Gabe Amo made history in 2023 by winning election as the first person of color to represent Rhode Island in Congress. The Pawtucket native was 35 at the time, emerging from a crowded field of 11 Democrats to win the First Congressional District seat vacated by David Cicilline.
Now, Amo and his fellow Democrats find themselves on the outside looking in when it comes to political power in Washington. President Trump continues to push the bounds of executive authority, backed by staunch support from most congressional Republicans. At the same time, Trump faces headwinds on issues ranging from the economy to the Jeffrey Epstein files — and Democrats saw strong results in statewide and local elections across the country last month.
So how does Amo see a path forward for his party heading into the midterms? And are there any effective checks on President Trump’s growing accumulation of power?
Those were among the topics discussed when Amo sat down with host Ian Donnis.
Interview highlights
On how Republicans may try to use the expiring health care tax credits politically
Gabe Amo: “For 15 years, Republicans in Congress have been trying to undercut, undermine, and undo the Affordable Care Act without any real solutions… The solution is, come to the table, extend the enhanced premium tax credits, let people get the health care they want, stop the cuts, save health care. That’s what we’re asking for.”
He warned that 15,000 Rhode Islanders could lose marketplace coverage: “There are going to be 15,000 people in the state who will just not be able to get health care on the marketplace. They’ll drop out.”
On what Democrats need to do differently heading into the midterms
Amo: “When you lose a major election, you are going to feel it and it will hurt Democrats. We lost the White House. We didn’t win the House or the Senate, and that hurts. But at the same time, that should bring us new resolve in the face of what we see with Donald Trump. But we can’t just rest on our laurels and say, ‘Being in opposition to Trump is everything,’ because that’s part of the problem.”
He said Democrats must present a forward-looking vision: “We need to put forward a positive vision of what we want in our country…We have to make sure that the economic futures of our communities are tied to real progress for everybody, not just a few. That’s a positive vision. So Democrats, if we’re approximate to people and we deliver a good message and actually do the things we care about, then that will change the narrative.”
On what ‘real progress for everybody’ looks like
Amo: “I am very fixated on housing as a way forward for people… If you look at recent statistics in the age of a first-time home buyer that is climbing to 40, that makes it very difficult to grow wealth.”
He added that young people need more pathways: “When a student graduates from high school in Rhode Island, they have a multitude of pathways forward… that they’re not saddled with endless amounts of debt.”
And on AI: “How do we have an agenda that incorporates technology that is mindful of the negatives, but also helps us unlock our possibilities with AI?”
On mistakes the Biden administration made on immigration
Amo: “I think the Biden administration made errors as it related to the immigration challenges that we are now experiencing as a result of Donald Trump going radically in a direction that frankly nobody really asked for… What we’ve seen with Donald Trump is an immigration enforcement that borders on terror.”
He called for long-delayed comprehensive reform: “We need real comprehensive reform… the negatives that are permeating the entirety of our country because of this action is going to be something we feel for a long time.”
On why economic anxiety persists — and Democrats’ communication challenges
Amo: “I think we have done some of the work… There are people who got health care for the first time (under the ACA)… It’s actually more popular than it’s ever been.”
But he said Democrats must better communicate achievements: “We cannot just expect people to know them on their own.”
And he argued Trump has weakened the economic landscape: “Donald Trump has done nothing to make an economy where everybody can thrive… he is making it harder for the future, leaving us with deficits, with this big ugly law to the tune of $5 trillion.”
