Rising Political Star Yassamin Ansari Discusses Her First Six Months in Congress

Arizona Congressional District Three House Representative Yassamin Ansari is fast becoming a political star in Democratic circles.

Since being sworn in last January, Representative Ansari has been an outspoken advocate on policies to make life affordable and better for the American People while openly critiquing Trump-MAGA initiatives on the economy, weakening the social safety net, conducting draconian immigration enforcement, global affairs policies that make America distrusted and weaker, and gutting job creating clean energy projects. 

Her public positions have earned her acclaim for her Democratic Congressional Colleagues and the wrath of MAGA racist fanatics like Trump bestie Laura Loomer. 

Representative Ansari graciously interviewed with Blog for Arizona to discuss her first six months in the House and her views on the wrong direction Mr. Trump and his MAGA loyalists are taking Arizona and the country. 

The questions and her responses are below.

Please describe how the passage of Mr. Trump and MAGA Republicans Reverse Robin Hood Economic Bill impacts the ability of Arizonans to be able to:

a) Afford groceries, prescription drugs, and housing.

b) Qualify their children for free school meals. 

b) Enroll in Medicaid and to the Affordable Care Marketplace.

c) Go to Planned Parenthood or a Rural Hospital.

c) Receive Student loans and/or Pell Grants to go to college.

“Thank you for the question, David. Unfortunately, the Trump bill kicks 17 million people nationally off of their health care and makes premiums, deductibles, and co-pays soar for millions more. This bill cuts more than one trillion dollars from federal health care programs, including the largest Medicare and Medicaid cuts ever, including a 500 billion dollar cut to Medicare in Arizona. Specifically, 365,984 people will lose health insurance, and five rural hospitals will be at risk of shutting their doors. There will be a $700 average increase in premiums for people in Arizona’s third district, covered under the Affordable Care Act.”

“It also makes the largest cut to nutritional assistance ever by cutting SNAP by 20 percent while forcing states to cover more of SNAP’s cost, which could lead to dozens of states eliminating SNAP entirely. Red tape requirements will cause five million people to lose food assistance and put tens of millions of kids at risk of losing school breakfast and lunch. In Arizona, at least 73 000 people across the state could lose some or all food assistance.”

“Third, it increases energy cost. There will be devastating cuts to clean energy that will cause families to pay an average of $400 more per year nationwide. Seniors and low-income people will also have an even harder time getting assistance to pay their energy bills. An average $490 yearly increase in energy bills for Arizona families will take place as a result and it will also kill more than a million jobs. Data shows that these devastating cuts to clean energy will cost more than 840,000 jobs in just the next five years, and an additional 790,000 jobs over the next 10 years. 27,000 manufacturing and energy jobs in Arizona would be eliminated.”

“Finally, the bill weakens our public schools and makes higher education more expensive. It creates a permanent unlimited tax credit for private school vouchers that undermine our public schools while attacking protections for student borrowers. 89,612 students in Arizona could have their Pell Grants cut or eliminated entirely, and all of this to add four trillion dollars to the debt. This includes $700 billion in interest payments alone. It will cause our debt to rise to as much as 128 percent of our GDP by 2034, threatening to bankrupt our country and mortgaging young people’s futures.”

Please describe how the passage of Mr. Trump and MAGA Republicans Reverse Robin Hood Economic Bill impacts Arizonans who rely on the Green and Blue-Collar jobs now likely jettisoned by the legislation’s gutting of Infrastructure-Clean Energy projects. 

“Well, look over the last couple of years during the Biden Administration, Arizona benefited significantly from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and the Inflation Reduction Act because of the jobs that were created, and we’re going to be created in Arizona. I received many calls from labor leaders in Phoenix over the last couple of weeks in particular and even from conservative labor unions, and labor leaders representing the electricians, for example, who could not fathom why any Republican would vote for such a job killer. As I mentioned in Arizona, 27,000 manufacturing and energy jobs will be eliminated as a result of the devastating cuts to clean energy tax credits. It’s a shameless giveaway to big oil and to billionaires. It dismantles clean energy, raises electricity bills, opens public lands to polluters, and guts environmental protection.”

Please describe how the passage of Mr. Trump and MAGA Republicans Reverse Robin Hood Economic Bill continues their war on science and knowledge in general?

“The cuts to federal science spending will cost every American in some way, shape, or form. The Trump Administration’s proposed federal budget for the coming year calls for deep cuts upwards of 50 percent in some cases to the federal agencies that fund the majority of science at America’s universities. Just today, there was a report that over 2000 senior staff are set to leave NASA under an agency push. 2145 employees are those in GS13 to GS15 positions. These are senior level government ranks that are typically reserved for those with specialized skills or management responsibilities. The losses are particularly concentrated at higher levels, with 875 GS15 employees that to leave according to the documents. And then there’s other examples that we can look at. I mean, look at what is happening in Texas right now. It’s horrifying and the fact that the Trump Administration earlier this year decided to cut funding from critical agencies like NOAA, FEMA, and the National Weather Service certainly undermines our abilities to prepare for and respond to disasters, just as climate catastrophes are becoming more frequent and more severe. So, there’s a lot in terms of the war on science and knowledge that is taking place, especially under the leadership of RFK Junior as well. Another alarming recent development is that measles cases in the U.S are higher than ever.”

Please describe how the passage of Mr. Trump and MAGA Republicans Reverse Robin Hood Economic Bill impacts Arizonans with its funding of ICE to greater levels than all the other federal law enforcement agencies combined and the construction of detention centers-concentration camps to terrorize people and subsidize private prison donors and fans of Stephen Miller.  

Under Trump and Republicans budget bill, ICE will have an unprecedented amount of funds to ramp up mass deportation campaigns. This Administration is all about corruption and authoritarianism, watching them funnel money to ICE. It’s clear that the plan is to weaponize the military to carry out their agenda and make sure that their corporate friends’ profit. The private prison industry gave significant amounts of funding to Donald Trump. This is an issue I have been sounding the alarm on since the beginning of my term, and they helped him secure the Presidency. They’ve already made billions of dollars in profits because this Administration is trying to quadruple detention center capacity across the United States, Even in the midst of very alarming reports about horrific conditions everywhere, some of those I witnessed myself in Arizona. Look at what is happening while they’re ripping away health care from 17 million Americans and yet they want to increase the funding for ICE and DHS by billions of dollars so that they can continue to terrorize communities.”

 Will you and your colleagues in the house be suing DHS to give you immediate access to inspect these detention centers rather than the 72-hour notification they are trying to impose? Please explain.

 “This unlawful guidance is clearly a blatant attempt to block oversight and hide abuses in detention centers. It’s certainly outrageous. It’s illegal to try to stop members of Congress from doing our jobs. We’re not going to let this intimidate us. We will continue conducting oversight, exposing abuses, and holding the Administration accountable so that they cannot continue to get away with this. There have been members of Congress across the country, showing up at their detention centers, and many of us are very active on this issue, and I hope that we’ll continue to be. I think looking at legal avenues to push that are always important, but in the meantime, we’ll continue to do our jobs.” 

Has Donald Trump, through his actions with Israel/Iran/Gaza, Ukraine/Russia, reductions in USAID, raising the national debt, and proposals on tariffs made the United States safer, more trustworthy, and economically stronger? Please explain

“Congress must assert its constitutional authority. Donald Trump has no idea what he’s doing. His policy whiplashes from day to day demonstrate that he has no strategy. No plan for a quote ‘day after.’ He’s willing to risk American lives and shredding the Constitutional role of Congress only because he personally wants to take the credit. He and the people around him who are advising him on foreign policy not only do not understand diplomacy. They also don’t understand the history or culture of the countries that they’re seeking to change.”

“An interesting report from June’s Joint Economic Committee. It’s a minority report which finds that the combination of President Trump’s tariffs and the Republican budget bill will cost the typical firefighter teacher, truck driver, and other middle class worker hundreds of dollars next year, while the wealthiest Americans will get massive windfalls.”

Please describe how rewarding your first six months in the House of Representatives representing the Arizona Third District has been. 

“I am extremely grateful for the last six months representing Arizona’s Third District in Congress. I get asked this question all the time and it’s impossible to really accurately state just how corrupt and authoritarian this regime is in the White House and Donald Trump is very much operating like a dictator and overriding Congress and trying to go beyond Congress at every turn. Nevertheless, this has been the most rewarding time of my life. Since being sworn in, I’ve been focused on doing everything in my power to hold the Trump Administration accountable and protect the people in my community. I’ve also introduced 11 pieces of legislation in Congress with a few more bills coming very shortly, not including the ones that I’ve co-sponsored. These bills do everything from lowering costs for everyday Americans to protecting the dignity and legacy of immigrants and countering the Trump Administration’s agenda. I’ve also joined a third committee recently, the House Committee on Education and Labor and I’m looking forward to being a voice for our teachers and students and families across the district.”

What have been two pleasant surprises and two challenges since taking office? 

“I think the most surprising and also disheartening thing has been working with Republicans and just how much of an iron grip Donald Trump has on his party. In many cases, my colleagues on the other side of the aisle have made very clear that they have no intention of working with Democrats in any way, shape, or form, even on issues where we could possibly agree on. Unfortunately, many of them have no compassion for the people that they represent. We’ve seen it at every turn that many are choosing to bail out billionaires instead of feeding those in our community who need help the most. Again, this budget that Trump signed into law cut 736 billion dollars from Medicaid and will leave millions without health insurance. Many of these people live in Republican districts. I think it is very surprising to see that they’re willing to vote for these things.”

“I think when it comes to pleasant and good surprises, I think I’ve been really excited to work with my colleagues on the Democratic side, So many of the people I work with now, I’ve long admired and have been role models of mine. There is a lot of willingness to provide mentorship and advice and collaborate, and that’s been really exciting.”

Is there anyone on your team you would like to cite for making your job easier, and helping the office function smoothly?

“Oh my gosh, I couldn’t pick just one, but I would like to give a shout out to my entire team. They are incredible. They work so hard. We have a very young and diverse team, reflective of Arizona’s Third District. There was a profile a while back that highlighted our all female leadership team, the diversity of immigrants and children of immigrants in our office. This truly is a very hard-working team. Many of the issues that we work on and take on happen very quickly, like the visit to El Salvador, for example, to advocate for due process. That trip came together in a matter of a day or two, so the entire team was working to make sure we had all of the information and that everything was planned that we were able to be impactful and so much of what we do because of the chaotic nature of this Administration happens very quickly and spontaneously, and I couldn’t do it without my team.”

Please describe how effective your team has been at community and constituent outreach and keeping the people informed of events and legislation happening in Washington D.C. Will you be setting up workshops to help people, when the time comes, fill out new Medicaid and SNAP enrollment forms with the new requirements when they come out?

 “I’m incredibly proud of the work that the team has done both in DC and here at home to support our district from day one. We’ve been focused on meaningful engagement and hosting a number of listening sessions and think over ten town halls now to hear directly from those that I represent. We consistently host mobile office hours in all parts of the district. So far, I think we’ve covered all portions of the district, including Phoenix, Glendale, and Guadalupe. Our casework team has been hard at work too. So far, we’ve closed over 235 cases and return more than 346 thousand dollars to constituents, And we’ll continue to conduct every type of engagement we can do, whether it’s filling out new Medicaid and SNAP enrollment forms. But also, we’ve done immigration workshops. We will be hosting resource fairs in the fall. We want to be as engaged in the community as we can and excited to partner with organizations that want to work with us.”

 Is there anything not covered in the previous questions that you would like the readers to know about your first six months in the House Representatives? Please explain.

“I would just like to encourage people to reach out to my office. We can help you with federal agencies, including the Internal Revenue service ( the IRS,) the Social Security Administration, U.S citizenship and immigration Services, Veterans Administration, and more. We have a physical office in Phoenix, and our phone number is 602-956-2285, and we’re always available. So, just want people to know that we’re here, and a safe place to seek help.”

Please click here to access Representative Ansari’s Congressional website.