JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
The balance of power in Congress is still up for grabs. Republicans have won a majority in the Senate, but the battle for control of the House is still playing out. We do know that state Senator Sarah McBride, a Democrat, won in Delaware. The Representative-elect is pretty well-known for a soon-to-be freshman House member. She made history as the first openly transgender member of any state Senate, among other national firsts. Last night, though, as she thanked her state for voting for her, she said, and I'm quoting here, "I didn't run to make history. I ran to make a difference for my state and this country." And she joins me now. Representative-elect, welcome and congratulations.
SARAH MCBRIDE: Thank you so much and thank you for having me.
SUMMERS: You have made it incredibly clear that you want people to think of your policies before they think of your identity. So in that spirit, I want to ask you, what are you hoping to accomplish during your term? Give us a sampling of the policies that are top of mind for you.
MCBRIDE: Well, over the last year and a half, I've traveled up and down the state of Delaware, talking to Democrats, independents and Republicans about the issues that are top of mind for them. And this campaign, my time in the Delaware State Senate and my time in Congress have been and will be focused on bringing down costs facing families by providing affordable health care, child care and housing for all of our neighbors.
SUMMERS: No matter which way the house goes - and we still don't know yet - the margins are going to be tight, and working with Republicans is going to be essential for getting anything done. What will your approach be to legislate across difference?
MCBRIDE: What I've found is that when you move past the issues that are in the headlines, that are trending on social media, you're able to move past some of the base incentives in our politics that prevent people from working together. I know that's going to be more difficult in D.C. than it has been in Dover, but I truly believe that when we give up on that openness to collaborate, we ultimately give up on our ability to have a democracy.
SUMMERS: President-elect Donald Trump has made his opposition to rights for transgender people a centerpiece of his campaign. I'd like to hear your reflections on this political moment that we're in as the country looks ahead to a second Trump presidency.
MCBRIDE: Sure. Well, there's no question that Donald Trump spent a lot of money scapegoating and fearmongering around a very small and vulnerable segment of our country. Look, I think there's a lot of fear right now. People are very scared. And I think with that fear often comes a lot of questions about how this happened. And I think there are going to be some people who will be pointing fingers at various communities in this country, blaming them for wins or losses.
For some undecided voters, they looked at the first Trump administration, and they thought - I disagree with this - but they thought we survived those four years, and they felt like the economy was better for them then. And they decided to pull the lever for Donald Trump. And I think the reality is, is that we're going to see attacks on freedom for so many vulnerable people across this country. And it's going to be our job in Congress to defend the rights and to defend the freedoms of all of the people that we represent.
SUMMERS: You're a Democrat. What do you say to voters who, today, are waking up and having a challenging time with today's news and with a second Trump presidency that perhaps they didn't think was likely or even possible?
MCBRIDE: Well, I share the fear that so many people across this country have for what four years of Donald Trump will mean. But I also believe that this country has faced seemingly impossible odds before - odds much greater than the ones that we're facing right now. And yet, they persevered. They summoned their hope. They found the light, and they changed the world.
And so I have to believe that if we do what every previous generation of Americans have done before us, if we continue to summon our hope, we will make this moment what an advocate I know once called a slingshot moment, where, yes, we are pulled backward, but the pressure and tension of being pulled backwards ultimately propels us to destinations that we've never been before. And I believe this can be that kind of moment.
SUMMERS: That's Sarah McBride, Democratic Representative-elect for the state of Delaware. Thank you so much.
MCBRIDE: Thank you.
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