As Henrico County’s top prosecutor, I have dedicated the past 14 years to keeping my community safe. I am proud of my office’s 90% homicide conviction rate and that murder rates have dropped by over 80% in our county in the past year. We have taken murderers, violent criminals, and fraudsters off our streets, bringing justice to thousands of Henrico families.
Now we need to go after a different kind of threat that is coming from politicians in Washington – from both parties. Corruption in Washington and the self-interested politicians within it are driving up the cost of everything.
When career politicians like Rob Wittman trade stocks using information we don’t have access to, they profit. When they take millions from special interests and vote to protect them, we pay higher healthcare premiums, higher grocery bills, and higher utility bills. When they become lobbyists after leaving office, the corporations they’re supposed to regulate keep calling the shots, and our costs keep climbing. Career politicians like Rob Wittman don’t serve us. They serve themselves and the ultra-wealthy donors who fund them. While they protect a corrupt system that makes them wealthy, the families they claim to represent are left paying the price.
I became a prosecutor to keep people safe. As I see what is happening to our community and our country, it has become clear to me that politicians in Congress must be held accountable at this moment. They must be held accountable not just for the corruption, but for what that corruption costs us every single day.
Just this year, we have seen multiple Democratic and Republican members of Congress resign in disgrace. We deserve better.
That is why, in my first term, I am proposing an agenda to ban stock trading by members of Congress who have information which no other American has access to, to stop the revolving door that allows Washington politicians to cash in on their influence by becoming lobbyists, and to mandate jail time for politicians who break the public trust.
I will fight to deliver justice for the people of our district just as I have delivered justice for victims in the courtroom. The stakes are too high, and it costs us too much to let the status quo that Rob Wittman has upheld for nearly 20 years continue.
We must put Washington on trial and make Congress serve the people first.
“Serve the People First" Agenda
STOP CONGRESS FROM USING THEIR POSITIONS FOR PROFIT AT OUR EXPENSE.
Mandatory Jail Time for Politicians that Steal Our Tax Payer Funds.
Politicians of both parties in Washington play by different rules. When they break the rules, they are hardly ever caught; even when they are, they even more rarely face any real consequences. That needs to change. Running for office is a choice, and as an elected official, you are asking your friends, neighbors and community to trust you. If you break that trust, the consequences should be consistent and severe. In Congress, my first bill will mandate jail time of at least a year for any current or former member of Congress caught stealing $10,000 in taxpayer funds, including not paying their taxes. No resignations to avoid accountability, no plea deals, no deferred judgment, and no special favors.
Ban Members of Congress from Becoming Lobbyists on Behalf of the Corporations They Regulate, for Life.
The dictionary definition of “conflict of interest” is “a conflict between the private interests and the official or professional responsibilities of a person in a position of trust.” When a Member of Congress regulates an industry group or corporation that could offer them a high paying lobbying job after they serve – that is a conflict of interest. Too often, former Members of Congress cash in on their influence and relationships to score jobs with the big businesses they are supposed to be regulating. That practice leads to bad decisions when they are in office and bad policy afterward, policies like tax breaks for the ultra-wealthy and large corporations while cutting benefits for the rest of us. Anyone who tells you differently just isn’t being honest. That is why I will propose a lifetime federal lobbying ban on those who serve in Congress.
Ban Members of Congress from Trading Stocks Using Information No Other American Has.
Members of Congress have access to information that few, if any, other Americans have. In any other sector, using non-public information to trade stocks is “insider trading,” which is a crime usually punishable with jail time. Over his nearly 20 years in Congress, Rob Wittman ballooned his net worth by more than 18 times, from $200,000 to $8.1 million, in part by trading over $2 million in stocks while having access to information no American outside of government has. That’s not right, and it should be illegal. When elected, I will draw a hard line on not buying or selling any stock while in office. Rob Wittman took advantage of the system to his benefit; I will not, and I will not allow such corruption to continue. Our community deserves a Representative and a Congress that they can trust.
Restore Trust in Congress by Rejecting Corporate PAC Money.
As I have campaigned for Congress, I have heard from voters across the district that they simply do not trust Congress and are outraged that, in an era when corruption is rampant at the federal level, members of Congress accept contributions from corporate PACs. To me, a large part of leadership is listening, and as I work to clean up corruption in DC and restore trust in Congress, I want to do everything to ensure the community I serve can keep trusting me. For that reason, I pledge never to take a dime from corporate PACs, as a candidate for Congress or as a member of Congress. And, I will work to end their influence in Washington.
REFORM OUR POLITICAL SYSTEM THAT RAISES OUR COSTS WHILE PROTECTING THEIR DONORS AND THE POWERFUL
Limit the Pardon Power That Has Been Abused by Both Parties to Create Separate Rules for Their Families and Friends.
Justice should apply equally to every American. In Henrico County, the merits of a case determine the consequences a defendant faces, not who their parents, friends, or supporters are. No matter how powerful or well-connected you are, or even if the President is your father, that standard should not change. President Biden’s pardon of Hunter Biden was wrong. President Trump’s pardon of Hondorun President Jaun Orlando Hernandez, who helped smuggle hundreds of tons of cocaine into the United States, was wrong. As a member of Congress, I will support a constitutional amendment to curb the Presidential pardon power, so no President of either party can circumvent the justice system for friends and family.
Institute Term Limits for Members of the House, So They Serve Us, Not Themselves.
The root of corruption in our system is that when politicians get elected, their sole focus becomes getting reelected and doing what their big donors want to fund their campaigns. Most of those donors lead large corporations or otherwise stand to gain from preferential treatment that grows their bottom line at our expense. Their donors get tax breaks, and we get tax increases. Rob Wittman has spent nearly two decades in Washington and made millions while voting for cost-spiking policies for the rest of us. In my first term, I will propose legislation to enact 12-year term limits in the House. I will also follow that limit myself, whether or not a term limit bill passes. We need fewer career politicians, not more. If you can’t solve the problem in 12 years, give someone else a chance.
Overturn Citizens United v. FEC and Force Dark Money Into the Light.
There is too much money in our politics, and that means candidates are beholden to those who can write them big checks, rather than the people they are supposed to serve. As a member of Congress, I will fight for campaign finance reform and work to overturn the Citizens United decision that has opened the floodgates of big money. On my first day I will sign on to a constitutional amendment to reduce the ability of special interests to buy our elections and return power to where it belongs, to American citizens. I will co-sponsor the DISCLOSE Act, which would require Super PACs to disclose their biggest donors. Until we reduce the influence of money in politics, we cannot ensure that our leaders serve our best interests and keep our pocketbooks in mind. Until we ensure donor transparency, the people cannot hold their leaders accountable.
Hold Illegal Monopolies, Who Raise Our Costs, Accountable.
Whether it is big tech companies, big pharma companies, or big banks, corporations have too much power. Corporate monopolies raise our prices and face no accountability. In Congress, I will fight to ensure our markets are competitive by supporting legislation to break up illegal monopolies. This will lead to lower costs and remove the unchecked power currently held by a few large entities.