In the News

DES MOINES, Iowa — Democrats have watched in dismay as voters in rural and old industrial strongholds say they want more of what the Republican Party is offering, resisting the establishment's approach to win them back and raising questions about their party's strategy.

One progressive — a suited-up, camera-ready U.S. congressman from California — is determined to try a different approach to pique their interest.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WIS) - Benedict College leaders were joined by Congressman James Clyburn and Congressman Ro Khanna to celebrate the TechWise Program.

Google and TalentSprint are celebrating the successful implementation of the TechWise program. Benedict is among the first schools in the United States to be included in the program.

One thing that Ro Khanna, a U.S. House member who represents parts of Silicon Valley, has learned about trying to organize relations between the Democratic Party and tech billionaires is that it is often easier to leverage the narcissism of founders than to disabuse them of it. "You have to understand the mind-set of people who are entrepreneurs," he told me recently, over lunch on the Hill.

SUNNYVALE, Calif. - A Sunnyvale Starbucks says it plans to vote to unionize later this month and today, Silicon Valley congressman Ro Khanna met with some of the employees in a show of support. Workers say their hours are being cut, preventing them from getting benefits, which often leads to a short staff.

There are 9,000 Starbucks stores nationwide, and at least 290 of them have voted to unionize since 2021. A store in Santa Cruz and in San Francisco have already unionized and now here in Sunnyvale, workers say they want to join the fight for a living wage and benefits.

Rep. Ro Khanna understood the gravity of Silicon Valley Bank's collapse quicker than most.

Tech leaders were lighting up the Silicon Valley congressman's phone the night before the shutdown, and his experience working in the Obama administration's Commerce Department told him swift action would be needed.

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden knew earlier this month that he needed to project command and confidence as he prepared to deal with a brewing banking crisis that would rattle financial markets.

He had learned that lesson the hard way a decade and a half ago, during the nation's worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.

We speak with Democratic Congressmember Ro Khanna about the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, regulating the banking sector, and how Federal Reserve interest rate hikes contributed to the banking crisis. Silicon Valley Bank was based in Khanna's district in California, and he has criticized fellow Democrats who supported a 2018 bill that weakened oversight for some banks.

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers are looking for ways to resolve a major concern that threatens to keep the banking industry in turmoil: The federal government insures bank deposits only up to $250,000.

Some members of Congress are looking for ways to boost that cap, at least temporarily, in order to stop depositors from pulling their money out of smaller institutions that have been at center of recent bank runs.