Kitsap News Group freelance reporter Mike De Felice traveled to Washington, D.C., to interview U.S. Rep. Emily Randall about her new job in Congress representing District 6. In this, the second of a three-part series, she talks about her first 100 days in the U.S. Congress.
A whirlwind is a way to describe 6th District U.S. Rep. Emily Randall’s first 100 days in Congress.
Coming from the state Legislature, where she served as state senator for the 26th District for two terms, Randall had to adjust to the more toxic environment of Washington D.C. politics. She also crisscrossed the 6th District, which includes Kitsap County, to hear from constituents at emotionally charged town halls, and unsuccessfully tried to bring Elon Musk before members of Congress for questioning.
The 39-year-old Democratic congressional freshman from Bremerton has faced several challenges working in the marbled halls on Capitol Hill. In addition to a nearly 3,000-mile weekly commute, she has had to contend with, at times, a poisonous atmosphere in the U.S. House of Representatives.
“In Olympia, I felt like I had really good relationships with my colleagues on the other side of the aisle. We could work together and try to brainstorm a middle-of-the-road path on something,” she said, pointing out the relationship she had with state Republican Sen. Jeff Holy.
“We met once a week to talk about policy. We also had lunch together and talked about grandkids and horses, or what motivated each of us. It was human.
“Here [in Washington D.C.] it feels like even Republican members who might be interested in bipartisan cooperation don’t feel safe to work with Democrats. It feels like they’re being given orders from this administration and the Speaker to tow the party line. That’s sad to me,” she said.
Randall recalled the first congressional committee hearing she participated in nearly came to fisticuffs.
“Sometimes it does feel like it’s Bravo TV. At the hearing, [South Carolina Republican] Nancy Mace challenged [Texas Democrat] Jasmine Crockett to take it outside,” Randall said.
Despite the political drama in Congress, Randall recognizes that the people’s business must prevail. The new congresswoman ticked off a list of areas she focused on in her first months in Washington, D.C., most of which are tied to ensuring federal assistance continues to flow to the district.
Preventing Medicaid cuts is her immediate concern as budget talks preoccupied Congress. “It’s our job to tell people what is really at risk. Republicans say, ‘We’re not cutting Medicaid,’ but that’s what the budget instructions say to do.”
Changes to Medicaid could impact many in Kitsap County. One in five individuals in Kitsap (20.4%) have Medicaid coverage, per a report by Georgetown University’s School of Public Policy.
“The majority of patients at Peninsula Community Health Services are on Medicaid,” she said. “If Medicaid takes the cuts that Republicans are proposing, then they will have to significantly shift the way that they do business, if they’re able to stay open at all.”
Maintaining Medicaid is personal to Randall. The social health care program enabled her family to withstand the costly medical expenses of caring for her sister Olivia, who was born with complex disabilities, she said.
Maintaining federal funding for housing is another concern.
“Kitsap, like so many places, is in an affordable housing and homelessness crisis. We see it by the waterfront in Port Orchard. We see it in Bremerton by the Salvation Army. Folks are living in the woods. The new shelter on Mile Hill is super important to meet some needs, but not all of them. Temporary shelters are important, but so is permanent housing, and not just folks at risk of homelessness but working families who are struggling to afford skyrocketing rents,” she said.
Food programs must continue to receive federal support, she added.
“What will happen to the food banks across rural America providing emergency food assistance when they no longer get the federal funding to keep their shelves full, like the food bank in Bremerton, which is the hub for the county. They use most of their federal dollars to buy produce and meat and food.”
Budget cuts to the Veteran’s Administration (VA) by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) also need to be scrutinized, she said.
“People are already worried about being able to get appointments in time for the care that they need – there are long wait lists at even the VA clinic in Silverdale. I am also worried [that] a veteran’s housing program to prevent foreclosure is being cut,” she said.
Town halls
Randall believes an essential part of her job is to keep in touch with constituents back home.
To hear from those in her district, Randall has hosted eight town halls since being elected. Two of those were held in Kitsap County, both at Olympic College in Bremerton.
She found that those who attended the question-and-answer sessions were worked up.
“They were mad, scared, anxious. You could see people’s emotions — some welled up, some were raising their voices. There is a lot of frustration and fear in our communities. That’s the overwhelming message that I got in every county in the district,” Randall said.
“They don’t know what’s happening day-to-day — whether it’s their job that Trump and Musk and DOGE are coming for next, or Medicaid cuts,” she said.
Veterans who fought for their country and work as civil servants at Naval Base Kitsap said they were being disrespected by virtue of job cuts made by the Trump administration, she said. They were getting e-mails every week asking them what five things they did to earn their job.
Some attendees complained that elected Democrats are not doing enough to rein in President Trump.
“I told people at my town halls [that] I am also frustrated with the typical tools that we use as a minority party to oppose. The procedural tools are dissatisfying. They are ineffective.”
Having Republicans in control of Congress and the White House is tough, Randall admitted. Being the minority party means Democratic leadership is unable to control committee agendas and initiate investigations into actions by the administration. Still, Democrats press President Trump whenever possible, she said.
“We are fighting in Congress — writing oversight letters, asking questions, introducing other legislation. We are also fighting in the courts,” she said.
During her town hall sessions, Randall encouraged citizens to take action, as they wield significant clout.
“I tell my constituents that their voices are some of the most powerful voices. In the history of our country, we haven’t really seen the government protect us from the government. It’s the people who hold government accountable.
“I encouraged folks who have not been political to write letters to the editor to their local paper, to use their social media, to speak up in their book club, to tell their story about why this president’s cuts are damaging to them,” she said.
During her first 100 days, Randall said she conducted some symbolic protests.
One involved her and the ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, of which she is a member, attempting to bring Elon Musk before the committee to be questioned under oath.
“No one had a more high-profile position as a special employee of the executive branch than Elon Musk at the beginning of Trump’s term. He’s making all these decisions for government efficiency — quote, unquote. Why wouldn’t we bring him into committee to talk about what he’s doing and bring the concerns of our constituents about accessing taxpayer records?” she said.
Republicans, as expected, voted to table the request, allowing Musk to dodge being questioned, she added.
Another instance was when Randall walked out of President Trump’s joint address to Congress last March.
“I went back and forth about whether or not to go, but at the end of the day, I decided, you know, this is the ‘People’s House,’ the House of Representatives. If I don’t go, they’re just going to fill my empty seat with someone who will stand up and applaud.”
What prompted her to leave midway through his speech was when Trump pointed to a cancer survivor child who wants to be a police officer.
“It was a delightful child, a miracle story. But, the hypocrisy of watching this when the president and these congressional Republicans try to cut Medicaid, cancer research and life-saving care. It was heartbreaking and disgusting. That’s when I left.”
The final installment of this series will cover U.S. Rep. Randall’s involvement in the Puget Sound Recovery caucus and the debut of a new caucus she is forming focused on the importance of ferry transportation.
