Politics Unusual: Congressman-elect Micah Lasher, Incoming State Assemblyman Marc Molinaro

Welcome to Politics Unusual. I'm Morgan Mackay. Last week's blue wave is sweeping the halls of Congress and the New York State Capitol. So what's next and what's at the top of the list for Democrats? We're speaking first this week with Congressman-elect Micah Lasher, who is in D.C. for freshman orientation. Then we're sitting down with incoming State Assemblyman Mark Molinaro, who is returning to Albany, and discuss what warning he has for other Republicans. Then we're taking a look at how the election is shaping New Jersey. But first. State Assemblyman Michael Asher is headed to Congress after easily defeating his Republican opponent last week. This seat encompasses both the Upper West Side and the Upper East Side and was left open when Congressman Jerry Nadler announced last year that he was not running for re-election. So joining us now is the new Congressman-elect Michael Asher. Welcome to the show. You are in Washington, D.C., as we just said, for new member orientation. There will be There'll be more than 100 new members in Congress next year. What's the energy like right now up there? Is it kind of like freshman orientation back in college? I saw some people kind of comparing it to school a little bit. Well, it's good to be with you. There is a great energy here in Washington. This will be the largest class of new members of Congress since 1932, which I think is telling that the American people have had a reaction to the Trump administration, something akin to the reaction after the Great Depression. But there's a great there's a real Excitement to get to work on the question of how we reduce costs for the American people, how we end the parade of corruption that has characterized the Trump administration. And we are ready to get to work. What was your takeaway? You know, what did you feel like voters are saying specifically in your district after last week's election? I think in my district we have similar issues to the challenges facing the rest of the country. The median rent for an apartment in Manhattan just cost five thousand dollars a month. The average cost of child care in New York City is $24,000 a year, which means by federal standards you should be making $330,000 a year just to be able to afford child care. People cannot afford to live in my district. They cannot afford to live in the city of New York. And increasingly, life across the country is unaffordable. That is directly connected to actions taken or not taken by the federal government. And so I think the voters in my district, like voters across America, are crying out for change. Yeah. Now, earlier this week, Republicans narrowly blocked a resolution to impeach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. Do you want this to be a top agenda item when Democrats take control of the House on January 1st? Well, I think the first order of business when Democrats take the House on January 1st is concrete action to reverse the costs that have been imposed on the American people by the Trump administration through the tariffs, which are costing American households $1,000 a year, ending the reckless war in Iran, which is costing Americans $47 billion and counting. Increasing the minimum wage, which has been stuck at $7.25 an hour since 2009. That's what we need to do on day one. But impeaching Pete Hegseth, who took us to war recklessly in Iran, who launched murderous boat strikes in the Caribbean without any legal basis or authorization. Impeaching Pete Hegseth is an important thing for Congress to do as well. You know, so many people talk about affordability, but what does affordability mean to you? What are some actual policy ideas that you're looking forward to tackling when you get to Congress? Affordability means that you can keep up with the basic costs and necessities of life without having to make impossible choices. You can work an honest day's work, be paid an honest wage, and be able to afford the basic necessities of life. And I think when you look at the costs facing the American people on housing, on child care, on energy costs, these costs are going up and up and up. Wages are not keeping up, and we need to address that. We need to build millions of new units of housing. We need to invest in child care across the country so people can afford to raise kids in this country. We need to increase the minimum wage. These are concrete things that a new Democratic majority in the House can and should do immediately. You said in an interview a few months ago that you would push to impeach President Trump next year if Democrats took control of the House. Do you still feel that way? I think the thing we need to do right upon taking office is addressing the affordability concerns facing the American people. I think Donald Trump has committed more high crimes and misdemeanors than all his predecessors combined and would certainly support and push for impeachment as well. Is that going to be a priority for you? I know that, you know, many recent polls show that right now the impeaching President Trump isn't particularly popular. It doesn't have majority support, you know, across most polls. Do you think that this is a priority? Do you think this is something Democrats should tackle at the very least next year? I think we're going to have a big conversation in the Democratic caucus about the best ways to hold this administration accountable. accountable for its corruption, for its self-enrichment, and it's connected to the affordability issues facing the American people. Look at the tariffs that are costing American households $1,000 a year. Donald Trump made exemptions from those tariffs available to a handful of companies. worth $27 billion. That's the value of those giveaways that he gave to this handful of companies that contributed $70 million in political contributions to Donald Trump and his various campaign entities. Let's look at how the costs of the American people are connected to the political and financial benefit of Donald Trump and his cronies. Let's do that through oversight and investigations and potentially impeachment. Now, President Trump on Election Day said that the U.S. will stop giving nearly $4 billion in annual aid to Israel by the end of this year. It's still unclear fully how this would work. There are reports out that the U.S. and Israel might work out an agreement where there's military assistance. But outside of all of that, what would you like to see happen with this aid? Well, I can't speak to what conversations Donald Trump may have had, may have had in his own mind, but I do think that there's a new government forming in Israel for the first time in, well, for 16 of the last 17 years, we've had an Israeli government under Bibi Netanyahu that has given us nothing but hopelessness about the prospect of a durable peace. And so I'm optimistic for the first time in a long time that this new government can take real steps to put us back. On a constructive path, ending settler violence in the West Bank, withdrawing the tender for new settlement development in the E1 tract of land in the West Bank, bringing needed aid and rebuilding Gaza without Hamas. These are things that need to happen immediately. And hopefully we can then begin to have a real conversation about getting back to a path of self-determination, safety for Israelis and Palestinians alike. Now, you have a very busy next few months. And when it comes to, excuse me, weeks, it's only weeks now until January. But when it comes to leadership, you know, do you plan to vote for Hakeem Jeffries as House Speaker? I do. And I think the broad swath of Democrats in the majority see Congressman Jeffries as someone who has shown his ability to hold together the broad and varied views of the Democratic Party to lead us to a record majority in the House. And most significantly, from this New Yorker's perspective, it'll be the first time we've had a speaker from New York since 1869. And that guy had I had the gavel for one day, so I, I'm incredibly excited about a New York speaker, but I think all of the commentary about this is a little bit of a distraction from the work ahead. What the American people want is for us to get to work, to focus on the cost drivers that are making daily life harder, to end the corruption in government, and to just set about the work that they voted us in to do. We've got a majority on loan, and we've got to show the American people that we deserve their vote again. I know you're not in the Senate, but you are a New Yorker and you do know Senator Tuck Schumer. Do you think that he should be elected as Senate Majority Leader? I think I'll go back to the first part of that question. I'm not in the Senate. I've got an enormous amount on my plate in the House and I will leave it to the to the members of the Senate to figure that out. Last question for you. I saw on social media outgoing Congressman Dan Goldman named you as the new leader of the bagel caucus. What kind of bagels are you going to bring to Congress? What is this going to entail? We're going to bring all kinds of bagels, and I will welcome bagels from other districts, provided that they meet the high standards of the residents of New York 12. We are used to some pretty damn good bagels in my district, And I'm excited to share them with my colleagues and the The outstanding staff on the Hill, not to get you in trouble, but what bagel place are you bringing bagels from first? That's a great question. I'll make some news here. We will. There are some logistical challenges. You got to bring a lot of bagels from New York to D.C. You got to get them there early in the morning. So pending those negotiations, I would love to start with some bagels from Esso Bagel. Wow. OK, awesome. Over down by down by Stuyvesant Town. Shout out as a bagel. Thank you so much, Congressman Elect. I really appreciate your time and congratulations and have a great next few weeks. I know it's going to be busy. So thank you so much. Thank you so much, Morgan. Take care. Coming up, a historically low number of Republicans will be serving in Albany next year. We're speaking with one Republican who's headed back about what's next for the party. Welcome back to Politics Unusual. It was a tough night for Republicans last Tuesday. Democrats will now have veto-proof supermajorities in both houses come January. Out of the 63 state Senate seats, Democrats will likely hold 48 seats, Republicans 15. And in the state assembly, out of the 150 seats, Democrats will likely hold 111 seats. Republicans will only hold about 39 seats. So joining us now is one of those Republicans, incoming state assemblyman and former congressman Mark Molinaro. Welcome to the show and congratulations on your election going back to Albany. What are you looking forward to? Well, first, thank you. Glad to be with you. Listen, this is where the fight is. I recognize and I've said this, you know, when I served in the state legislature a long time ago, we don't win every vote. We don't win many votes, but we certainly can win the argument. And I think really that's the message both for Republicans and for those of us in the minority representing important parts of New York. And that is that we've got to be better at connecting with voters, making sure that we're fighting their fights and then messaging to them that we're standing up for them. For me, you know, I listen, I work with Work with anybody, Republican and Democrat, if they're honest about trying to address the cost of living, provide for public safety, and really confront the corruption that has made Albany and New York government so costly and wasteful. Those are the things that are important. I think there's common ground on issues of data centers and AI. I think that we can find our way towards greater commonality on natural resource conservation. So these are all the things that are important, and I know you know this, and there are a There are populations in New York that need people standing up for them, those dealing with mental illness, those living with disabilities. And so this is a space where, frankly, you know, Republicans can be better, again, connecting with voters, messaging to them and then delivering results. That's what that's what people expect. And our job in the minority is to hold the majority accountable. Yeah. You know, I was reading an opinion article you wrote a few days ago, and in it you say that voters in New York right now don't trust Republicans. What did you mean by that? Well, listen, they sent Republicans to Washington two years ago to deliver lower costs, to focus the federal government on America first issues. And what they saw was their costs continuing to rise, no question, gas, utilities, groceries still on the increase, and a war in Iran that, frankly, for right or for wrong. They don't understand and don't understand why we're there. And so they got the receipt from their purchase, and they brought it back, and they wanted to return in November. And so what I've said is, and I believe, it was a rebuke. It was a rebuke of Republicans, and we've got to be better. If we say we're going to drive down cost, we've got to drive down cost. If we say that we're going to ensure that this government's more efficient and effective, it needs to be more efficient. And then we have to be able to explain to voters where they are, how we delivered on these things. And if you don't deliver on those things, the voters aren't going to give you a pass. They didn't. Two weeks ago or a week ago. And by the way, same challenge for Democrats. They ran on lowering costs. They ran on fighting corruption. That can't be two years from now. Voters aren't gonna be forgiving if costs continue to rise. And the only thing they did was weaponize government against Republicans. Just not gonna be a winning message either. Yeah, Democrats actually have to deliver now on this. But you were arguing in the piece that you wrote that the Republicans, if they want to win in a state like New York, they need to win over independents and Democrats, and also they need to firm up what the party stands for. It seemed to me that you were suggesting possibly that the state Republican party should separate itself, define itself separate from the national Republican party. Is that what you're trying to get at? So Republicans in New York need to define themselves. It's not about separating as much as ensuring that the voters in New York know who we are and what we stand for, and that ultimately they can trust us to deliver on those things. And so we haven't done a good job. And frankly, it's part because the party itself doesn't have the right infrastructure. It's in part because we don't collaborate and coordinate well enough among the different arms, if you will, of the party, the Senate and the Assembly. But at the heart of it, and again, it's not just about the party. It's about our principles and We, as office holders and candidates, need to be on the ground meeting people, Republican, Democrat, non-enrolled voters, independent voters, where they are, listening to the issues they care about, explaining how our ideas can solve the problems they face, and then deliver on them. And if we do not do those things, we will relegate ourselves to irrelevance. And I happen to think that voters of all backgrounds actually want, they're yearning for some leadership. legitimate competition. We may not win statewide offices anytime soon. Maybe we do, but we have to be in a position of being a reasonable alternative for voters. And if we are not, they are going to continue to reward Democrats, even, by the way, when they're not necessarily buying what Democrats are selling. You've expressed that you don't have faith anymore in the GOP chairman, Ed Cox. Is there somebody else that you want to see in that position? And, you know, how do you want to see this change? Well, first, it's not a matter of having faith in Ed Cox. He's a friend, and frankly, I've appreciated his support and leadership. It's now time for reform and change. When that happens is certainly up to the party itself, but it needs to happen. There needs to be an evolution. I can't tell you today that there's some magical creature out there who can take the helm and start leading this party. And so my message is from the top down and the bottom up, We have got to cultivate leaders within the party, but we have to be sure that we're in the position to deliver and that there is respect and trust between us and the voters and the voters and us. Yeah, you know, quickly, last question for you. You know, as you referenced, you know, some saw this election as rebuke against President Trump and his policies. But what I think is so interesting about your win is that you were a state assemblyman, then a county executive, then a congressman, and then you went to go work in the Trump administration for a time, and then you left, and then you ran for this assembly seat. So some people could have seen you as tied to Trump. But what do you think it was about your message and who you are as a a candidate that won over voters. Well, certainly there are redder districts than this one where Republicans lost. I think, listen, I try to meet people where they are, I try to listen to them, and I try to be responsive. But also, you know, for my own personal record, I mean, I was the second most bipartisan member of Congress, have a long, deep record in state and local government in delivering. But that can end, too. You know, if I'm not responsive, if I'm not delivering on results, voters are not going to look favorably on that either. And that really is the message. It truly is. And by the way, I don't think it was a rebuke of the president. Thank you. of what voters thought they were getting. And they didn't get it. And you can call it a big, beautiful bill if they don't understand what's in it or they're not seeing the results of it or they don't feel their personal economy and their personal condition is getting better. They're just not going to be forgiving. And again, it is a warning to Democrats as much as it was and should be a lesson that Republicans need to have learned based on this last election. Well, I look forward to seeing you up in Albany. Thank you so much for coming on. And it's so good to see you again. Thank you so much. Hey, be well. Thank you. Coming up, New Jersey also feeling the effects from the blue wave on election night. We're talking to Garden State residents about the shifting political landscape next. New Jersey feeling the effects from the blue wave that swept the country on election night. Democrats picked up two congressional seats in New Jersey's 2nd and 7th districts, helping to give the party control of both houses in Congress. We asked Garden State residents if they are more optimistic or pessimistic following the midterms. I'm neutral. I feel everything is going to go okay. This country has been great. Before and after the midterm midterm elections, and I have nothing to worry about more optimistic than before. Yeah Yeah? Why is that? I Think lots of people came out to vote and that was a really positive sign Shows that your vote really matters It was a very stressful couple of years and see the things in a national level are changing I think it's gonna be good for New Jersey as well. I think in general When things shift like that, it's because what's currently happening is not working. Some people want to see some change. Next up, we're going to test your knowledge, so stay with us. We're flashing back to this week in history. On November 14th, 1889, New York world reporter Nellie Bly set off from New York City to take a trip around the world in under 80 days. She made it back in 72 days, 6 hours and 11 minutes. Bly is maybe most known for her investigative reports on the women's lunatic asylum on Blackwell's Island, now called Roosevelt Island. Bly faked insanity so she could be committed to the hospital and expose the rampant abuse. Finally, tonight we're testing your knowledge. Last week we asked you, when did New York use paper ballots for the first time? The answer, 1777. New York first introduced handwritten paper ballots for governor and lieutenant governor races. Now, to this week's question. What was Veterans Day originally called? Don't Google the answer, but if you wanna take a shot at it, go ahead, scan that code on your screen. That's gonna take you to our website, fox5ny.com, You can type in your answer, then check back here next week to see if you're right. That does it for this episode of Politics Unusual. If you missed any part of the show or just want to check it out again, we're now on Spotify and any other platform you listen to podcasts on. So be sure to follow us. Thank you so much for joining us. I'm Morgan McKay. Have a safe weekend. I'll see you next week.