Care to comment, Lieutenant Governor Hashmi?

Yeah, you know, the issue is, of course, complicated, and many court cases are currently under review.

But, you know, in Virginia, we've actually banned masks for a long period of time.

It's been part of the Virginia code to not have public masking.

It is an effort to ensure that the public has trust in the people that they are interacting with, especially if they are law enforcement.

So that has been a longstanding uh provision in virginia code now that was changed of course during covid it was a temporary change to permit public masking for public health safety reasons but with the end of the covid crisis we have gone back to the original standing and it is just so especially important if we are going to ask members of the public to put faith and trust in our law enforcement officials, that they be able to recognize credentialed officers appropriately, that they understand what is happening, and that the people that they are encountering are not inflicting terror.

So what we have seen from the federal government is masked individuals showing up and arresting members of the public and not even offering the credentials to demonstrate that they are actually federal agents.

As Lieutenant Governor, what is your role with regard to the fate of this merger?

Is that in line with what you've heard around Virginia?

It certainly is.

No matter what locality we've been to, we've been hearing consistently the concerns from so many citizens about what, uh, this merger will mean for their electric costs, but also the fact that we are handing over, uh, our necessary state control to an outside company.

And, you know, NextEra is going to be a behemoth, uh, should this merger go forward.

It will also be, uh, uh, speaking to the issues within South Carolina, North Carolina, Florida, Virginia, uh, and I am faced with a critical concern about where will Virginia land in this.

Uh, where will our ratepayers be in terms of priority, uh, in any decision that's being made, and I'm not confident yet that I've heard that, uh, NextEra is going to prioritize Virginians.

We need a company in the-- inside of Virginia to respond to Virginians.

Do you think there's any possi-- like, any benefits that could come from the merger?

Your gross domestic product, uh, will actually decrease.

I agree fully.

You know, America has always built its communities and resources through the efforts of so many different im- immigrant communities.

Uh, we get the research talent, we get the scholarship, we get the entrepreneurial efforts, all from so many people around the world.

People around the world hold fast to the idea of America.

It is an idea that has stood the test of time.

It's an idea that appeals to so many individuals because they know all the opportunity that this nation has to offer, but also the fact that it's based on a democratic principle, that every single person has a right, has a right to life and liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Um, what do you say to folks, uh, to change their idea of how to win elections, based upon how y'all have been effective here in Virginia?

Talk to us a little bit about the redistricting, the vote and what's happened since then and kind of what our direction should be.

Sure.

Yes.

You know, Virginia's effort to redistrict mid-decade was not happening in a vacuum, as you know.

It was the consequence of some of the very egregious actions, that very deliberate gerrymandering that Donald Trump ordered other states to do, Texas and Florida, Georgia, Alabama.

We were seeing all of these efforts to really stack Congress in favor of Donald Trump, in favor of Republicans in these midterm elections.

And so as a consequence of what was happening nationally, Virginia had a responsibility, had a responsibility to ensure that we are fighting back, that we're protecting not just Virginians, but also our country.

So as we wrap up, give us a little bit of sort of insight into your goals and aspirations for the rest of this year as you come up on, you know, kind of the first full year as lieutenant governor.

How do you see the role, your role, of working with the administration in Washington?

Well, one thing we have seen across states that have Democratic leadership is the opportunity to build coalitions and to respond to the unconstitutional actions and the direct attacks that, uh, we see coming out of the Trump White House.

And now that we are moving into Democratic leadership here in Virginia at the top with a governor and attorney general and myself, we are able to join those other states that have filed lawsuit after lawsuit and have challenged, uh, what the administration is doing.

We saw this most particularly last week when 20-plus states with Democratic leadership filed lawsuit against cuts to SNAP benefits and two federal judges upheld, uh, that lawsuit and are now requiring the disbursement of those, uh, critical, uh, resources to cover SNAP, uh, costs.

And so this is the, the ability that we have in this new administration to challenge, uh, the Trump White House rather than capitulate to it in the ways that we've seen our current, uh, governor and attorney general doing.

But personally, I wonder, does, how does this moment feel for you?

you?Well, it feels tremendous, most especially because of the reactions and the responses that I'm hearing, not just from Virginians, but all across the country, uh, especially from young women, women who come from diverse backgrounds, uh, and, and other faith traditions.

Uh, they see an opportunity, they value the representation and they know how critical it is that, uh, diverse voices be at every level of government and also in those spaces where historically our perspectives and our representation has not been, and, uh, they, they understand that value, and I'm, I'm very delighted to, to be the first, uh, but I certainly know that I will not be the last.

... your commonwealth is under attack? Like, why, why do you want this job?

Well, you know, Ben, I decided to run for office myself, uh, for the first time in 2019.

Prior to that, I spent almost 30 years in the college classroom.

I'd never intended to run for office, and I felt like I had to speak up and, uh, uh, represent communities that I care about deeply.

As an immigrant and as a Muslim, uh, I was particularly appalled when Donald Trump came into office in his first administration riding a wave of bigotry and Islamophobia and, uh, seeking to divide this nation.

Um, I taught American literature, [laughs] and so, uh, three decades of, uh, helping my students to understand the complexity that is our American history and those texts that, in particular, define our American identity, has been my life's work.

And I decided to run in 2019 so I could respond to the, uh, the crisis that I was seeing emerging in this country from the Trump administration.

Talk to us about that before we go, because- I want people to also know that you're a fighter and on the front lines of this issue to save our democracy.

Like, why, why do you want this job?

Well, you know, Ben, I decided to run for office myself, uh, for the first time in 2019.

Prior to that, I spent almost 30 years in the college classroom.

I'd never intended to run for office.

And I felt like I had to speak up and, uh, uh, represent communities that I care about deeply.

As an immigrant and as a Muslim, uh, I was particularly appalled when Donald Trump came into office in his first administration riding a wave of bigotry and Islamophobia and, uh, seeking to divide this nation.

Um, I taught American Literature (laughs), and so, uh, three decades of, uh, helping my students to understand the complexity that is our American history and those texts that in particular define our American identity has been my life's work.

Talk to us about that before we go, because I want people to also know that you're a fighter and on the frontlines of this issue to save our democracy.