One year after insurrection, Rep. Auchincloss still worries of 'systemic threats to the orderly transfer of power'

Rep. Jake Auchincloss had only been in Congress for three days when protestors stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. His first term as the representative for the 4th Congressional District was quickly followed by an inauguration and an impeachment.

"That first month set the tone for the next 11 after it," he told host Aaron Schachter on Morning Edition today, reflecting on the attack one year later. As a Marine veteran, he said the Capitol felt like a patrol base in the weeks that followed.

“I have served in Afghanistan and Panama. I'm familiar with what a patrol base feels and looks like, and we had battalions-worth of National Guardsmen and women with assault weapons and barbed wire fencing surrounding the Capitol, an unhealthy posture and dynamic for the people's house to make it feel like a fortress,” he said. “But, unfortunately, I think reflective of where the true threats to our democracy come from.”

Last March, Auchincloss vowed to not co-sponsor any bills with Republicans who voted against certifying the 2020 vote, a vow he has stuck to and defended.

“I cannot represent the values of my district in concert with people who would undermine 250 years of democratic tradition because of their concerns about a mean tweet from Donald Trump,” he said. “It's just unacceptable to me.”

Division between Republicans and Democrats is “worse than it’s ever been,” according to his congressional colleagues, yet Auchincloss is hopeful that this moment can be instructional in how to move forward. He cited an early speech by Abraham Lincoln, who said our nation of freedom must survive, or die by suicide.

“And that is as true today as it was one hundred and fifty years ago,” Auchincloss said. “The threats to our democracy are of our own making, and they can be of our own solution as well.”

Some of those solutions include getting rid of the filibuster and passing voting rights legislation, he said.

“What I am worried about, what does keep me awake at night, is the systemic threats to the orderly transfer of power. Jan. 6 was not a historical event,” he said. “This is current events. This is ongoing and we need to pass the Protecting Our Democracy Act and the Freedom to Vote Act to ensure the separation of powers in Washington and to ensure free and fair elections throughout the states.”

Auchincloss noted that January 2021 also included the passage of the American Rescue Plan. “Those first four Wednesdays established the three key initiatives that defined 2021 and I really think are going to define 2022, as well,” he said. “And that is to say, putting the pandemic behind us, putting a strong economy ahead of us and protecting the integrity of our democracy.”

He encouraged people to keep an eye on the upcoming 2022 midterm elections, especially the GOP primaries where Republicans who supported Trump’s false election claims are running in many states.

“We can't let that fear be paralyzing,” he said about getting involved. “It needs to be galvanizing.”