I'm

sorry that we have to cut off the conversation here. I know that we could talk for another hour, and I appreciate the candor that you're both bringing to this conversation. I know there's a lot of raw feeling right now. And we are about to begin the audience Q&A. So for our live stream and our radio audience, or those just joining us, I'm Claire Roth. I'm the managing editor of the Ohio Newsroom. It's an consortium of public radio stations across the state. And I'm the moderator of today's conversation. I'm joined on stage by Congresswoman Chantel Brown, the Democrat representing Ohio's 11th Congressional District, and Congressman Max Miller, the Republican representing Ohio's 7th Congressional District. We're discussing the work ahead for the 119th Congress. We welcome questions from everyone, City Club members, guests, students, as well as those joining via our live stream at cityclub.org or live radio broadcast at 89 7 idea stream public media if you'd like to text a question for our speakers please text it to 330-541 that's 330-541 and city club staff will try to work it into the program that's lovely and i do remind everyone questions should have a question mark at the end of them. And sadly, because we have two such open and articulate speakers here, we've already run over the time. So please keep your question brief so that we can hear from as many people as possible. We really appreciate that. And with that, may we please have the first question. We've

heard of Robert F. Kennedy coming in as a healthcare czar. He's platformed a lot of anti-vaccine rhetoric. And we've heard a lot of threats to abortion. So what can you do as current elected officials during this post-election session to put

in some safeguards?

I'm happy to go and then. Yeah, I mean, candidly,

you know, I think it's only fair for you to go because this is your guy and this is the guy. I mean... So I'm eager, too.

Look, you know, I haven't backed down from one question yet. Points for that. So I can tell you at least look for me an abortion I've been this way even before since I ran for office and you can double-check this but I don't touch on the federal level that is not something that I focus on that should in my opinion be handled at the state level Ohio had an election it didn't go the way that I wanted it to but I accept the election results and that's the law of the state and so that is my very much approach when it comes to Congress and on the federal level I refuse to touch it it's it's nothing that I should have a say in I believe it's the state's rights level now when it comes to somebody like RFK who says he's gonna go into the FDA the one thing I can give you a little bit faith trust and hope and confidence is RFK will never be confirmed by the Senate so you don't have to worry about it the other thing too about a lot of this anti vaccine rhetoric and a lot of the fluoride that's in water and what he is going to do let's make something clear I respect the man but he is no professional and expert in that industry and to put him in a position like that would be malpractice so I think what you're going to end up seeing versus what you're hearing is that, yes, he will be in the administration in some capacity, but how much actual power and decision making is that gentleman going to have? I'm just going to tell you it's probably slim to none. He brought more star power to the campaign and helping people elect President Trump to get a place within the White House. I think it's been billed as something a lot more that what it isn't going to be when he is there. And I have a pretty good assurance on that. I

just have to I just have to ask because we're talking, you know, part of the conversation is words and words matter. And so I guess the duplicitousness of the president elect makes it hard for people, especially people like me, to understand what's real and what's fake, what's not going to happen, because he was very full-throated about him having an important role in the administration. So if you, I hope that that gives you some idea of why people are a little bit terrified about I

get it the future

yes of our country and

I understand look he's not a unifying figure but the one thing that I

mean

it's it's it's the truth he's a gentleman with great policies in my opinion who did a great job with the country on that front and I believe he's going to do it again. Here's what someone said to me, and I thought it was really funny. It was Prime Minister Netanyahu, a colleague of mine, asked him a question, and he said, what can you do about all your cabinet ministers? You know, you got some with improper rhetoric. They're saying this. You know, it's increasing volatility within the West Bank and the Gaza region. And he looked at us, and it made a lot of sense to me. You know, I can control what we can in this district. And so can Chantel within her district. I cannot put my hand over their mouths every single day. I can't. It is nothing that anybody can do. It is impossible. I mean, if we could, we would. But what I can tell you is that we firmly have both of our hands on the steering wheel. And I can tell you, at least when it comes to policy, regardless of political affiliation, it's going to be helpful to this country. And I really do fundamentally believe that. And I understand that people are scared. Look, people were probably more scared in 2016 than where they are today, without question, regardless of how anyone feels. I mean, really? I

don't think that's the consensus from what we can hear here in the room. Wow.

Well, I would, look, I guess I will respectfully push back against 95% of the room. Hey, democracy didn't end, okay? I want to make something clear. The man was president for four years. You may not have liked his rhetoric. You may have liked his policies. You may not have. But guess what? Nothing ended. We still are the greatest country in the world. We are still going to wake up. And if Vice President Harris would have won, and if we were here in a different capacity, I would tell you the same thing, that our country is still here. It is still the best country in the world. And he already accomplished some great things, whether people want to accept it or not. He is not going to end democracy. He is not going to put these flipping people in charge. If he did, it would have been broken the first time. I'm going to hold you to that, Max. I'm

going to hold you to

it. First of all, real quick. First of all, you don't even have to hold me to it. You just have to look at what he already did when he was there. Well,

actually, it's a question inside of a question, but part one, how would this new decision affect trans rights in the area? And part two, is it true that some books and some pieces of education will be banned? And what are we willing to do about it?

That would be more of a state's right issue in terms of banning books. I can't recall one single vote on the federal level that we have had to take removing any type of literature from any of the local schools. That's more of a state and local thing that would have to be addressed on that front. And then I apologize. What was the second part of your question? Oh, trans rights. So when it comes to, say, the homosexual community, I'm endorsed by the log cabin Republicans. So, I mean, there's an ally in me when it comes to the homosexual community. But I will say this, and this is just my opinion, and I'm just going to tell you how I feel and how the people of our district feel. if you want to be a transgender individual, I and everyone in my party is okay with that, but after the age of 18, and that is where I'm at. If that is something that anyone would like to do, I believe they have the fundamental right when they are an adult to make serious decisions that are irreversible for their bodies. And that is something that even when I was growing up as a kid, that they told me that my brain would never be fully developed by the age of 25 and 27. And for the life of me, okay, I can't understand why we would give testosterone and estrogen to kids who are hitting puberty, who are going through an immense amount of emotions and feelings and body changes to only give them more testosterone and estrogen. I believe that if this is something that wants to be continued to be done, I think the age of 18 is a perfect age to let that individual be an adult and to go on their own adventure to be who they fundamentally are. And that is something I'm very supportive of. But look, we have age restrictions in this country, okay? And it's not, and it's for certain things. You need to be 16 to drive a car you have to be 18 to go ahead you know to buy nicotine 21 for alcohol and gambling changing and altering your body that is irreversible at a very young age concerns me greatly for children and I believe that if you're 18 you should be able to make that decision for yourself and that if that's something that you would want to pursue God bless you I hope it is the very best decision for you and your mental health moving along.

Representative Brown. I

think you know where I stand.

I'd love for the room to hear it as well.

Yes. So, listen, I don't think that these things should ultimately be left up to the states, including a woman's right to make her own health care decisions. I think that these are policies, including the banning of books, that the federal and my colleagues in the Congress have actually put forth policies to protect these rights of individuals. And so I will continue to fight for that. Clearly, being in the minority, this is going to be a very daunting task to get over the finish line. But in order to change the laws, you have to change the lawmakers. And so we had a chance to do that just this past Tuesday. And again, we respect the outcome of the results. We respect the elections. They may not be what we wanted, but to Max's point, we still, this is not the end of the world. We do have an opportunity to fight. We do have an opportunity to organize, mobilize, galvanize, and re-evaluate our messaging, our strategies, and what it will take to be victorious in the next election. So I don't want people to get stuck in despair. I do not want people to waddle in self-pity. I do not want people to think that this is the end, because we still have rights. We still have resolve. We still can be resolute in our ability to move forward. And so don't get stuck, y'all. This is just one chapter in a long history. Democracy is young. It is fragile. It is a gift, not a guarantee. If it did not go the way that you want it, then don't throw in the towel. Now is not the time to say, screw it, right? Now is the time to dig your heels in more than ever and figure out how we move in the direction that we would like to see. The thing that Max is right about, the country moved a lot more to the right, but that's not true in Ohio's 11th Congressional District. Our numbers did not move as far to the right as the rest of the country and the rest of the state. So we are a blue island in what feels like a Red Sea. But that does not mean that we cannot do a better job of convincing others that we have policies that are going to be better for their quality of life. I think the other thing that we need to recognize is we have to meet people where they are. One of the things that I will give the man from Mar-a credit for is he went to different platforms. He went to places. Now, he would say stuff that would be replayed constantly on MSNBC, Fox News, and CNN. But the masses of people are not getting their news there. And so I think a lot of us are feeling like, how could he say these things and get away with them that are damaging to the trans community, that it seemed like it would take women's rights back to the handmaid's tale? I mean, it just feels like, what? But y'all, we are resilient and resourceful. And I think that when we come together, that we can galvanize and move things forward and be guard rails to what could potentially be damaging to the country. Max has a lot more confidence in him. I'm going to hold Max to all the promises that he said today on this stage, y'all. Y'all can count on me to do that.

Which is pretty pragmatic, by the way. I told you the terror from your way out of income taxes isn't going to happen. I pushed back.

Can I ask one last tiny question? Oh, we can't. Can you answer to one question, one line, one line from each of you? What would you like to work on with the rest of the Ohio Congressional delegation?

You know, the priority right now, just because we both serve on ag, I'm going to say the Farm Bill, because it impacts so many people. It is going to be so necessary to this district and the country. And what the farmers are dealing with, they need our help immediately.

Representative Miller.

The biggest thing that I would like to do is work on the health of Congress and establishing more relationships like what you see on stage, right? Agree to respectfully disagree, but still be very good friends at the end of the day. The one thing that shocked me about going into Congress, and I'll try to make it very brief, and maybe you've experienced the same, is that you really don't spend a lot of time with your own colleagues. I'm doing my best. You really don't spend a lot of time with your own colleagues, right? So not only do you not spend any time with your own colleagues, you spend almost zero time with them. And my fundamental belief is if you actually got all these individuals in a room and they wanted to be there and we broke more bread we would get a lot more done because what you're end up finding is that when i even sit down omar kurdi right agree to disagree on a lot of issues but him and i have come together and built a wonderful relationship we always find common ground and we're always able to work on something and the one thing you don't see in congress is republicans meeting with republicans the way that should. I can't speak for your side. I don't know if it's any better. But if we establish those relationships and really humanize the body, I'm just telling you the truth, you get a lot more work done because you wouldn't label people back to the rhetoric aspect. And that way, we could all get along and actually get good policy done for all of you. Thank

you.