U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego, in 2017.
Ruben Gallego will become the first Latino to represent Arizona in the U.S. Senate when he is sworn in today.
“It's the beginning of me fighting for all working Arizonans, and I look forward, Lord, to follow through on the promises to bring lower costs for our families, to keep our families safe, and to protect our fundamental rights.”
Gallego’s historic win came after a campaign against Republican Kari Lake, who President-elect Donald Trump recently appointed to lead Voice of America–a federally funded international media network.
“I hope she has learned that misinformation is not appreciated by Americans, and this is why I think we had an election the way it outcomes,” Gallego said. “I hope that she will take that lesson and effectively be the director of Voice of America.”
Top Issues
Ahead of his swearing-in, Gallego said he would prioritize issues like border security during a changing presidential administration.
“We're not going to run to the barricades when they use words like mass deportations, because even now, to this day, they have not really qualified what their plans are. So we're going to wait and hear what their actual goals are, see if we can work together.” Trump promised mass deportations during a campaign stop in Arizona last year. During Thursday’s press conference, Gallego called for more investments in law enforcement while also looking toward immigration reform.
Gallego is also looking towards affordable housing solutions.
“Doesn't matter where I went in Arizona, people were complaining about the lack of housing,” he said. “The fact that we can't find affordable housing for most Arizonans is a problem.”
Another top issue is settling outstanding water rights settlements for Arizona’s northeastern tribal nations, like the San Juan Southern Paiute, Navajo, and Hopi tribes.
Last year, those tribal nations attempted to push for Congress to pass what would have been the largest Indian Water Rights settlement in U.S. history. That piece of legislation would have provided the funding to build the necessary infrastructure for tribal nations, like the Navajo, to bring water to their people. As it stands, nearly a third of Navajo households lack running water. However, those settlements, which took decades for tribal nations to come to an agreement on, were not passed before the end of the legislative session.
“It really makes me hopping mad, because I worked a lot with our 22 federally recognized tribes to make sure they had representation,” Gallego said.
Some tribal members have expressed concern over whether the bill, which has a $5 billion price tag, would pass under a new administration. Gallego says it needs to be a “top priority” of this Senate and House to finish settling native water rights.
“When Native American tribes in Arizona get a secure water future, that means the rest of Arizona has a secure water future…and the fact that we as a federal government have not given them that security is, I think, defaulting on our trust responsibility that we owe them.”
Beginning Friday, Gallego will serve on the Banking, Veterans Affairs, Homeland Security, and Energy and Natural Resources committees.
Gallego will be taking over Kyrsten Sinema’s seat after she decided not to run for reelection. Gallego was a five-term House member, serving on the House Armed Services Committee and Natural Resources Committee.
Before his political career, Gallego served in the Marine Corps and fought in the Iraq war.
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