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As aprogressive Democrat who supports the Green New Deal and "Medicare-for-all," Rep.-elect Kai Kahele, D-Hawaii, has had to temper his aspirations for the new Congress.

Instead of a blue wave, the 2020 election results indicated thatAmerica just wasn't ready yet for the seismic shifts that he backs.

"We're still a divided country,"Kahele, a combat veteran, told Fox News during a recent interview."And clearly, from looking at the map, there's a lot of work that still needs to be done."

Kahele, a state senator and military pilot, said the Democratic losses in the House were tough and unexpected, signaling to him that Democrats need tofocus more on educating thepublic about the good of their policies that Republicans have sought to demonize.

ILLINOIS REP.-ELECT MARIE NEWMAN REJECTS SOCIALISM TAG; TELLS GOP TO 'GET OVER IT'

"It's going to take education. It's going to take relationships," Kahele, 46, said. "Obviously, if we have slimmermajoritiesin the House, [if] we don't have the United States Senate, some of these big, bold ideas are probably not going to be able to happen."

Kahele madehistory on Nov. 3as just the second Native Hawaiian elected to Congress to represent the Aloha State since itbecame the 50th state in1959. He succeeds Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, to represent the 2ndCongressional District.

Kahele says the progressive vision for health care, a green economyand a $15 minimum wagecan improve lives. It just maytake some convincing.

REP.-ELECT YVETTE HERRELL RELATES TO TRUMP'S VOTER FRAUD CLAIMS: 'I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT HE'S GOING THROUGH'

Kahele arrived in Washington for congressional orientation as thousands of President Trump supporters were rallyingin D.C. refusingto accept the results of the 2020 presidential election.

Rep.-elect Kai Kahele of Hawaii's Second Congressional District arrives in Washington for congressional orientation in November 2020. Kahele madehistory as just the second Native Hawaiian elected to Congress to represent Hawaii since it became the 50th state in1959. (Marisa Schultz/Fox News)

The show of force is indicative of Trump's broad appeal to a wide swath of the country, Kahele acknowledged. He said the party needs to do a better job of talking to Trump-backers and hequestioned how theylost these voters when Democrats fight for the concerns of working men and women.

"I don't understand it," Kahele said of Trump's loyal base. "But I'm going to listen to it,make no mistake about it, because it's a force to be reckoned with."

"... As somebody who comes from a middle-class family who is a strong member of a union,I just don't think President Trump's policies help middle-class families in this country."

GEORGIA REP.-ELECT CAROLYN BOURDEAUX, ONLY DEMOCRAT TO FLIP SEAT, SAYS PARTY SHOULD TALK TO TRUMP SUPPORTERS

Like the vast majority of Democrats in Congress, Kahele never supported defunding the police.Still, he said the Republicans' effort to ascribe the Black Lives Matter demand to allDemocrats may have hurt them at the ballot box in swing districts.

He believes in socialism only in the context of medicine. He touts his experience with Veterans Affairs (VA) hospitals as a shining example of how socialized medicine could work.

"I've benefited from a great example of socialized medicine in this country the V.A.," Kahele said. "And so hasmy family. My daughters were born in military hospitals. Of course, that's a benefit for giving my service to my country and many other service veterans out there, but it is an example of socialized medicine."

"You have a military hospital. You have military doctors. You have military nurses, you have... great care that they give. Why can't we extend that to all Americans? We already have Medicare 65 years of age or older.Why can't we extend that to everyone?"

Rep.-elect Kai Kahele, D-Hawaii, is a pilot in the military as well as for Hawaiian Airlines. "I've always had the ability to bring people together," Kahele said. "In times of crisis, I function at my most optimum in a high-stress situation." (Courtesy of Kai Kahele for Congress)

In order to bridge the divide between red and blue, Kahele wants to start by building bonds.

During freshman orientation, Kahele was surrounded by a sea of Republicans due to Democrats' numerous House election losses.

To break the ice, he handed outbusiness cards to his fellow reps with a picture of him, his wife, Maria and their three daughters. The card says how to pronounce his last name, "Ka-heh-lay" and lists sixHawaiian values,such as "ahonui" or patience.

"I've always had the ability to bring people together," Kahele said.

Instead of making the grueling 13-hour commute every week from his hometown of Hilo, Kahele's family is moving to Washington. Kahele is already talking about hosting barbecues, going to church and playing baseball with fellow lawmakers in the hope that friendships can give way to bipartisanship.

Rep.-elect Kai Kahele, D-Hawaii, with his wife Maria and their three daughters. (Courtesy of Kai Kahele for Congress)

He madean early connection withTexas GOP Rep.-electAugust Pfluger, a fellow veteran and father to three daughters. He wants their families to meet.

REP.-ELECT AUGUST PFLUGER OF TEXAS CALLS BIDEN OIL PLANS 'EXTREMELY ALARMING'

Pfluger, too, wants to work with Kahele on issues likestrengthening the military, national security and agriculture.

"I've enjoyed getting to know Kai," Pfluger said. "We have a lot in common from both being Air Force pilots, coming from agricultural districts and being girl dads."

Born the son of a U.S. Marine and flight attendant, Kahele grew up in Hawaii with a respect for military service and a love for flying.

Standing 6 feet, 3 inches, Kahele became a collegiate volleyball playerat the University of Hawaii.

He laterfollowed his passion for flight and became both amilitary pilot and a commercial airline pilot for Hawaiian Airlines.

Kahele joined the HawaiiAir National Guard in 1999 and achieved the rank of lieutenant colonel. He's beendeployed many times in the Middle East,flyingC-17 jets during combat missions into Afghanistan and Iraq.

Rep.-elect Kai Kahele has served in the Hawaii Air National Guard since 1999. The pilot has flown combat missions in Iraq and in Afghanistan. (Courtesy of Kai Kahele for Congress)

Kahele's start in politics was bornout of tragedy.

His dad, Gilbert Kahele, was always active in Democratic politics. But it wasn't until he retired from civil servicethatGilbert became a state senator in 2011 at the age of 68.

Gilbert's Senatecareer, however, was cut short by a massive heart attack in January 2016.As he was hanging on to life at the hospital, he asked Kaheleto consider completing his work in the Senate.

Kahele, who had no political experience,agreed to his father's final request to put him at ease. Afew weeks later, the governor appointed Kaheleto fill out the remainder of his late father's term.

Rep. elect Kai Kahele, D-Hawaii, announces his primary challenge against Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, R-Hawaii, in January 2019. (Photo Courtesy of Kai Kahele for Congress). (Courtesy Kai Kahele)

Kahele quicklytook to politics and earned leadership roles in the Senate. Three years later, Kahele made a bold decision to primary challenge the popular Gabbard just after she announced her 2020 presidential run. Kahele saidthe people of Hawaii needed full-time representation.

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The early campaign launchpaid off when nine months later Gabbard announced she would not seekreelection for her House seat to focus on her White House bid. Kahele had boxed out more Democrats who might have sought to compete for a vacant seat.

He won the Democratic primary easily, despite taking four months off from the campaign for active duty withHawaii National Guard in responseto the coronavirus pandemic.

As he arrived in Washington last month for orientation,Kahele marveled that it's been four decades sinceSen.Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii,made history in 1976 as the first Native Hawaiian to be elected to the House.Akaka went on to serve in the U.S.Senate from 1990-2013.

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A 10-year-old Kai Kahele is pictured here on a family trip to Washington D.C. with then-Rep. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii. Kahele is pictured with his mother Linda, father Gilbert and sister Noelani. Kahele will be just the second native Hawaiian elected to represent Hawaii in Congress after Akaka. (Photo courtesy of Kai Kahele.)

Kahele reflected on a vacation he took with his family to the nation's Capitol in 1984 when they met with Akaka, a friend of his father's. The family posed for a photo with the lawmaker on the steps of Capitol, and a young Kahele had no inkling whatsoever he would be the next Native Hawaiian to make history in Washington.

"Who would have ever thought that standing on the steps in United States Capitol in 1984 would be a little 10-year-old boy who would be the second congressional representative for Hawaii of Native Hawaiian ancestry standing next to the first?" Kahele said.

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Democratic Rep.-elect Kai Kahele, combat veteran, says Trump supporters are 'a force to be reckoned with' - Fox News

If only the Democrats in D.C. were as nice to conservatives as they are to Chinese spies maybe the country wouldnt be so divided.

Do you agree, U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell?

According to reports, the California congressman and former presidential candidate had a close relationship with a Chinese national called Fang Fang.

How close? Well, Axios reported that, Amid a widening counterintelligence probe, federal investigators became so alarmed by Fangs behavior and activities that around 2015 they alerted Swalwell to their concerns giving him what is known as a defensive briefing.

This is where the story getsreallyinteresting.

Fang left the country unexpectedly in mid-2015 amid the investigation, the report reads. In other words, not long after Swalwell was briefed by the FBI, Fang Fang skipped town.

Im no Sherlock Holmes, but the timing of Fangs sudden farewell seems slightly suspicious to me. But rather than resign or even admit wrongdoing, Swalwell did what all good Dems do when in a bind he blamed Donald Trump. After all, being a Democrat means never having to say youre sorry.

When asked about the Axios report, Swalwell said, Ive been a critic of the president. Ive spoken out against him. I was on both committees that worked to impeach him. The timing feels like that should be looked at.

Swalwell has spoken out against the president. In fact, he was one of the most prominent promoters of the bogus Russia hoax. He once even accused the presidents son of being a Russian agent on live TV.

During a hit on MSNBC, Swalwell criticized Trumps son for meeting with a Russian lawyer and said, Stated plainly, the presidents son met with a Russian spy.

Perhaps if Swalwell had merely had one meeting with Fang Fang, he wouldnt be in his current predicament. But based off the reports, he did far more than meet her.

Perhaps worse, as of Saturday 10 days after the original Axios report was released the congressman has not been kicked off the House Intelligence Committee. Speaker Nancy Pelosi says she has full confidence in Swalwell.

In reality, she simply doesnt want to give President Trump the satisfaction of seeing one of his most smug detractors dumped.

Former House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdytold Fox News, Thats the best Nancy Pelosi could do?At 230 members, the best you can come up with is a former city councilman in California whos not smart enough to know when a woman is expressing interest in you, [whether] shes a spy?

But in all fairness, why should Eric be treated any differently than the other well-known liberals who are in bed (or in cars) with Chinese spies.

Theres Sen. Dianne Feinstein, another sharp-as-a-tack California pol, who employed a Chinese spy as a driver for over 20 years. The mainstream media had little interest in Driving Miss DiFi. They have even less interest in Erics explosive scandal.

After all, these respected publications like NPR and the New York Times have bigger news to cover like Mayor Petes love of airports or Hunter Bidens new art gallery.

According to Vanity Fair, Hunter creates his work with a metal straw he uses to blow alcohol ink onto Japanese Yupo paper, creating abstract layers of colors and concentric circles.

The smartest man Joe Biden knows is not just an artist. He also has made a name for himself in China. No, not because of his concentric circles, though Im sure those will be well received.

ABC News reported that a source familiar with Hunter Bidens tax probe said investigators are particularly interested in a 2.8-carat diamond he received from a Chinese business associate in 2017.

While Hunter says the ring is valued at $10,000, his ex-wife Kathleen claims its worth closer to $80,000.

Either way thats a lot of metal straws!

All of this begs the question: Do we have to get to the bottom of the Democrat leaders untrustworthy relationships with members of the Chinese Communist Party?

Can someone ask Rep. Maxine Waters if she can connect the dots between a Chinese businessman, a 2.8 carat diamond and the former vice presidents troubled son?

Does Pelosi think all roads lead to Xi Jinping, as they did to Putin?

And perhaps most pressing: Is Joe Biden really confident that China wont eat our lunch, or is he just confident that theyll pay for his?

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Curley: Democrats, as usual, look the other way on Eric Swalwell scandal - Boston Herald

WASHINGTON Democrats on Friday shot down Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortezs campaign for a prized seat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee instead appointing fellow New York Rep. Kathleen Rice.

The New York congresswomen had been jockeying for the seat and lobbying colleagues behind the scenes, but Rice ultimately won in a vote of 46-13, Politico reported Friday.

The committee oversees everything from public health to climate issues, foreign commerce and consumer protection.

Democratic lawmakers on the Steering and Policy Committee were reportedly forced into an awkward vote Thursday when some members presented their views on who should win.

According to Politico, some Democrats cautioned against giving the plum role to AOC, 31, because she had encouraged several liberal challengers to take on her own colleagues.

Im taking into account who works against other members in primaries and who doesnt, Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) said on the call.

Other members on the Energy and Commerce Committee reportedly worried how Ocasio-Cortezs progressive policies, including the Green New Deal, could cause problems in the new Congress, where Democrats will have a slimmer majority.

Rice, 55, a Long Island Democrat and former prosecutor, said she was honored to be selected.

New Yorkers deserve a fighter to lower the cost of prescription drugs, address climate change and improve our drinking water, Rice said in a statement to Patch.

I look forward to working with my colleagues to help the incoming Biden-Harris Administration combat the COVID-19 pandemic and build back our economy.

Rices appointment to the committee marks a huge turnaround in fortunes for the lawmaker, who was denied a seat on the powerful House Judiciary Committee after she spoke out against Nancy Pelosis speakership.

Ocasio-Cortez has recently echoed Rices calls, telling the Intercept she believes the 80-year-old needs to go but has no clear successor.

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AOC passed over by Democrats for spot on key House committee - New York Post

Florida Republicans dominated the most competitive races this year, flipping five state House seats, a state Senate seat and two congressional seatsheld by Democrats.

And the winning candidates including Sarasota state Rep. Fiona McFarland in six of these eight swing districts have something in common they all are women.

The GOP often is viewed as the party of older white men, but 2020 was a big year for GOP women in Florida, and it didnt happen by accident.

I think the speaker-designate in the House definitely made it a goal to recruit quality female candidates, said Anthony Pedicini, a GOP consultant who worked with GOP state House Speaker Chris Sprowls on legislative races.

The Florida GOP used the same playbook that Democrats used in 2018 when they won many of these same swing seats with female candidates, a number of whom were defeated by GOP women this year.

Pedicini said the swing voters in these swing seats often are women, so it makes sense to give them a candidate they can identify with.

From a pure political, practical standpoint, when suburban women were going to decide so many of these races, Pedicini said, the GOP should put up candidates that look like those voters.If were trying to convert suburban women, the message carrier should be one of their own.

Voters want to be able to identify with a candidate, Pedicini said.

There are two questions a voter asks when deciding who to vote for: Is that candidate like me and do I like them? he said. And if they answer yes to both of those questions, youre likely to get them to vote for you.

Pedicini noted that its still important to recruit quality candidates who have strong credentials. McFarland, for example, is a Navy veteran with leadership experience and an extensive record of service. Running a good campaign also matters. McFarland raised more money than her opponent and knocked on more than 25,000 doors during the general election.

But all things being equal, Pedicinibelieves women have an advantage.

Definitely being a political practitioner you want an edge in the election, I think female candidates give you an edge for many reasons, Pedicini said, adding: I give an edge to the women because I think theres a sincerity, a connection.

McFarland said that when she was considering running for the District 72 seat, which covers much of northern Sarasota County, she heard from consultants that a female candidate had the best shot at winning the seat.

It worked for Democrats in 2018. Sarasota Democrat Margaret Good flipped District 72 from GOP control two years ago. This year, Democrats nominated Sarasota attorney Drake Buckman to run against McFarland. He ended up losing by 9.2percentage points.

Still, McFarland said she didnt focus on the gender issue during the campaign. Instead she tried to emulate other aspects of what made Good successful in 2018.

I looked at how she flipped the seat ...in my mind she won because she raised a lot of money, and she knocked on a lot of doors and worked real hard and had other personal attributes not related to gender that made her successful, McFarland said.

But McFarland doesnt discount gender being a factor, saying some voters might want to see more women in office and some may assume women are better listeners and consensus seekers and thats something people want in this time of divisiveness.

McFarland is glad to see diversity among the new crop of GOP elected officials, which wasnt just a trend in Florida this year.

Its pretty cool, isnt it? She said. Im proud of the Republican Party but I think its indicative of the times.

The 2020 election resulted in 17 new Republican women in Congress, boosting the partys female representation to a record level, according to the Washington Post. Republican women defeated 10 of the 13 Democratic incumbents who lost their seats in Congress.

Its about time, right? Pedicini said of the GOPs diversity push.

Of course, the GOP still has plenty of white men in office. Floridas congressional delegation has 16 Republicans and just one is a woman, Maria Elvira Salazar, who defeated a Democratic woman in a Miami swing district this year.

However, the delegation also added a Black Republican man and anotherHispanic Republican man this year, bringing more diversity.

McFarland noted that diversity can take many forms.

To me when I say diversity I think diversity of experience is most important and in some ways thats guided by sex or race or ethnic background, she said.

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Florida GOP found success in swing districts this year with female candidates - Sarasota Herald-Tribune

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., supports bringing earmarks back with limits. J. Scott Applewhite/AP hide caption

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., supports bringing earmarks back with limits.

When earmarks were a regular feature of congressional business, Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, D-Mo., said Democrats and Republicans were able to cut more deals and pass more bills with bipartisan support.

"This used to be time where everybody was 'Hallelujah,' I mean Republicans, Democrats, dancing, kissing. This is the time to be saved," he recalled at a congressional hearing this year in regard to legislation such as the highway bill.

Cleaver served on the bipartisan Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress that Democrats established after they won control of the House of Representatives in 2018. One of the conclusions issued in the committee's final report released in October: Bring back earmarks. (The committee ditched the term "earmark" for a new "Community-Focused Grant Program.")

The committee's recommendations were weighed after hearing testimony from advocates such as the Brookings Institution's John Hudak, who has long argued the earmark ban overcorrected the problem. Then-Speaker John Boehner instituted the ban in 2011, but the practice had been under scrutiny for years following a series of spending scandals in the mid-2000s. Democrats overhauled the process when they controlled the House from 2007 to 2010, but they did not ban them.

"Earmarks were painted as a coven for corruption, a practice reserved for the funding of needless projects to benefit the friends, supporters and donors of members of Congress. Much of this was hyperbole, as earmarking was only abused by a handful of members in the past," Hudak told the committee.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., is one of the leading advocates to reinstate earmarks but with stricter limits and more transparency. He argues the ban didn't stop earmarks; it just transferred spending power from Congress, where it constitutionally belongs, to the executive branch, where it doesn't.

"My belief is that members of Congress elected from 435 districts around the country know, frankly, better than those who may be in Washington what their districts need," he told the House Rules Committee in October.

In the past decade, both parties have attempted and failed to reinstate earmarks primarily due to concerns about how it would play politically. Currently, there is broad support for it among House Democratic leaders, including Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C., and incoming House Appropriations Committee Chair Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut. "It is a dynamic environment, and I think we are in a better position now to move forward in this area," DeLauro told NPR.

Steve Ellis runs Taxpayers for Common Sense, a budget watchdog group that helped expose earmark abuses. "House Democrats can push as much as they want, but they're going to have to have a dance partner in the Senate and they're going to have to have a dance partner with Republicans," he said, "It's one of these things where it just won't stand politically and optically if they don't all jump together."

Senate Republicans voted to ban earmarks permanently in their internal party rules just last year, but control of the Senate won't be clear until after a pair of Georgia special elections in early January. Republican Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri, a longtime appropriator, made it clear the Senate is not currently rushing to join with House Democrats. "I don't think senators are thinking about this much until it's clear what the House really intends to do," he said.

Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, supports bringing back earmarks and said, in private, the idea is quite popular. "Oh yes, there's very quiet support for it among Republicans. There will be some opposed, but they don't have to have earmarks if they don't like them."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., both appropriators who have embraced earmarks in the past, haven't yet taken a position on this round to revive them.

Former President Barack Obama opposed earmarks, famously pledging to veto any bill that came to his desk that included them. President-elect Joe Biden also hasn't weighed in, but Biden says he wants to bring Republicans and Democrats together, and advocates say earmarks is one way to do it.

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Democrats Want To Bring Earmarks Back As Way To Break Gridlock In Congress - NPR