ARIZONA – Senator Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) joined The Arizona Republic’s Ron Hansen on The Gaggle Podcast to discuss the ongoing government shutdown, Trump’s immigration raids, accountability in a post-Trump America, and news of the day.
Listen here, and read excerpts from the conversation below:
On the Republican shutdown and Republicans’ plan to raise health care costs for 24 million Americans:
“With everything being [as] expensive that it is right now, people are going to lose it when they realize that because of the inaction of Congress and the White House, that their premiums are going to go up. […] We have to make sure that we extend these ACA tax credits to make sure that insurance stays affordable. I’m not going to get 100% of what I want. It’s not going to be permanent. I know that, but we have to at least have some level of stability for families or they’re going to have their insurance rates just doubled.”
On Trump’s economy:
“Look, the everyday American doesn’t need to major in economics to understand that they’re getting screwed. […] People are kind of starting adding it up, and they attribute it […] to tariffs. They’re not dumb. I think a lot of politicians – Democrats, Republicans – think like, the average person is really dumb. They’re very smart about what’s happening to their wallet.”
“Since getting to Congress, largely my legislation has always kind of been involving one of two things, either talking about security – personal security, home security, family security – or talking about, you know, the family economics. Being able to pay bills, being able to save a little money, and be able to take a vacation once in a while, you know, get treated like a human being.”
On accountability and President Trump’s blatant politicization of the Department of Justice:
Gallego: “The man has zero shame. And he thinks that the government, the federal government, is really his toy to play with when it’s not. I think it’s gonna be hard to keep him accountable, because I think he’s gonna just pardon himself.”
Hansen: “Have you thought about what should be the top priority post-Trump, as far as kinds of legal protections, a super structure around the government?”
Gallego: “Well, I think number one, looking to the DOJ and figuring out how to make the DOJ truly independent [from] influence from the executive in terms of being able to be a weapon of the president. In terms of the role of Congress versus the president, if Congress says we are funding this program, and we have voted for this program, the President of the United States should have to execute that. Will I like that all the time? Absolutely not. […] But guess what? That’s what the Constitution says.”
On the Latino community in the U.S.
“What is happening around [the] Latino community is our communities are being essentially raided. Our men and women are being racially profiled in the streets. People in our community that, yes, are in this country illegally, but have been part of a community for a while and would love nothing more to become US citizens, or get some type of temporary relief are not getting that. And then the economy is as bad as it’s ever gotten. […] We’re Latino. This is America, part of American culture. And I think we have a very rich American culture, and we’ve been contributing to [it]. The fact that they’re trying to deny that to us, I think it’s also been a very hard, hard take.”
10/22/25