Episode 15: The Oregon Democrat, who will become the chair of the Senate Finance Committee, also talks about impeachment, social media regulation, an alternative to policing and more
After an unprecedented attack on the U.S. Capitol building last week, Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) joined the Street Roots Podcast, calling the turn of events a domestic terrorist attack and sharing his concern for staffers who were at the Capitol.
“In these kinds of situations,” Wyden said, “everybody always helps the members and the like. I was particularly concerned about the incredible crew in the Capitol that does so much to be welcoming to our visitors, and the cooks and the housekeepers. People telling them to lock themselves in closets. That’s not what America is supposed to be about. What I do is have town hall meetings, where people have strong views, but it’s peaceful. That’s not what this was about. It was violent.”
Since Wednesday’s attack, Wyden has expressed support for impeaching President Donald Trump.
“When I went to the floor of the Senate,” he told podcast host DeVon Pouncey, “I said: Look here. Let’s remember Donald Trump is going to be here and is a clear and present danger for essentially the next two weeks. And I tried to make clear to the Senate that we had to take action to protect the country.”
Wyden said removing the president through the 25th Amendment, which would require action by the vice president and Cabinet officials, would be faster, “but I’m supportive of that and impeachment in order to protect our country,” he said.
On the podcast, Wyden also reaffirmed his support of Section 230 Communications Decency Act. The law, which Wyden co-wrote in 1996, protects websites from being held liable for content users post.
“The point of Section 230 was to make sure that the person who created and posted the content was responsible for the content,” he said. “And the person who was in effect inciting all of that violence online was Donald Trump, so Donald Trump would be the person to hold accountable.”
Wyden is poised to become the chair of the Senate Finance Committee once Georgia Sen.-elects Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock are sworn in, giving Democrats control of the Senate. On the podcast, Wyden discussed his agenda as chair, with topics ranging from cannabis, racial health care disparities, COVID-19 relief and unemployment.
Wyden also said he believes the divide in Congress that was created under the Trump administration will be mended under the Biden-Harris administration. President-elect Joe Biden is already taking the necessary steps to do so, he said.
“The first comment he made when he won the election,” Wyden said about Biden, “was that I’m going to represent all the people, the people who voted for me and who didn’t, and that’s kind of my calling card because in a 50/50 Senate, we’re going to have to work together because there are a lot of needs that our communities have.”
Wyden also discussed his CAHOOTS bill, modeled after a crisis response program in Eugene. CAHOOTS, an alternative to policing, also served as a model for Portland Street Response, a program championed by Street Roots that launched this week.
Pouncey couldn’t let Wyden leave the podcast without asking his stance on the Portland Trailblazers during the early point of the new NBA season. “I’m feeling good about it,” Wyden said.
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The Street Roots Podcast reflects the opinions of host DeVon Pouncey and his guests.
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