Congresswoman LaMonica McIver

0:00Speaker 1:Hi, everyone.

0:01Speaker 2:It's Sophia. Welcome to Work in Progress. Welcome back to this week's Work in Progress, friends. We have a guest today that I am just so honored to sit across from. When we talk about juggling everything or spinning all of the plates, I don't know anybody who's doing it quite like Congresswoman LaMonica McIver. She serves New Jersey in the 10th District and comes from an incredible background in philanthropy, uplifting women and community in her city and state. When she was elected for Congress, I don't think she ever thought she'd be in a battle with the president of the United States on trumped up felony charges that could send her to prison for over 17 years. But this is where she finds herself. Congresswoman McIver went to do her congressionally appointed duty of oversight and visit Delaney Hall, which is an ICE detention facility in Newark, New Jersey.

1:07Speaker 2:And then everything changed. ICE officials instigated a physical altercation. And despite standing still and asking not to be touched a countless number of times in a loud, calm and clear voice, She was manhandled and shoved, and when she put her arm up to defend herself, her forearm, she was then charged with assaulting an officer. She discovered that she was charged with this crime on Twitter, of all places. It is a wild situation. And to add insult to injury, not only is she fighting federal prosecution that is clearly designed to punish her and send a message to future challengers of the Trump regime... She's doing so in the middle of a reelection campaign and at eight and a half months pregnant currently. It is an unfathomable experience, I think, for anyone. And yet LaMonica MacGyver manages to hold on to her joy, to continue serving her community in such a hopeful and incredible way. And she's managing to do this all while continuing to revisit Delaney Hall and at regular frequency because they've just marked their third death that we know about in ICE custody there. So whether you

2:28Speaker 2:see this as a legal battle, a constitutional test, or the story of a public servant refusing to back down, the stakes in this case reach so far beyond just one member of Congress. They're actually a test for authoritarian rule in our country. I am so honored that LaMonica is here today with us and so thrilled to hear about how she's managing to balance these scales and also pursue justice and figure out how we can all rally to help her. Because if there's anything I know about the Whipsmarties, it's that they don't let anyone fight a battle alone. Let's dive in with LaMonica McIver. I'm thrilled you're here today. Thank you for taking the time, first of all, when you're on your summer trip. And secondly, when I know you are about to.

3:27Speaker 3:Have a baby.

3:28Speaker 4:Congratulations.

3:30Speaker 2:Yeah, we're just, we're so happy to have you on the show. I have so many questions about the state of things and, you know, your office. And I don't know the dumpster fire that is 2026. But before we dip into the present, I'm so curious. You know, I love to know who people were before they were a household name or, you know, an elected representative. And if I think about, I'm especially excited for you because New Jersey is like my home away from home. It's, you know, so important in my life with my partner now. And also my mom grew up in Teaneck.

4:07Speaker 1:Oh, wow.

4:08Speaker 4:Okay. Yeah.

4:09Speaker 2:So I'm like, I'm like my representative from Newark, even though technically you're not my representative. But if we got to go back to Newark in 1996 and we got to hang out with you at 10 today, like who was that little girl? Who was LaMonica when she just turned double digits? What was she into?

4:30Speaker 3:Do you think she would be.

4:32Speaker 2:Amazed by what your life is now? Or do you think she always knew she was meant to be a leader?

4:37Speaker 4:At 10, I was amazed. Awful.

4:43Speaker 1:I was a terrible mess, getting in trouble all the time at school. I mean, you name it, suspended, picking fights, literally. And a lot of people cannot believe that. But at 10 years old, I had a fifth grade teacher named Raz Baraka, who is actually the mayor now of the.

5:02Speaker 4:City of Newark.

5:03Speaker 1:And he had us, he was a young, you know, uprising teacher, young, cool, you know, we love the young, cool teachers in school. And he used to get on us bad kids all the time. I mean, getting us in shape. But at the same time, he was running for office. And what's that like, you know, and he was like, hey, let me teach you about politics, civics, you know, community education. And really, that's where I kind of got my crash course into what, you know, loving your neighbor was about, loving your community, what politics was about.

5:32Speaker 1:But I would definitely say like my 10 year old self seeing me now as a congresswoman would be like, what in the heck is this girl is a congresswoman? Like I would have never put my finest dollar on that.

5:45Speaker 4:So it's just it's a shocker.

5:47Speaker 1:And it's something that definitely at 10, I didn't dream of wanting to do.

5:51Speaker 2:That is so incredible. And just to think that the mayor was your teacher. And when you think about the last couple of years, what you've been through together.

6:00Speaker 1:That.

6:02Speaker 2:Blows my mind. Do you think that, because I wonder about this, some of my friends that are very artistic or very creative or frankly, very smart, got in trouble a lot as kids because they were bored. They weren't being stimulated enough They weren't being given challenging enough work. Do you think that that kind of rebellious energy, which by the way, is what we need in office, people that are willing to challenge the status quo, willing to fight for the little guy, willing to say like, maybe corporate billionaires shouldn't own the whole government. I don't know, logical stuff. Like, do you think that you needed more challenges to be kind of mentally occupied as a young girl?

6:48Speaker 1:Needed a host of things, right? It was a lot of things happening in my home at the time. There were a lot of things I was unhappy about as a 10 year old kid. And I think I showed that frustration out at school where that was my outlet, right? But also I think like, and I don't know if this even makes sense now in this generation of when do we find our purpose sometimes. And I think when I learned about like community and being civically engaged, really that became like my everything.

7:18Speaker 4:Like it kind of took.

7:19Speaker 1:Me away from the negative behavior when I started passing out flyers and telling grown people, get out and vote.

7:25Speaker 4:And get the election day.

7:28Speaker 1:Something about that made me feel really good about myself. And it made me want to be a better young person, see where I can gravitate to that. It's still not thinking about being an elected official, but just how I can be a better person and do better. And so to me, I feel like that became the beginning of me laying a seed to what my foundation and purpose would be later on in life.

7:51Speaker 2:That's so beautiful. I think it's interesting because you talk about, and obviously you don't have to go into it, I think we all get it, whatever sort of personal uniqueness you you experience hardship under as a child shapes you. And very often, you know, we know about the ACEs scores. We know about what adverse childhood experiences can create even into adulthood. And what I'm so heartened by about your story is that as a child, you were trying to figure out where to put your personal pain. And you got lucky with a great teacher who taught you to channel that into purpose and not even just for yourself, but for your community. And what an unbelievable lesson that actually the most healing thing you can do is build up those around you and you build yourself at the same time. Like to get that at 10 instead of 25, what a miraculous moment.

8:46Speaker 4:Yeah.

8:46Speaker 1:And it makes me appreciate what teachers and just people who are, I mean, there's been, Ras Baraka was one, but there were many, you know, even women that are ran into who kind of took me under their wing and helped me navigate, you know, how to be ladylike, how to perfect.

9:02Speaker 4:Yourself, all of these different steps.

9:04Speaker 1:That's like one of the reasons why I started my nonprofit before I ran for elected office, because I knew we needed more of that. Like we needed women to literally have a space where they can come and give back to young girls, just showing them the walk of life and being there for them And while Ras Baraka was an intro for me for that, there were a lot of other women who maybe he wouldn't have been able to show me all of those things that I ran into over the journey really helped me. But it just goes to show you how important educators and, you know, those who are working in these fields are. Because if it had not been for me meeting him, you know, who would have known how long it would have took me to really get myself, you know, in order and get myself together.

9:45Speaker 4:Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.

9:48Speaker 2:Can you tell us a little bit about the nonprofit before we get into your run and how it's all been going since?

9:55Speaker 4:Absolutely.

9:55Speaker 1:So North Gals Inc. was started back in 2012 with me and my good girlfriend. Janique Flannoy Hamilton, who is a high school principal at her Automata High School right now, which is like crazy, but she's an amazing principal. And me and her both had the kind of same journey growing up. And we just said like, you know, we need to create this space that where young girls can thrive, where they can get all of their life skills, right? Because I feel like we miss the life skills part.

10:24Speaker 1:People are so focused on young people, like, what are you going.

10:26Speaker 4:To do when you grow up? What college do you go to? What is this?

10:29Speaker 1:And it's like, then we miss the life skills of that. And life skills pours into common sense and the, how do you walk into a room? How do you go into a room and say hello as a young lady? How do you dress appropriate for this occasion versus this occasion? Those are all things that someone taught me, literally. Every step of the way. And so we knew that we needed to create an organization that provided that to young girls and gave them the motivation and inspiration that they needed.

10:58Speaker 1:And that's why we started it. We started, you know, doing girls conferences in the city of Newark where we will reach over 3000 plus girls. Every year, a different theme, depending on what was going on in the world, right? Sophia, what is the wave attacking us this season?

11:15Speaker 4:And we would do that. And it was just an amazing experience.

11:18Speaker 1:We had so many women who came and joined in, who taught classes, who talked about, honestly, which was sometimes it could be hard, but they just talked about their own personal journey. And you never understand or realize how much you can just learn from the next woman's journey, like been through their testimony.

11:38Speaker 4:And really it changed.

11:39Speaker 1:So many girls' lives because they saw themselves, just a little piece of themselves in each of these women and thought, oh, thank you for this. Like, I know I'm going to be okay. And that just kind of reflects me back to my younger days because when I used to see young teachers, I would say, oh, I see a little bit of her in me or I.

11:57Speaker 2:Can be that.

11:59Speaker 1:And it was just truly, truly amazing work. And we helped open up the first women and girls community center. We called it a center of hope where it was just a space for young girls and women to come and thrive. We started doing classes for women as well, financial literacy classes, you know, and mental health sessions there. And it was just really, really amazing. The space still is standing today. I'm proud of that because that's something that I did left behind and it's still thriving, still going strong. So many women organizations and young girl organizations coming in, doing the work that they love to do.

12:36Speaker 4:And it just makes my heart so full that that's still a thriving space.

12:40Speaker 2:Yeah. And what a beautiful legacy. And I also think there's an important lesson in that too, is knowing how to help generate something and then also knowing when to pass it on to the next team that's meant to be in charge of it. You know, it's something I wish we saw a little more of in your current job in the congressional world, where I'm like, it's time for you to make space for the younger leaders. Hello.

13:04Speaker 4:Yes, absolutely.

13:07Speaker 2:So we fast forward to a little over a year ago. You are a congresswoman. You represent Newark. You are alongside your former teacher, Roz Varaka. And you go to do, by the way, to clarify, because the internet loves misinformation, you didn't like show up to a political protest. You showed up at a facility run by the government to do your government given job.

13:35Speaker 4:Correct.

13:37Speaker 2:Which by the way, to, to put, you know, a finer point on it, that day is now in question in terms of legality and you've been charged with a crime and yet you've gone back to do your government appointed job at the same government-run facility multiple times since. Before we get into the story of it, I just have to quote Rachel Maddow because she said the greatest thing when she reviewed body camera footage of these ICE officers who very clearly left the gates of the facility, came onto the public street where you were waiting, instigated a physical altercation, instigated, again, I will say, so you don't have to, And they were fulfilling an order to handcuff the mayor that apparently came from the White House, which is an insane sentence to say. And she said they did it with about the same expertise that a group of untrained six-year-olds approach soccer. And I was like, wow, that really is it, Rachel Maddow.

14:36Speaker 3:Like, yeah, you hit it on the head.

14:38Speaker 2:It's the craziest thing to watch what happened to you all. And as a woman, for me, I will say to watch you Stand with your arms at your sides for so long and say, do not touch me, do not touch me, do not touch me, do not touch us, do not touch us. That women's calm instruction to not have their bodily autonomy violated can be ignored for minutes and minutes and minutes and minutes. And when you are literally, again, to quote Rachel Maddow, being manhandled by a group of masked men with assault rifles and in tactical gear who are touching you, shoving you, handcuffing the mayor for no good reason, handled you in a manner that was so shocking to me. I don't know if it felt like an assault to you, but it was shocking to me.

15:26Speaker 2:And you put your forearm up to defend yourself. They claimed you assaulted an officer. I, you won't say it.

15:34Speaker 1:I will.

15:34Speaker 2:My audience knows. I swear. I hope I don't offend you. I have watched every ounce of that footage. I can get my eyeballs on. And what in the ever loving is anybody doing saying you assaulted someone like a, it's your congressional duty to conduct oversight. B you repeatedly asked not to be touched and were repeatedly touched and shoved and manhandled. It feels like we are in George Orwell. So how do you make sense of it a little over a year later before we even get into the case of it all? Like, how do you make sense of that day of what happened? How do you talk to people about it? Because not only are you telling your story, but you have to combat a lie being told by the actual president of the United States that a congresswoman assaulted a law enforcement officer. No, you didn't.

16:31Speaker 2:So how do you go up against the word of someone whose office holds as much weight as his does? And how's your spirit?

16:40Speaker 4:Yeah, so it has been hard.

16:44Speaker 1:I mean, literally, I mean, I am literally battling the Department of Justice in the United States of America. That's what it says on my docket, like literally when they charge me. And that day, it was like unreal, but it was also scary. You know, at the moment of the time, you talk about manhandling. I don't even remember one woman ICE officer there to, you know, approach us or step in. I mean, literally nothing but men. And the only thing I can truly think about that day was protecting those that was with me.

17:20Speaker 4:That may sound crazy.

17:22Speaker 1:But like as the oldest of four, right? a mom, all I could think about was Bonnie Watson Coleman, who was my colleague, and Rob Menendez as well, and the mayor, all I could think about was one of them getting hurt. Because that's why I kept saying, please don't touch us over and over again, loudly, you know, identified ourselves.

17:48Speaker 4:I mean, really trying.

17:49Speaker 1:To just get these people away from us, you know, because once again, it was a chaotic, space happening, especially when you go into this crowd of a peaceful protest and do something like this.

18:01Speaker 4:I think Rachel did great. And you second that.

18:05Speaker 1:Like, it was just a chaotic situation. And I just was thinking, I cannot feel okay if I leave here today, this scene, and someone has gotten hurt on my watch here.

18:19Speaker 4:In this moment. Like, I..

18:21Speaker 1:I would not be able to sleep, Sophia. All I kept thinking about was putting my hands, the two hands I have, as much as I can around the people that was right there with me to make sure that nothing happened to them. Because that's just naturally a protector wanting to protect people and make sure that they are okay. I think secondly, I'm just still in awe and just disbelief that this is the country, one, where I am an elected congresswoman, that I showed up to do my job and now battling this, right? One, because it has put so much of a toll on me, my family, my community with raising the dollars for this case, for one.

19:04Speaker 1:But then just the stress of knowing that these people, like I know that deep down in the core, a Stephen Miller, a Donald Trump, a Todd Blanche would want nothing more but to see me in like handcuffs, in-person servant time. That would delight them.

19:21Speaker 4:And for me, that.

19:23Speaker 1:Makes me just sad. It saddens me to know that I'm someone who has done nothing wrong, right? I just showed up to do my job. And literally, these people want to put me behind bars. And it's a bigger situation, right? One, I'm a Black woman, a young Black woman that came to this facility to express the power, not the power that I gave myself, but the power that the people of the 10th Congressional District in New Jersey gave me. and do my oversight job. And that irritates them. That makes them so mad and furious that now they decide to go and do this. And so it's really, really sad.

20:02Speaker 1:I think my spirit itself has really held up on most days. I I know that their number one goal too is to see me crack, right? To see the people that they put harm on in their cruelty and just crack and just fall apart. And for me, that's why I try to just invest so much into my spirit to make sure that I'm intact because I never want them to see me there. I don't care if I go in my corner room and cry at night. I would never do that with them, right? To allow them to see me stopping to do my job or changing anything about my joy, you know, and all this resistance against them.

20:39Speaker 4:Like, so I keep my joy intact.

20:41Speaker 1:I keep my spirit intact because I know that's what they would love to see me do crumble.

20:46Speaker 4:And I'm just not doing that. Yeah.

20:49Speaker 2:We'll be back in just a minute after a few words from our favorite sponsors. It's not lost on me. Part of the reason that they've gone after you is because you are young, black, and a woman. Period. And the fact that you found out you were being charged with a crime via Twitter post by Alina Haba, who is in the president's personal pocket. The fact that we've just confirmed Todd Blanche to run the DOJ, who's the president's personal attorney, who allegedly has already promised to pardon Ghislaine Maxwell. And here you are, an elected official doing your job trying to investigate a facility where we've had three deaths, I believe, this year. Delaney is an absolutely brutal place. It's documented that people are not being fed, that food is rotten, that people are suffering, that the guards are brutally beating detainees there, that even people with legal status to be in the U.S. are choosing to self-deport to try to get out. of a place where such harm is being done to their bodies and their spirits.

22:03Speaker 2:And to really close up the full scope for the people listening at home, what is the biggest canary in the coal mine of this to me is that charges against Mayor Baraka were dropped from that day and that you have been able to go back to Delaney multiple times since. They are absolutely, in my personal view, continuing this persecution of you to try to make an example of people whose indomitable spirit for America and its progress they want to break. And I am so sorry. And my hope is that myself and this community that I've been lucky enough to build with listeners and the internet, we want to rally to support you because you have loved and worked for this country in ways that somebody like Donald Trump never would and never will. And so I only list these things out because you shouldn't have to keep doing it to be heard. I'm just so sorry that this is the season you are in when everything else around you is and should feel so good and beautiful.

23:26Speaker 4:Yeah.

23:27Speaker 1:Well, thank you for that, Sophia. I look, Black women have always stood in the gaps. I mean, I'm standing on shoulders of many who stood in the gaps for many different, you know, issues that others.

23:38Speaker 4:Benefited from more than we have benefited from.

23:41Speaker 1:And just that day, you know, I had to stand in the gap on behalf of my constituents and immigrants who, you know, are being detained at this location unlawfully, you know, violated their due process. And it's horrible, you know, but at the end of the day, I.

23:57Speaker 4:Would do it again.

23:58Speaker 1:I would do it again over and over and over again, because one, that is the job that I signed up for. It is what we should be humanly doing morally right. You know, and so I have no regrets, even how hard and painful this has been for my duty to stand up for people and to protect them. And I would do it on any issue, on all issues, because that is what.

24:24Speaker 4:I am here for.

24:25Speaker 1:I think about my 10-year-old who is going on 25. And I think about this baby, you know, in my womb right now where I want to make sure that someone else is going to be fighting for them just as hard as their mom is fighting for others and fighting for them as well. And so, you know, like I said, I have no regrets to what I did.

24:45Speaker 4:It's unfortunate what I'm going through. It's so wrong.

24:48Speaker 1:And as you said, it's a bigger situation. This is bigger than LaMonica MacGyver. And that's why I try to get people look past the young black girl, you know, who's going through this, this is bigger, like, because they can get away with doing an example out of me, which they've already gotten away with really half of it. So by putting me, cause, cause, cause really the process is the pain that that's what they're really truly focused on. That's the point of it all. And They can get away with the end result of it, right? Even if they can't get a guilty conviction at the end of this, they don't care because they've already experienced and took pleasure in what they really wanted to see happen. And that's just the point of it all for them.

25:30Speaker 2:One of the most interesting articles I read about it, because I went through everything, you know, from Vox to the New York Times to the laundry list. And we'll put that stuff in the show notes for our listeners so they can catch up. But someone posited that essentially because the rules around being an elected official mean that you cannot accept pro bono legal help. Like the ACLU couldn't just come in and defend you here. So you have to pay for a lawyer, which requires you to come up with hundreds of thousands of dollars or to drain your campaign coffers, which you need to continue running for office in this country because we still haven't managed to undo Citizens United. And so when you say the pain is the process, it's like, they know they're not going to get you on this.

26:18Speaker 3:You didn't do anything wrong.

26:20Speaker 2:It's plain as day in video, no matter how many times they want to say the opposite. But to be able to really throw your life or office off course appears to be the goal. And that I imagine is hard to stomach, especially when you know, we are seeing this happening at the orders of a president who's stolen hundreds of millions of dollars from our national park, spent billions of dollars of tax money that was not appropriated for him to spend on a war that was never, you know, approved by Congress. When we see him, you know, paying $ 5 million of our taxpayer money to coat statues in gold, but we can't have healthcare, like kids can't have lunch in school. It's just so backwards. And I know the fighting the backwardsness of things is the reason you run for office in the first place, right? So I'm curious for you, prior to the actual incident and this whole mess they've made for you in the wake of it, can you walk us through, like, why does a congressperson go to somewhere like Delaney Hall? What does congressional oversight mean? What is your job? Because I know all this stuff because I stay up late reading like

27:35Speaker 2:a crazy person, but not everybody has time for that. And so I would love if you could kind of explain to people, like, how does this piece of the puzzle fit into your duty as an elected?

27:47Speaker 1:Yeah, well, I mean, it kind of goes back to our lessons in civics, right? When we first get into school, the different levels and branches of government. And in the legislative branch, which Congress and the Senate is considered, we have the ability to make sure that the executive branch is following all guidelines as it relates to the Constitution and other laws that Congress and the Senate has put in place. And so that is why oversight is so important because when you go to a facility, which is a facility like Delaney Hall, who has a contract with the federal government, which I oversee from a certain branch, and they have a $ 2 billion contract, I'm going to make sure that things are being ran properly.

28:30Speaker 4:Properly at this location.

28:32Speaker 1:That one, people are getting the decency that they deserve, being treated humanly, you know, all of these things, right? From the expecting the food, inspecting medical care there. And that is the reason why we go to these facilities to make sure everything is ran properly so we can report back to the committees and, you know, overarching of Congress to say, look, we went to this location, we saw this, we think that we need to Take a look at this. Take a look at that. And in this course of the time that we're in right now with Republicans in charge, that has become more and more difficult because they are turning the blind eye to almost everything that this president is doing. Basically, you know, because they're scared to death of the president. And really, some of them are benefiting from most of this stuff that is happening as well, that no one is being held really accountable for. for what is happening right now. And does that mean that they never will be held accountable? No, that doesn't because I have a laundry list of folks who needs to be held accountable for the.

29:32Speaker 4:Things they have done.

29:33Speaker 1:If Democrats can become in charge again of the house and really have some subpoena power and hold people accountable accountable for what they've done. But that is why oversight itself is extremely important. And while we're just talking about detention centers, right? This goes along the scope of the federal government, like everything, every little thing that is in charge from the federal government perspective is down from the president Congress and the Senate has a responsibility to make sure that we are overseeing that goes to spending all of the things you talked about. All things are problematic to the point where something someone has to be held accountable for it. And, you know, that's why we should not allow them to be able to do something like this to me, because when you're allowed to persecute a sitting member of Congress for doing their job for oversight, you're basically saying to the people that they represent, you're Does not matter.

30:29Speaker 4:You elected them. So what?

30:31Speaker 1:We're going to punish you for doing the job that you elected them to do. And that is why we can't allow them to do this. And everyone should really, truly be outraged about this because they are basically, you know, weaponizing the DOJ and anything else they can get their hands on to basically prosecute people like me, a congressperson, for doing their job. And we have immunity to do our jobs, you know, and that's why it's important.

30:58Speaker 2:Yeah, and you're right. You know, it reads like a mafia movie almost. Like it's a signal to say, don't you do this? Because if you do, we'll do this to you too.

31:07Speaker 4:Yeah, it's like a reality TV show.

31:10Speaker 2:Yeah, it's very scary because to your point, oversight is your job.

31:14Speaker 4:It's how..

31:15Speaker 2:It's how the system of checks and balances were designed in this country. And we now no longer have checks or balances, it seems. And it's very alarming, you know, the overturning of fraud convictions for, you know, billionaire healthcare folks and other people who have fleeced our country. I mean, even Rick Scott, who's an elected, who committed incredible fraud and had all of it forgiven, but supposedly... You know, it's fraudulent to ensure global health with medicine via USAID, which is less than 1% of our entire budget. It's like everywhere you look, up is down and night is day.

31:58Speaker 2:And it's very surreal. Yeah. You know, I pulled up something that's so crazy. Congressional historians were asked to identify when there's ever been a similar charge of a member of the House. And the last time they could find something even related to this was 1799.

32:12Speaker 1:Yeah.

32:15Speaker 2:Like, to put it in perspective for our friends, like, this is just not something that happens. And it's so clearly a personal vendetta from, you know, the Oval Office and the man who occupies it and all his cronies. I'm curious because we know it's crazy, but also in reality, the charge could carry a potential sentence of up to 17 years in prison, which is bananas.

32:43Speaker 1:Yeah.

32:45Speaker 2:Not only for you, you know, as a Congresswoman, but also as a mom, as you said. You have a 10-year-old. You're about to have another baby. How do you process that kind of threat? Where do you go for support to continue this fight with the most powerful man in the world?

33:05Speaker 4:Well, one, Sophia, is much prayer, okay? I am a praying woman. You cannot do..

33:12Speaker 1:This job, you know, any job in the elected office, honestly, you know, it's not my first rodeo in an election in an elected office.

33:20Speaker 4:But, you know, you have to be in extreme prayer and just truly spiritually lifted on a personal point.

33:26Speaker 1:Right.

33:27Speaker 4:Also, too, it's my village. It's my family.

33:30Speaker 1:It is my husband who is absolutely amazing. It's definitely the joy of my 10 year old and definitely my family who keep me together on a personal note. But then it's also to the people that I represent. They have been, I mean, just so strong in support. They have literally everywhere I go, lifted me up, gave me a hug. And people don't understand how lifting that is, you know, to say, got your back. Like, you know, you call us, you rally the call, we're there. And really it has just been extremely, you know, just, just extremely unbelievable, but at the same time, so thankful that they are there for me and what they're doing. I will say some of my colleagues who've been amazing as well since day one, many of them who called from the day one of the situation, you know, and said, what can we do? You know, or we're having prayer with you the next morning or come out to dinner.

34:32Speaker 1:We're going to, you know, be with you. I mean, they've been supportive as well, but I will say like, you know, To me, the support hasn't been where it needs to be, you know, in a moment, because I just think Democrats in general have not been prepared for this moment for this president.

34:49Speaker 4:Right. I think that this.

34:50Speaker 1:Unhingedness, this, you know, volatile situation out of the White House is something that they did not expect.

34:57Speaker 3:Right.

34:58Speaker 1:I have not prepared for it. I mean, Dems constantly are being under attack from this administration and literally the I'm hurting because I'm like the first one literally under this Trump 2.0 to have to experience this. But they're not equipped for this kind of fight. And I think, you know, every day we're finding new ways to navigate and fighting as much as we can, as hard as we can. But I just think me in this situation, why is it so hard to get support?

35:26Speaker 4:You know, why?

35:28Speaker 1:Why are we talking about this girl, you know, trying to get a million dollars to have what she needs?

35:33Speaker 4:To fight?

35:34Speaker 1:How can it be that difficult? You see all of the money being poured into all of these races across the country. And it's just like, I look at my situation, I'm like, I just need one little million dollars to be able to fight this case.

35:49Speaker 4:And how is the establishment as.

35:50Speaker 1:A whole struggling or not falling to the need of Dems who are on the front lines to support them? And that's kind of disheartening for me, too. I try to be understanding because I know things are very difficult. But at the same time, this is my life, you know, and standing up for the rights of everyone, you know, you know, especially immigrants across this country in this cause, you know, which is extremely important. And why is it this difficult? You know, why is it difficult to find support?

36:22Speaker 1:It just makes me sad. And sometimes it feels like the partied. turns their back on certain people, you know, and it's just, it's not fair. You know, it's not, it's not right and it shouldn't be happening.

36:34Speaker 2:So when you say, you know, you're in need of a million dollars, for people who don't quite understand what this looks like, you mean that there are estimates that battling the federal government as a defendant against this trumped up charge, which is ridiculous. Again, if you've seen any of the footage could cost you a million dollars and you are not allowed, as we said earlier, because you're elected to Congress, you're not allowed to take pro bono help.

37:08Speaker 2:So if we're, if we're looking at, you know, one attorney plus however many paralegals or assistants or other attorneys, they need one attorney at seven 50 an hour. it's going to be upwards of a million dollars for you to fight this in court against your own government for doing your job, your job given to you by the government.

37:31Speaker 4:Exactly.

37:31Speaker 1:And just to think, they're using your tax dollars to do this to me.

37:36Speaker 4:Literally, they're using my own tax dollars to prosecute me.

37:39Speaker 2:Yes, we're paying to prosecute you, but you're not allowed to take help to defend yourself.

37:44Speaker 4:Correct.

37:45Speaker 2:So you have to come up with a million dollars for legal fees. And now, to your point, I don't understand why that's so difficult because when you think about the money that's being raised, you know, for elections everywhere, it's like, you know, corporate corporate dems just put 30 million dollars into a race in michigan to try to defeat abdul saeed who by the way like uh you know one hands down thank god i'm so happy he's fabulous but like what do you mean the establishment can't help you raise the money to keep yourself out of prison per political prosecution so that you can continue to do your job i just it it It's hard as one person to think like, oh, a million dollars isn't a lot of money. But when you think about what's spent every month on elections, a million dollars isn't really a lot of money.

38:43Speaker 4:Yeah.

38:43Speaker 1:And that's my point. All of the money being spent out here on elections itself. It is just unbelievable to think that once again, Democrats as an establishment does not have a mechanism or support plan whatsoever. for people like me and others who are battling these crazy attempts from this administration.

39:07Speaker 2:I'm disheartened by the fact that we haven't caught up fast enough to deal with situations like the one you're going through because it's not the only one. The amount of lawsuits, whether it's in the political sphere or even in my world, in the entertainment space, he's suing news organizations for reporting the news. Reporters got cease and desists and claims filed about talking about the fact that they snuck him off of Air Force One in a catering cart.

39:38Speaker 2:And they did.

39:39Speaker 1:They did.

39:41Speaker 2:It's not the fault of the press for reporting the truth. The idea that you prosecute reporting you don't like. is inherently fascist. It is inherently authoritarian. Your case is in authoritarian's playbook. So the fact that they're doing this, they're testing the boundaries and we have got to be prepared to fight them. So I'm curious, because look, we know that the establishment hasn't necessarily, well, they haven't caught up and they certainly weren't prepared, but how can the rest of us be helpful because you said you feel like you're kind of alone. And I know you have support and I know you have folks that are going to come over with something made for dinner. And I know your family is so beautiful, but you are still, you're in a real David and Goliath situation here. And so I wonder what those of us, like the average individual citizen, what can we do? How do we help you? What do you need?

40:44Speaker 4:Yeah.

40:45Speaker 1:Well, the one thing that I think folks are, have been doing and can continue to do is one, continue to bring light to this case. You know, I have no idea how many people I run into and they're like, oh, that was crazy what they tried to do to you.

40:58Speaker 4:I'm like, tried? I'm like, no, no.

41:00Speaker 2:Still going.

41:01Speaker 4:Wait, this is still going on. Like, let me give you an update.

41:04Speaker 1:And I think people just have read about it on the skim and they're like, oh, that's over with.

41:08Speaker 4:That was just nuts.

41:09Speaker 1:Another thing that they did, but it's like, no, this is still going on and we need people to share the story that is happening, right? Continue to lift it up, continue to bring attention to it because ultimately that continues to allow us to continue the movement that we've been building and getting grassroots dollars to fight this case.

41:29Speaker 4:I mean, grassroots, amazing. Chef's kisses to each of you who.

41:34Speaker 1:Found it not robbery to give five and 10 bucks, you know, throughout over, we've been battling this, Sophie, for over a year now, you know?

41:41Speaker 2:It's crazy.

41:41Speaker 1:And at the end of the day, we're just super thankful for them. So I think, those people who are sharing a story, you know, giving the dollars that they have has.

41:51Speaker 4:Been extremely helpful.

41:52Speaker 1:And we encourage people to join the fight with us to get in this fight, you know, be a part of the resistance. And they can do that by just keeping up with me, you know, and keeping up with other of some of my other colleagues who are doing amazing work as well, and battling, you know, this administration. But that's what I would say is the the simplest and easiest thing that people can do in this moment as we continue to find our way and dig our way out of this, out of all this chaos and this cruelty that we are like literally, you know, dealing with.

42:24Speaker 4:It's like hell, you know, I don't.

42:26Speaker 1:Know what hell is like personally, but I mean, if I had to guess my mind on it, it's, this is what we're like, we're going through with this president and this administration.

42:36Speaker 4:Absolutely.

42:37Speaker 2:Absolutely. And now a word from our sponsors that I really enjoy and I think you will too. It's so heavy. And yet earlier you talked about how, you know, you won't let anything take your joy. You'll make sure to keep your spirit high and happy. And, you know... folks who know you and even like the people in your office, when we were setting this up, I loved it. People are like, she's so funny. She's so joyful. You're going to love each other. You know, I'm curious as you, as you hold the weight of this and you also choose your levity and your light, how to do that?

43:25Speaker 2:I know you've given us a little personal perspective on But I'm curious when you think about the zoom out is part of why you think you are so clear headed on making sure to hold the good because you know that there will be a time where you will talk about this chapter of your life with your children and you know that the way you chose to walk through this will be a teaching lesson for them.

43:53Speaker 1:Yes, part of it is definitely that. But I think about my journey altogether.

44:00Speaker 4:Right.

44:01Speaker 1:And the one thing that when I first ran for Congress, specifically Congress, and I got there, you know, I would think about when I'm talking to my staff or staff that was coming on to help them better understand how to lead and work in their space. I wanted them to understand what kind of person I was and what I leave behind. Like, right. what is my legacy of all of this? And I explained to them, you know, I really want to be someone that stood on the right side. This is pre-Delaney Hall situation, beginning, you know, I want to be known as someone who fought for things that were right for people on all fronts, you know.

44:43Speaker 1:And at the end of the day, I want to feel comfortable about that when people bring up LaMonica MacIver, you know, I can leave this earth tomorrow, Sophia. And I want people to say, LaMonica McIver stood on the right side of things, you know, for people, you know, for the better people. And that's all I really think about. Yeah, I think about my children, too. Of course, that is extremely important because, as I mentioned earlier, I want them to know that their mom was a fighter for good. And, you know, that's what people should be doing for them, even when I'm no longer walking this planet. And that's extremely important to me. But it really just goes back to me just always trying to focus on being a good person, what allows me to sleep at night. And I can't do anything that would disrupt that, that would disrupt how I feel about myself, how I lead, how I just walk to the grocery store in my neighborhood and be able to do that. Nothing can disrupt that for me. And that's why I make the decisions that I make because Naturally, I'm a protector. You know, I am a fighter for people specifically. I told you I've

45:54Speaker 1:been fighting since 10 years old, sometimes not for people, but specifically fighting. And, you know, those things have literally just carried on to me, especially being the oldest of four, you know, and being a mom. They just, you know, they carry, you know, with me. And that's extremely important for me. And like I said, I know people grow up, especially in this arena of Congress, And they're like, I always wanted to do this. You know, this was my dream.

46:19Speaker 4:I'm a born leader. And I'm like, no, like, I don't have that same story. That is not me.

46:24Speaker 1:You know, I just knew that I wanted to grow up and wanted the best for people, no matter where they are. And that is why, you know, I really, really, truly do, you know, what I do. And I'm going to continue doing that until there's no breath in my body, you know, left to be able to do that, because that's what we all should be doing.

46:43Speaker 2:Mm-hmm. You're just so very inspiring. I'm catching myself thinking, I just can't wait for the movie about your life.

46:52Speaker 4:You know? That too.

46:54Speaker 1:But you know, another thing too, Sophia, about it, and you brought this up. This too, you know, my grandmother is like, her prayers are carrying me year after year and years over at this point. But she always talks about how these things shall pass, right? This too shall pass. Donald Trump is not going to be in office forever.

47:14Speaker 4:Yeah.

47:15Speaker 1:Those tables are going to turn. Like, you know, they're going to turn because karma is real. I believe in karma, Sophia.

47:22Speaker 4:You know, karma is real.

47:24Speaker 1:And that's why I don't spend so much time, you know, trying to get back at people and, oh, I'm going to get, like, I don't do all of that because I know that it's going to circle the block, you know, on them.

47:35Speaker 4:And they're going to have to deal with the things that they've done.

47:38Speaker 1:Many of them probably already dealing with them in ways that we can't see and can see. And I just know that their day is coming. It's like Malcolm X says, you know, those chickens are going to come home to roost and we're going to watch that play out. And they're going to have to answer for the things that they've done. And that is what, you know, I can't say that I'm looking forward to, but I know that that is going to happen and I'm going to be God willing present for that.

48:04Speaker 4:Yeah.

48:04Speaker 2:I love that. You know, I, my hope as a, as a citizen, obviously I'm not an elected official, but you know, I, I'm invested very deeply in our political sphere because everything in our life is a political outcome. And I think the reality of that has been withheld from people for so long. You know, I think the GOP removed civics from schools trying to engineer this all powerful future for themselves where they could hoard resources and harm other people. But, you know, I am hopeful that when this chapter is over, people will really come to choose to learn about how the world around them works, why they have a sidewalk to walk on or a stoplight on their street or water that comes out of their faucet or the air is not poisonous. All of that is a political outcome. How our children go to school, where and if they have third spaces to play on the weekends, all of these things. And I do believe you're right. I do believe karma is... You know, always at play. I think what frustrates me, though, is the waste, you know, for for an administration that ran on eliminating waste eliminating fraud it's like you're gonna have to raise

49:24Speaker 2:a million dollars to fight a legal battle you never should have that's lighting a million dollars on fire yeah this war in iran that nobody asked for and it was not congressionally approved has lit nearly a hundred billion dollars maybe more now on fire and counting you know, dismantling, we've paid $ 4 billion to stop clean energy projects that were already underway in our country because the president is obsessed with coal. Like he's some, you know, 1950s miner, by the way, a man who's never gotten his hands dirty in his life. It's like, it's so wasteful. And I think what's hard for me is when folks like you are back in the majority and instead of investing in the future, you're going to have to work for so long to clean up the past of what was done by these people and by their greed and by their obsession with political power. And that frustrates me. It's a thing I have to mourn, but it also makes me want to like pull up my big girl pants and get to work because there's a lot of cleaning up to do.

50:31Speaker 4:Yes. And I don't know.

50:34Speaker 2:I think it's worth folks thinking about in those terms. Because sometimes people will say, well, why are you so affected by this stuff? Just don't pay attention to it. And I'm like, I'm affected because I know what the future is going to look like because we allowed for this. I know how much longer it's going to take us to get to whatever metaphorical or literal version of a promised land we want to be in because we're going to be on cleanup duty. And I want us to be engineering a future, not janitors of the past. And it's hard. So I just want to express that when I get kind of down in the dumps about these things, it's leaders like you who remind me like, okay, have your pity party and then get out in the street and knock some doors and like, let's keep it moving.

51:22Speaker 4:Yeah.

51:22Speaker 1:And Dems are going to have a hard, because I'm already speaking into existence for November, right? We're going to have a hard task because we're going to need to deliver quickly on things that the American people need and want who aren't struggling. They are dying to make it each.

51:38Speaker 4:And every day right now.

51:39Speaker 1:And they, Donald Trump can give a damn, you know, he can give a shit about that right now.

51:44Speaker 4:Right. And we have to really.

51:46Speaker 1:Deliver for them, deliver on healthcare, deliver on affordability, all of those things. But we also are going to be charged with delivering justice for a lot of things that have happened, you know, and we have to be able to balance both of those expeditiously, right.

52:02Speaker 4:And effectively.

52:03Speaker 1:And that is going to be a hard task, but we got to roll up our sleeves and get it done. And that is really what I'm committed to come January. You know, I'm committed right now. I was committed hell over a year ago, but when we get those gavels back in our hand, we have to be committed to that. I think of all of this, and I think about a young girl named Ariana, who is in my district, who was detained at Delaney Hall, Sophia. She spent over six months there, a senior in high school who should not even been picked up, should have not even been detained because she did not have a order to do so.

52:44Speaker 1:She was here lawfully attending school, here, didn't break any laws or anything. And six months stuck into Delaney Hall. She missed prom. She missed high school graduation. And To see this young girl's strength, you know, of everything she had to go through in this place, this hellhole of a place. It just really lifted, you know, me to be able to, one, get her out of there, which we successfully did. But then last week, Sophia, the superintendent of the school district called and they worked their asses off.

53:25Speaker 1:The staff from Orange High School, the guidance counselors, everyone. to get her to catch up on all of her classes from the time she was released until the last day of summer school, which was last Tuesday. And they had this little ceremony on for her of red carpet, a cap and gown, gave her her diploma, and everyone gave her flowers. And that there was like a full circle moment for me. Like it was like, you know, because you need, sometimes some of the wins kind of like give you the, the, Courage and a strength to keep fighting. And when that happened, I was just like, oh, this is like a full circle moment where I understand why my personal sacrifice, it's something, but it wraps up to why I do what I do and why I continue to do what I do. Because of people like this young girl.

54:16Speaker 4:Who's done nothing wrong.

54:17Speaker 1:To the world, nothing, innocent young person who was able to get her diploma, walk out of that place and think about what the future holds for her. Know that someone like me is going to be there making sure that justice will be served for her because she can't get back that time. She can't get back that hurt and that pain that she experienced in that, you know, shitty place, you know, that should be closed, you know, should have never been open. And that just gives me satisfaction and really strengthens, enlightens the fight that I have in me to continue to do what I'm doing. And that's what every, that's, that's the stories that everyone.

54:56Speaker 4:Needs to know.

54:56Speaker 1:These are real people. real lives that are being heard in this country. And folks need to hear that. They need to understand that.

55:05Speaker 2:And now a word from our sponsors. Telling people's stories is so incredibly important, especially when we're up against the algorithm that wants to tell stories that divide us, like to tell stories that unite us feels so so profoundly valuable. When you think about things from this moment, you know, you, you've got a real broad spectrum of realities you're holding at the same time. What in your life, and it could be something about office or, or something about parenting or something just for you, what feels like your big work in progress right now?

55:50Speaker 4:Oh, Gee, where do I start?

55:57Speaker 1:I think for me, the main priorities for me is making sure that I am equipped in this fight that I'm in against this awful human being of a president in this administration. So raising the dollars, making sure I got everything I need for this fight. That is the work in progress it's been for me since I looked on Twitter and saw these charges. And then the second thing is raising two beautiful children. You know, people always say, you know, well, you know, the idea of being a young mom and one being pregnant in Congress, I think I'm like under 15 of women carrying in Congress. And I'm the first person from New Jersey that will successfully knock on wood, prayerfully deliver a baby in Congress from New Jersey today. They don't, you know, that doesn't seem like a regular day, you know, walking the halls of Congress.

56:53Speaker 1:So it's a difficult task. It's a system that is truly not set up to support you there. You don't even get a maternity leave in Congress, you know, which is crazy, is all hell. Yeah, but at the end of the day, you know, my joy and my goal to be a great mom, to, you know, raise two amazing humans, two humans who are going to be good human beings in this world, that is a part of my resistance and my joy. Um, and that is what I am super invested in as well. Um, and so for, it's always being a good mom is a work in progress for me.

57:33Speaker 4:Like, you know, am I doing it right? Did I get this right?

57:37Speaker 1:Did I get, did I get the kids to gymnastics on time? You know, am I, am I nesting?

57:41Speaker 4:Okay.

57:41Speaker 1:Like, you know, go on to Instagram or whatever. And I get all these, all of these moms who were sitting around and packing their hospital bag and mine is just, I can't even find it. I'm like, I need to get on the ball. So all of those things are work in progress, you know, for me, but those are the two main things, you know, in this case and definitely, you know, raising two amazing humans.

58:04Speaker 2:Yeah. I love that.

58:06Speaker 4:You know, it's funny.

58:07Speaker 2:You said the thing about moms on Instagram. I'm like, I think I was just having this conversation with one of my girlfriends and we were like, do you think the life hack is, is that if you do the thing to show how you do it, you'll actually do it. You know, like I was like, did all the fitness girls figure it out? Like if you make going to the gym your job, for your Instagram, you have to go. I was like, oh my God, maybe that's what I need.

58:34Speaker 4:That extremely starts to work, I'm sure. Yeah.

58:37Speaker 3:So I'm like, maybe the cute thing with like whoever helps with social media in your office is you're like, this is how a congressional official packs a hospital bag and then you'll do it.

58:49Speaker 4:I'm actually, you know what? I'm taking that cue from you. I'm going to do that.

58:53Speaker 1:I'm going to look to the comps team that may be watching. Let's get on it.

58:57Speaker 4:Yeah.

58:58Speaker 2:Because I'm telling you, this dawned on me 48 hours ago. And now I'm like, what are the things I avoid doing that I could make a video about? And then I would do them. And I started a list. So we'll talk about.

59:10Speaker 4:It next time we see each other for sure.

59:13Speaker 2:Well thank you for being here today is there um is there something we can link to for our listeners you know where they can sign up volunteer donate should we direct them anywhere specifically Yeah.

59:28Speaker 1:They can definitely go to LaMonica for Congress. We have a petition there they can sign, you know, asking for charges to be dropped. If folks want to give dollars, they can do that there. If they want to sign up to campaign, because we are as crazy part as I am in a campaign as well. It's, you know, when people think about it, it's like the case, the case, the case.

59:46Speaker 4:I'm like, yeah, I'm running for reelection. I'm beat primary. I'm up to the general. But yeah, they can do everything right there for LaMonica for congress.com.

59:54Speaker 2:Okay. You ever need anybody to watch the baby? Like we're here.

59:58Speaker 4:Now that I might take you up on before. Oh yeah.

1:00:01Speaker 2:I'm like, just send them over here. We got you.

1:00:02Speaker 4:Yeah, for sure.