As Congress heads home for the holidays, the House and Senate leave a lengthy to-do list to kick off the new year. But for anyone who inhabits the halls of the Capitol will tell you, the break is welcome — especially considering the marathon 14 weeks lawmakers spent in session following the ouster of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and the election of new Speaker Mike Johnson.

“The commute and time away from home might be the hardest part of this job. Every time I come home, I am kissing the ground,” Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-Calif., told Spectrum News in a conversation this week in her office. “I love representing the district, and I love coming home, and I wish that Republicans would get it together so that we could have a calendar that would allow us to come home on a regular basis.”

Kamlager-Dove’s playful barbs towards her Republican colleagues underscore the tension immersing Capitol Hill this year. It’s been anything but a typical year for rookie lawmakers. Since the freshman class was sworn in 11 months ago, they have seen McCarthy become the first speaker ousted by members of his own party, a new speaker elected, a fellow freshman lawmaker expelled, a debt ceiling battle and two continuing resolutions to keep the government funded.

“Watching the 15 round fight for the speakership certainly told me that I need to come to this job with a great deal of patience and I have had to lean into that patience,” admitted Kamlager-Dove. As a member of the California Legislature, she was part of a supermajority of Democrats — though she was able to forge relationships with the few Republican representatives in Sacramento.

However, she’s found that the Capitol is “incredibly divided. We are in the minority, so it's important to find Republicans that you can work with.”

And so far, Kamlager-Dove has found ways to work across the aisle. Of the 19 bills or resolutions she has introduced in her first year, nine have Republican co-sponsors. 

“We have to say no to the drama queens that are coming here to figure out how they can become a celebrity. And we have to say yes to politicians and policy makers that actually want to make a difference on behalf of their community and the American people,” Kamlager-Dove said.

While those politicians fight for airtime, results in poll after poll of American voters have shown that Joe Biden isn’t winning people’s trust with the economy. But as those poll results flash by, the unemployment rate is falling, stock markets are setting records and GDP growth is trending as strong as any country in the world.

The disconnect, Kamlager-Dove thinks, comes because Americans have been conditioned to want drama.

“We’ve been used to four years of chaos, maybe a little sparkle,” she told Spectrum News in an interview this week. “I think it’s been chaotic sparkle, but drama and hi-jinks.” Joe Biden, she said, isn’t that. He’s not a dramatic president — he’s the coach on the sidelines, pushing his team to move the chains toward the end zone.

“I think we have to recondition the American people to see that the job of President is not to be a reality TV star. The job of the president is to work in a calm and collected manner to help us domestically and then to protect us overseas.” 

While serving in the California State Legislature, Kamlager-Dove focused heavily on social policy issues such as womens’ reproductive rights and criminal justice reform. But when she arrived in Washington, the Los Angeles congresswoman was assigned to the House Foreign Affairs committee. With two allies now at war, Kamlager-Dove stressed the importance of understanding America’s role in foreign affairs.

“You cannot win anywhere with just a military operation alone. It is how you build diplomacy, how you talk with your adversaries and your allies and how you continue to educate the American people about the importance of understanding what's going on overseas,” she said. The Trump administration, she said, heavily invested in isolationism, ostracizing America from its allies.

“So now here we are, and President Biden is essentially trying to clean up a lot of that mess and re-engage with countries. We had an aid package to Israel that passed — not with much bipartisan support because it was conditional — and we have a Ukraine aid package that is being held up because Republicans want to conflate our border security issues, which are incredibly important, and warrant their own conversation separate from a supplemental package to Ukraine.”

Democrats have called the policy demands being made by Republicans “draconian,” and Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Nanette Barragán, D-Calif., told Spectrum News Wednesday that she was “absolutely” concerned that President Joe Biden may give too much away in the negotiations.

Kamlager-Dove admitted she shares Barragán’s concerns.

“I and a number of members from the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, especially those that are in Los Angeles, are deeply concerned with this border security package that will continue to dehumanize and criminalize many of the folks that live in our communities right now,” she said.

Kamlager-Dove stressed the importance of getting aid to Ukraine cannot be understated. She believes that Russian success in Ukraine would lead to military campaigns against Eastern European allies, triggering a mutual defense clause in the NATO treaty — a precursor, she believes, to a third world war.

“I don't think any of the American people want that to happen,” Kamlager-Dove said. “So shouldn't we just do what we're supposed to do and continue to offer support and help them maintain their sovereignty and really talk about democracy here and abroad?”

When Congress returns in January, members will be racing the clock to finalize a government funding bill, following the two-step continuing resolution devised by Speaker Johnson in November. The question is whether or not Republicans and Democrats will find compromise — or, at least, to pass another stopgap bill. “Democrats are always willing to step in and work with rational people that are putting the American people first,” Kamlager-Dove said.

“Of course, we're going to be fighting to make sure that child care funding is safe and stabilized. Of course, we're going to be pushing back on a lot of these demonic posturing around public education and higher education. Of course, we're going to step in and make sure that another continuing resolution is passed. And of course, we're going to work to make sure that we win the house in 2024,” said Kamlager-Dove.