Ro Khanna, D-Calif., is a man in a rush. On Tuesday, he was at the center of the vote to release the Epstein files, and when I saw him, on the way to his office in the Cannon building, he asked if I could walk and talk, as he had a few stops to make.
‘Sure thing,’ I said, and we were off.
I wasn’t there for Epstein. I wanted to know about the future of his Democratic Party. So I started by asking if he and it have moved the goal of the social safety net from hand up to handout.
‘That’s not my vision,’ Khanna said. ‘My vision is an FDR-like vision where we need to have wealth generation across this country. We need production and manufacturing and making things across America.’
He pointed out that Roosevelt did not only have handouts, he also helped industrialize America.
I pressed him on his call for $10-a-day childcare for all Americans. Isn’t this, along with his Medicare for all policy, a free giant payout from the state? Again he pivoted to FDR.
‘It’s the New Deal,’ he said. ‘I believe in an economic bill of rights, in national healthcare. That’s what FDR believed in: universal childcare. Under FDR, we had war nurseries, do you know why?’
I could have guessed, but it was because somebody had to watch Rosie the Riveter’s kids as she built planes and tanks.
FDR and the New Deal really do seem to be at the heart of Khanna’s economic vision, and while conservatives, especially the old guard, tend to hate the New Deal, they’d likely take FDR over Karl Marx, who seems to be the inspiration for others in his party these days.
By the time I shifted my questions to immigration, we had reached an elevator, the only one the congressman took in our 25 minute traipse. ‘The stairs are faster,’ he told me.
This was a chance to bring the road, where I live, to the halls of power in D.C., where I’ll only go as a reluctant tourist.
‘People say to me all the time, ‘Democrats let 20 million illegal immigrants in with little to no process, now they say every one of them has to go through due process.’ What do you say to them?’
For emphasis, I added that if you give 20 million people each a one-hour hearing, the total time it would take is over 2,000 years.
Khanna launched into something of a filibuster, telling stories of his own immigrant parents, how his mother stressed learning English and learning our nation’s history and values. And, that he had won the lottery and, as an American, should focus on his responsibilities more than his rights.
The congressman was ducking the question, but it was notable that this pride in and gratitude to America stands in opposition to the rhetoric of his party’s ascendant socialist wing.
At this point, Khanna had to duck into a meeting. He motioned to me to join, but a polite guard informed us my Adidas Gazelles and white sweater were not proper attire. In my defense, it’s a nice sweater.
When he came out, I took another shot at the question of the 20 million illegal immigrants.
‘You’re asking about the millions already here. I believe that if you committed a crime, a violent crime, then there needs to be a deportation after due process. But for many people who are here, giving childcare and working in hospitality, or construction and paying taxes, I do believe there needs to be a path to legalization.’
And there it was. They get to stay.
As the elevator door opened to the crowded, bright white subterranean pathways we had already come through, I told Khanna, ‘Here’s exactly the people on the road will say to that: ‘If Democrats let 20 million in last time, why won’t they do it again if given power?”
It seemed to land.
‘That’s a very good point, that’s a very good question, because we don’t want to lose elections,’ Khanna said, suggesting the open border was to blame for recent GOP gains.
Two takeaways here, one is that Khanna and the Democrats think the vast majority of the 20 million Biden illegals get to stay. The other is that they may plan to run, at least nominally, in favor of Trump’s border security measures.
As we made our circuitous route back to his office, I asked the congressman about Israel. He agreed that even 10 years ago, his party was far friendlier towards the Jewish state.
‘What changed?’ I asked.
He didn’t miss a beat, ‘Netanyahu.’ Khanna had initially supported Bibi’s efforts to hit Hamas after the massacre of Oct. 7, but after several months, felt they were going too far.
If there is a silver lining for Zionists, it is that, unlike New York City Mayor-elect and Socialist wunderkind Zohran Mamdani, Khanna does support the right for Israel to exist as a Jewish State.
We both agreed that if President Donald Trump’s peace effort holds, the Israel question may soon fade to the background.
Finally, back in Khanna’s office for a few minutes, I asked him about Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., who has argued fervently that his party is moving too far left.
‘I like John,’ Khanna said. ‘Maybe I shouldn’t say it. We have drinks, but I’m a progressive Democrat, so we have disagreements.’
It was that moment when I realized that this was the third or fourth time Khanna had referred to himself as a ‘progressive Democrat,’ and for the very first time, this phrase I’d known for decades had a new meaning. It meant, ‘not socialist.’
This is an incredibly important distinction and will be the major skirmish line for the soul of the party. ‘Progressive Democrat,’ until about 10 minutes ago, meant those farthest to the left. It included Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, D-N.Y. and her squad. Now it is beginning to mean, ‘a bit to the right of the socialists.’
As the midterms approach, this jockeying in what was once the party of Jefferson and Jackson will grow more intense. A lean and hungry Ro Khanna is racing to be at the forefront of the fight.