Congressman Lieu welcomed the UCLA men’s volleyball team and women’s water polo team to the Capitol in 2024. (photo courtesy of U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu’s office)

For more than a decade, U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu has served in Congress, becoming a tireless fighter for underrepresented communities and authoring legislation to protect civil rights, advance technology and improve the environment.

Lieu recently reintroduced the Protections and Transparency in the Workplace Act to combat sexual harassment and discrimination, and the Renewable Energy for U.S. Territories Act, which will ensure more people have access to electricity. He has been a strong supporter of veterans, securing funds to renovate the VA Medical Center campus in Westwood. A longtime advocate for senior citizens and people with disabilities, Lieu held a town hall meeting in July 2025 to keep residents informed about potential cuts to Medicare.

While the veteran lawmaker is extremely familiar with the intricate balance between opposite sides of the aisle in the U.S. Capitol, he said Washington, D.C. currently feels like a different place. In describing the state of affairs under the Trump administration, Lieu doesn’t mince words.

“This is the most corrupt administration I have ever seen. The president has engaged in a number of transactions so he could benefit his family or himself, and he is not looking out for the American people,” Lieu said. “It is completely mind boggling that he accepted a gift of a luxury 747 plane from the country of Qatar. He has done all sorts of transactions in the crypto arena that benefit him personally. It looks extremely corrupt and it is corrupt. That is something that we should not see in any American president. And the House Republicans are simply standing silent while he engages in this corruption.”

The frustration is apparent in Lieu’s voice. The veteran Democratic lawmaker said the livelihoods of millions of people hang in the balance, and the extent of damage to the country will be felt for years to come.

“The president campaigned on lowering costs and on cost of living issues, and he has not only done nothing on those issues, he actually made it worse. Inflation has increased under the current administration, the tariffs that the president has put in place are increasing prices and we know that the economy is slowing, with one of the worst jobs reports since the pandemic,” said Lieu, adding that divisions between lawmakers in Congress are fanning the fire. “I was in the state legislature for nine years and now my 11th year in Congress, and I’ve worked with Republicans many times on many different issues. But during Trump’s first term, something started happening where I would look at an orange on a table, and my Republican colleagues across would say, ‘no, that’s an apple.’ If you can’t agree on basic facts, that makes it very hard to go forward. A number of my Republican colleagues are in a different natural universe than the overall majority of Americans.”

Lieu said the Trump administration’s cuts to health care pose some of the biggest threats to the American public, and he sees seniors, people with disabilities and those living on fixed incomes facing higher premiums or losing critical care. Cuts to key programs under Trump’s 2025 federal spending bill will ripple throughout Los Angeles and across the nation in the coming months, Lieu said.

“Based on preliminary data, over 14,000 of my constituents will lose health care coverage because of cuts being made to Medicaid. In addition, the Big Ugly Law also made a cut to the Affordable Care Act, so anyone on the ACA is going to see their health care premiums rise later this year as well. This law also essentially triggers a $500 billion cut to Medicare, so we expect to see less services.”

Lieu also staunchly defended UCLA as Trump froze funding and threatened public universities.

“UCLA is an engine for innovation and research, not only in our community but nationally as well. The UC system is among the best public university systems in the world and offers affordable college options for Californians,” Lieu said. “As a world-class academic institute, UCLA leads the charge on medical research, technology development and scientific discovery. The Trump administration’s outrageous and myopic decision to go after universities puts our country at a serious disadvantage when it comes to national security and international competition.”

Although the country is going through a tumultuous time with many challenges that lie ahead, Lieu said he remains focused on making progress. The former U.S. Air Force colonel is one of the only Congress members with a background in computer science, and he stays focused on pressing issues such as protecting the nation’s cybersecurity. As co-chair of the House’s Bipartisan Taskforce on Artificial Intelligence, Lieu stressed the importance of harnessing the benefits of AI while protecting humankind.

“My first priority is to make sure we all don’t get killed from AI, so I [authored] a bill that essentially says we’re never going to let AI launch a nuclear weapon by itself. And I’m pleased that last year, my bill was signed,” Lieu said. “There always has to be meaningful human control. I think we need to also put in guardrails to make sure that AI doesn’t get out of control, doesn’t harm humans, and we need much more transparency and disclosure among the AI companies.”

Lieu said he will continue to fight for constituents and stakeholders in the 36th Congressional District and asked them to look for ways to get involved. He encouraged people to join neighborhood groups, express their viewpoints on social media and write letters to the editor. Most importantly, he said members of the public must continue to hold leaders accountable and never become complacent.

“I think Abraham Lincoln had it right when he said, ‘Public sentiment is everything. With it, nothing can fail; without it, nothing can succeed.’” Lieu said. “I urge people to understand their own power to shape public sentiment. Make sure you speak up and speak out. That’s the way that we will make sure our country continues to be the best it can be.”