by Matthew Yoshimoto

“Tough week,” Rep. Ro Khanna remarked to a crowd of a couple hundred at a town hall in California’s 17th Congressional District in Silicon Valley.

A leading progressive voice in the House, Khanna was reelected Wednesday with about 66% of the vote, defeating Republican Anita Chen, who received 34%. This district has been held by the Democratic Party since 1990.

Before addressing constituent concerns, Khanna reassured the crowd that his office would continue to be “a resource for anyone who is vulnerable in the community.” With the incoming Trump administration, he highlighted the need for vigilance, warning of policies he described as “completely contradictory to our values.”

He urged his constituents to stay engaged, emphasizing the power of grassroots activism to counter harmful policies that, he argued, could separate families through restrictive immigration measures or further increase the cost of living.

Speaking with AsAmNews, Khanna expressed disappointment about the election outcome.

“I was all in for Vice President Harris—not just because she’s a Californian and someone I’ve known for 20 years, but because I believed in her forward-looking vision for America on climate, on women’s rights, on gun safety,” Khanna said.

Reflecting on Harris’ loss, Khanna emphasized the historical significance of her candidacy as an African American, Indian American woman who garnered significant support as a major party nominee.

When AsAmNews asked Khanna how the Democratic Party could address economic challenges, he stressed the need to bring new industries to America and ensure workers benefit through profit-sharing. He advocated for policies like raising the minimum wage, affordable childcare and Medicare for All to help ease high healthcare costs and rents.

Regarding the partial shift of working-class votes to Republicans, Khanna told AsAmNews that Democrats must focus on revitalizing American industry. He argued that policies supporting wage growth and worker protections—not the Republican-proposed tax cuts for the wealthy—are key to regaining the trust of working-class voters.

“We have a better vision to actually build the new factories to get good paying jobs, that we’re actually for workers having high wages, that we have the vision to invest in apprenticeships,” Khanna said to AsAmNews. “The Democratic Party is what industrialized America.”

During the town hall, a speaker asked about immigration, in which Khanna acknowledged concerns about the recent rate of immigration but rejected mass deportation, calling it unfair to target undocumented individuals who contribute to society. He shared the story of a community member balancing medical school while undocumented after 20 years in the U.S.

In response to a question about the Republican Party’s agenda to eliminate the Department of Education, Khanna argued that cutting federal education assistance would be a backward policy, especially when the country needs more investment in education. He expressed skepticism about the proposal passing but warned it could still be pursued through subtle means like defunding or firing staff.

“We live in one of the greatest countries in the world because we have regulations,” Khanna said. “We can debate about certain regulations too much […] but this idea that you just want to throw a sledgehammer and start to eliminate people whose job it is to protect the American people is very short-sighted, and we need to make sure that we’re vigilant [with the new administration].”

Khanna also addressed concerns about marginalized communities, highlighting the new African American Cultural Center and stressing the need for affordable housing, rent intervention programs and higher wages to combat the high cost of living and homelessness.

Regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict, Khanna called for a secure Israel and a Palestinian state, advocating for governance without Hamas involvement and emphasizing a solution that includes both parties with international support.

Khanna noted that Democratic governors must protect Californians’ rights under the incoming administration while also working on bipartisan issues like the CHIPS and Science Act to bring semiconductor manufacturing back to the U.S.

He pointed out how rising healthcare, childcare and housing costs, along with stagnant wages, contribute to income inequality and the erosion of the American dream.

Looking ahead, Khanna emphasized the need for generational change in leadership, reassuring that by 2028, a new generation will lead the Democratic Party, focusing on addressing economic pain in certain communities and the President’s role in tackling these issues.

“The primary mission of the Democratic Party has to be to reduce this inequality of opportunity, of where there is wealth, to create new jobs and higher wages for people in communities left out. By doing that, we can start to heal this country and have reconciliation, and the party also needs to make sure we’re not supporting more foreign interventions and more that are a distraction from building community care at home,” Khanna said to conclude the town hall. 

AsAmNews is published by the non-profit, Asian American Media Inc.

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