for the state. Obviously, there is a convention that is being set up to pick the the new Senate candidate that will take on Susan Collins in the fall. With Graham Platner stepped back or resigned or withdrew or whatever officially was. Can you, I assume you will probably be one of the delegate one of the 601 or you will obviously be around it. Can you tell people like what, how is that going to work? And are you confident that this is the transparent process that the party promised when, when Graham with Drew?
- [24:27]
Additional Co-host or Guest
Sure.
- [24:28]
Congresswoman Shelley Pingree
Well, number one, I've been saying that to my colleagues. You know, Maine is usually the boring state that nobody even knows exists or says, oh, I want to get there and eat a lobster this summer. But we're not usually this much in the news. It's true. And we've gone through some very busy news weeks and I think a lot of turmoil. People were extremely upset about the whole challenge around Graham Platner and he had built up such a, you know, huge kind of base of support and people were really excited about his campaign. So it's been very hard for people to kind of switch gears and make that transition. And then I think there were a lot of worries in the beginning and I have yelled at some of my out of state pundit friends and just been like, will you stop writing the dumbass columns that says the machine is going to control the operation of Maine?
- [25:12]
Podcast Host
And Chuck Schumer, oh my God, put
- [25:14]
Congresswoman Shelley Pingree
his thumb on the scale. I'm just going to tell you, I've been in Maine politics a long time and county committees are run by really sweet, you know, little old ladies who show up with the brownies. Nobody ever wants to go to our state convention. It's like the second Saturday in Maine. People Never paid any attention to this stuff before. We don't have a machine in Maine. We've got a lot of people who are willing to show up and keep the whole thing going. But it's been considered one of the most, you know, like, boring things you could do with your life is to show up to a monthly county committee meeting. I know, because candidates have to do it and politicians have to do it. And I love all the people who do it. They're die hards. But there's no machine here. Chuck Schumer couldn't come into our state if he begged us to. I mean, and we've learned, like, if they try to put this thumb on the scale from the outside, it will be the kiss of death for that candidate. So nobody's begging for it anyway. So, yeah, I think the state party's been scrambling. The state party chair, who's a really sweet guy, was actually all the way across the country with his partner, like on a hiking trip and had to drive back. Oh, God, I love this. I'm getting carried away here, but I love it because he was in this electric car and they had to charge the car all the way up back from British Columbia because when the crisis hit, like, he needed to get back as fast as he possibly could to help figure it all out. And then we've got a hundred person county, I mean, state committee that had all these meetings, you know, what will the lawyers allow us to do? How can you do this in three weeks? I mean, we couldn't set up a whole new primary system. The, the party doesn't even run the, the, you know, primary. That's actually a state function. So anyway, they've done the best they can. And we're going to have these, this Convention on the 25th and this weekend. So this weekend will be the weekend where county delits get, gets their chose. Like, I come from Knox County, a little bit north of bath. We get 18 delegates in my county. They had a county committee meeting last night, their monthly meeting. And for the first time, you know, usually there's like seven people. I think last night there were 150 people who kind of stormed the room. Most of them never been to a county committee before and saying like, well, we need our say. And anyway, there's a whole process you can sign up to run. I think sometime on the weekend they'll have a meeting and everybody in the room will take a vote and pick the 18 people. I'm not a delegate. We don't have super delegates. Even though I'M an elected official. I've got absolutely no say. And believe me, I'm not. I'm not running for delegate. I don't need to be one of the 18. I'm very happy. I mean, and I'm happy to have all these new people participate. I hope in the future.
- [27:40]
Podcast Host
Right.
- [27:41]
Congresswoman Shelley Pingree
You know, we have busy county committees and the state convention is a place that people show up to. I think they're going to try their best. And, you know, the candidates will probably have three or four debates. The candidates have till 5 o' clock tonight. So far, I think there's eight of them to get in there, 500 signatures that have to come through throughout the state. So, I mean, they've done their best to kind of replicate what we do in a primary and they'll have some televised debates and then they'll have the. On the 25th, they'll have a process where the 600 people who have gotten elected get into a room and vote for the one they think. And, you know, it could go. There's, you know, there's three of them who were in the governor's race, so have just come off of running campaigns are pretty well known to people in the state and there are a couple others who are in either the second CD race or wanted to run. So there's some. We've got a good bench. It's a better year than we often have, you know, so I think we'll get a decent candidate. We're kind of a progressive state anyway, so that's the other thing. People from the outside were like, they're going to get somebody from, you know, the conservative wing of the party. You couldn't win.
- [28:44]
Podcast Host
What is that?
- [28:45]
Congresswoman Shelley Pingree
There is no possibility that a Democratic convention would elect a conservative Democrat in my state right now. It just wouldn't happen. So it'll be a good candidate. And I think, you know, they've got a lot of fodder right now. It's not, I'm, you know, we've tried to beat Susan many times. I was her first opponent, so I've been there and.
- [29:03]
Podcast Host
Oh, that's right.
- [29:04]
Congresswoman Shelley Pingree
Easy to beat. But I think this is going to be one of the tougher years with people being so angry at Trump and then honestly, this recent event in Bitterford pushed a lot of focus on the ICE funding and bad immigration policy. So be interested.
- [29:21]
Podcast Host
Yeah, and I want to, I want to reiterate something that you just said which, which these guys hear me say all the time. But again, if people from outside of Maine or as we say from away. Come in from away.
- [29:34]
Ryan Reynolds (Mint Mobile Advertiser)
Right.
- [29:35]
Podcast Host
Even people who have lived in Maine for a million years but weren't born there technically are from away.
- [29:39]
Congresswoman Shelley Pingree
Oh, yeah.
- [29:39]
Podcast Host
But Angus, for example, is.
- [29:41]
Congresswoman Shelley Pingree
I want you to know I wasn't from Maine, so I'm, I'm.
- [29:45]
Podcast Host
Oh, you're from. Oh, really?
- [29:46]
Co-host or Guest Commentator
Okay.
- [29:47]
Congresswoman Shelley Pingree
My grandchildren now are the grandchildren of someone from away. Even so, we have generations in my family that's grown up here, but we're still, you know, I take it, prep.
- [29:56]
Podcast Host
Right.
- [29:57]
Congresswoman Shelley Pingree
I did my best to get here as soon as I.
- [29:59]
Podcast Host
That's. Hey, you, you. You went to the right place.
- [30:02]
Evan Osnos
Said.
- [30:02]
Podcast Host
But the point is, if a Chuck Schumer or somebody from the outside came in and endorsed a candidate, they would instantly lose. That would be a bad idea. And I. He's also smart enough to not do that, but like, just to tell people that that's not gonna. That's not gonna happen. But I did want to ask. There is a bit of controversy around, I believe, the first debate that. I don't know if it's WCSH or who was doing it, but they had had four. The top four, essentially. But there were some candidates. Dan Cleveland, for example, who we know from. He's been on the show, he's a friend and runs main beer.
- [30:36]
Congresswoman Shelley Pingree
He loves Maine beer.
- [30:36]
Podcast Host
Let's just say lunch. Lunch IPA is the best one in the. In the country for sure. What do you think? Do you think they all should be in or do you think they have to set some sort of standard?
- [30:49]
Congresswoman Shelley Pingree
I thought they should all be in. They set kind of a funny criteria and as you say, Dan wanted to be in the race, chose not to be. Yeah, no, I think they've changed it. I think I actually read today that they have opened it up and all eight of them, whoever qualifies.
- [31:02]
Podcast Host
Oh, great.
- [31:04]
Congresswoman Shelley Pingree
By tonight at 5:00 o', clock, I think will be in the debate and should be. Okay, that's silly.
- [31:10]
Podcast Host
And I have to ask you a very difficult question. Well, I would. I have two difficult questions I'm going to ask you. The first one is the. Is one. I'm not sure you're gonna say, but do you. Are you planning on endorsing in this race or are you staying out until.
- [31:24]
Congresswoman Shelley Pingree
I've always. I've never endorsed in primaries. I've been in one myself to get here. Primaries are always my friends. You know, you got five people, you like them all. The only one I endorse in, just to be honest, my daughter ran for governor this year and I did endorse my Daughter.
- [31:41]
Podcast Host
Oh, you're taking my joke away from me.
- [31:43]
Congresswoman Shelley Pingree
But in this one, I was going
- [31:44]
Podcast Host
to ask you who you support for
- [31:45]
Congresswoman Shelley Pingree
governor, but, but, no, I never do. And it's just easier that way. Even if you've got somebody really, like, I just feel like it's ultimately up to the voters. And I, I don't actually. I always thought endorsements were kind of goofy anyway. Like, when I ran the first time, I don't know, it wasn't my focus, and I don't like it. I, I, I've told this to my colleagues. I don't like my colleagues coming into Maine and endorsing people. It pissed me off. And I know it's a, you know, it's big to have Bernie or Roe or somebody come in, but I'm like, don't put your thumb on the scale. In my state, you don't know these people that well, and you're just building your own list. In my state, I don't need it. And I'm a progressive. Like, I'm a progressive. I like these people, but I'm just like, leave us alone.
- [32:27]
Co-host or Guest Commentator
People don't like to be told what to do.
- [32:29]
Additional Co-host or Guest
No.
- [32:30]
Co-host or Guest Commentator
And I just, it's, I don't endorse candidates myself. I'll say who I'm voting for, but I'm not going to go and make a video and be like, I endorse who. That's just, it's, Sorry, it's not a brand deal, you know, it's not a part.
- [32:42]
Podcast Host
Well, we're the same because, like, we like all these people. So, like, if you endorse somebody, then all their, their supporters are going to be like, we don't like you because you didn't support our person. So, like, yeah, there's no benefit of doing it. Just let the people decide. Yeah. Like, I mean, when we get into 28, when there's gonna be 3 billion people running for president, it's going to be even worse.
- [32:59]
Ryan Reynolds (Mint Mobile Advertiser)
But.
- [32:59]
Podcast Host
All right, I got, I got a couple questions that we're going to let you, we're gonna let you go. I want to go.
- [33:05]
Congresswoman Shelley Pingree
I've got my app up. I'm about to take a vote. But you're good. I've got, I've got 12 minutes to make it to the floor, so I've got at least two. Whatever you need.
- [33:14]
Podcast Host
Okay. Okay, two minutes. So real quick on. I want to go because you are the ranking member on the House Appropriate, the subcommittee for Interior. And so I had mentioned before I worked at the Interior Department in the Obama administration. So I care greatly about this. Oh, it was, it was great. I think I told one of your, your staff people that I was the token Mainer in a sea of Colorado. Yeah, the Colorado mafia. On the reflecting pool. Do you think that that person they arrested actually cut with a knife the paint at the bottom and that caused the algae to bloom?
- [33:53]
Congresswoman Shelley Pingree
That poor guy who was like the Olympic canoeist or something.
- [33:57]
Podcast Host
Yes. Kayaker or something.
- [33:59]
Co-host or Guest Commentator
Was he a paralympian?
- [34:00]
Congresswoman Shelley Pingree
I mean, that was the worst possible. It was so much a microcosm of Donald Trump. You know, he does this dumbass thing where he's got to like redo the reflecting pool to look like one of his pools because he doesn't understand it's a different kind of pool. And then he hires a no bid contractor who apparently doesn't know what they're doing, spends 10 times as much money as he tells us he's going to, but doesn't even ask for permission to get the money because they steal the money all the time. They don't even go through my committee and I'm an appropriator. You know what that, you know, we used to control all the money and then it doesn't work out because they screw it up, don't know what they're doing, and then they blame all these guys. And I love those pictures where they, I guess it's drained again. And now they show there's like tire tracks running along it because he had to drive himself through the.
- [34:43]
Co-host or Guest Commentator
Drove the. Yeah.
- [34:44]
Podcast Host
Oh yeah. The, the beast. The beast drove through it like 20,000 pound vehicle.
- [34:51]
Co-host or Guest Commentator
Can't imagine that would do any harm.
- [34:53]
Congresswoman Shelley Pingree
I can't tell you how much money he's stolen out of the Park Service. You know, it takes it from physical. He's taking, he stole the money from the National Endowment for the Humanities, which is also overseen by my committee. And they're using it for his garden of heroes where he's going to take over a big, you know, park area in Washington that people like to go for picnics and play softball. He wants to build his dumbass arch. He took over the Kennedy Center. I mean, I cannot wait to get back in the majority. Knock on wood. And just stop them. Because it's awful what he's done to this city and our whole country. Of course.
- [35:24]
AMN Healthcare Advertiser
Right.
- [35:24]
Podcast Host
I was going to ask you about that because you were obviously ranking on this, which means if the Democrats take over, you will chair that subcommittee. I would assume so. We can, we can assume that you will be holding this administration accountable on all of this ridiculous nonsense.
- [35:38]
Congresswoman Shelley Pingree
You know, the other thing we can do if we're in the majority, which people don't always understand, is we can't file a lawsuit against him. Only the speaker of the House or the majority party can. So most of the way we get money back is, is through a lawsuit. That's what's how we've won almost everything. That's how they got the Trump name off the Kennedy center was a lawsuit. Congress can't do it. So we can also file suit against them, but we can investigate, we can subpoena, and we can control the budget again because they just steal the money in the budget. That's what they're doing.
- [36:07]
Podcast Host
Right. I agree. And I'm really, really excited to see, knock on wood, that you will be returned to the subcommittee.
- [36:15]
Congresswoman Shelley Pingree
And we, what they've done to the Department of Interior is a disaster. Disaster. And I'm sorry.
- [36:19]
Podcast Host
Oh, thank you for working. I can't. I have, I have several employees that were fired and it sounds like they were going to be filing lawsuits, which is great because they were fired because essentially they were not doing their bidding and all kinds of things and, you know, trying to make them do propaganda videos and stuff. It's just ridiculous that the people in those buildings are amazing and they don't deserve that. Well, Congresswoman, I know you're going hear the bells. I know the votes are coming. I was going to give you, I was going to give you a whole main quiz about if you could sing the sixteen county song, because I asked Janet Mills that, which I can't do it. I can't do it either. After you say 16 counties, I'm out. But I had a whole other one. But we'll let you go because we know you got to vote. Where could people follow you, Congresswoman, if they want to, like, check out what you work question?
- [37:06]
Congresswoman Shelley Pingree
Well, we're on all those things. You know, like,
- [37:12]
Podcast Host
I've, I, I think it's Rep. Shelly Pingree on threads. I think that's mostly what it is everywhere.
- [37:16]
Congresswoman Shelley Pingree
Threads and blue sky and Twitter and Facebook and Instagram and you can go to our website, too. We try to list a lot of the legislation that we work on. I mean, my biggest focus here generally isn't all this other stuff. I'm, I'm, I do environmental stuff. We oversee the epa. I'm also big on agriculture. I'm an organic farmer in my other life. Food is medicine. Getting the toxics out of our food glyphosate fight. So you can read a lot about all that stuff on our website, our congressional website and follow us on Instagram. We post all kinds of stuff from Maine.
- [37:50]
Co-host or Guest Commentator
Great.
- [37:50]
Podcast Host
And we'll, we'll put it in our show notes for tomorrow so that people see our Friday. Excuse me, but Congressman, I, I've never met you before so I'm so glad that I finally got great member. It's. Oh, I appreciate that. And we'll, we'll do some more stuff together, I promise.
- [38:04]
Congresswoman Shelley Pingree
And we're actually on your show actually like that.
- [38:07]
Additional Co-host or Guest
Right.
- [38:08]
Podcast Host
Oh, you have an open invitation. And also this is a bit of breaking news, but we are looking to do a live show in Portland in October. So we may.
- [38:15]
Congresswoman Shelley Pingree
Congress will be out. We'll roll out the red carpet when you guys come to town.
- [38:21]
Podcast Host
Oh, thank you very much. All right. Well, Congresswoman Shelly Pringry. Thank you very much. I also want to make sure everybody knows because this was a question. The congresswoman does support eliminating ice, correct? I forgot to ask you that before. Abolish ice. So we got that out there.
- [38:34]
Congresswoman Shelley Pingree
Honored to be with you. Thank you so much.
- [38:36]
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