YouSaid · the spoken record

Abigail Spanberger

lines on the record: 90
first: 2020-03-09
most recent: 2020-03-09
sittings or episodes: 1
sources: podcast

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“anxiety that so many people feel across the country wondering what's happening, what's the administration doing, how can Congress either stop it or address it or do more, there's also a cultural piece where I want to believe, and I think it's true, we're helping people recognize that they should expect more out of their citizens who have become legislators as opposed to these lifetime legislators who are disconnected from the needs of the people. And that's where I find on the hard, hard days that are particularly wearing, you know, that's where I find the positivity is the school kids who think, oh my gosh, you know, they don't know all of the day-to-day trials and tribulations. They say, oh my gosh, look at her. I could be like that.”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“and the number of direct engagements. And you think back to 2017 when it was like four people nationwide having town halls, that's a gross exaggeration, but it felt like that. And now you have members of Congress that are doing town halls.”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Some days, yes, and some days the very wearing nature of it is what is also motivating because you think as hard as it is, we're here, as hard as it is if someone watching the news and they don't like the news coming out, they then see Panover shot to members of Congress or there. Their voices are perhaps being represented in a new way or their kids can see members of Congress that may look like them or that might think, oh, I could do that. So there's an element of kind of the immediacy of the policy that we're working on. And the Democratic House, Democratic Led House has actually put forth a lot of really good policies that we've passed with bipartisan support. It's not getting a vote in the Senate. That's the legislative piece. The other piece of it is demonstrating you look at the freshman members of the House and the number of town halls that we've had.”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“A very specific reason, which is, you know, we saw things that we didn't find acceptable. And so I don't think it's wholly surprising that those things continue to this day. And I think that many of us are aware.”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“No, this is what we signed up for. I think you never know what to expect, but the challenges that we face with this administration, the way some of our colleagues across the aisle have been unwilling to challenge even the most unthinkable policy priorities of their own party. None of this actually is wholly surprising in all of the challenges we're facing represent the reasons that so many of us ran. And you mentioned the national security folks, but we also have Kim Schreier from Washington State, a pediatrician, or Johanna Hayes, former teacher of the year. There's all these people who had really vibrant lives and careers who interrupted them out of a desire to, for some of us, continue serving when we had previously served in the national security space, and for others to continue serving where they had previously been caretakers in the community, either in healthcare or education. And so I think we all stood up and decided to run for.”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Of course, but I mean, and in fairness, anything that my opponents don't like, they will assign to me however fake or false it is. But literally having to walk a line of saying, well, I don't agree with them, but I don't agree with them either. I don't think that's a...”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I think it's always running against whoever the Republican nominee is running against me. I'm commenting on what's happening in my race will be against the individual who's ultimately has a nomination against me. And some of what I touch on and some of what I touched on in 2018 and will in 2020 is, of course, what's happening at the administration level. But I think it creates a whole new complicating factor to say, okay, these are the ideologies of the right that I'm challenging and opposing, and now these are the ideologies of the far left that I'm. So it ends up being...”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I think it's a toxic word most places. You know, we have a vibrant capitalist country with guardrails that help, you know, ensure that people can have a boost if they fall on hard times. But we're a country of entrepreneurs and explorers and big ideas.”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Yeah. Well, so I don't want a single payer system, and I would say the majority of my district doesn't want a single payer system. I don't support free college, and I would say the majority of the voters in my district don't support free college. I think that a move towards socialism is certainly not something that I support.”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And before that, there were strong candidates who I think also spoke to this same vision of a strong, diverse, vibrant America where we create opportunity through economic engagement, through education and some of those others have already left the race.”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“That's right That's right. And after the people I represent have the opportunity to go to the polls, then I will be doing the same. I supported the message, frankly, of Klobuchar or Buddha Judge or Biden, which is we need to pull this country together. We need to focus on solving problems. We need to focus on moving this country forward in a united way. From a policy standpoint, I'm a supporter of a public option, I'm a supporter of allowing Medicare to negotiate its prescription drug prices, which I've voted on. I'm a supporter of really trying to get our arms wrapped around college affordability issue, but that starts with the loans that are devastating families. It doesn't start with all of a sudden making college free, which seems, well, we don't have enough time for me to go into that. Some of the folks I have already mentioned have left the race.”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“There's a question here. I will answer it. I'm going to run the clock out. I know what you're doing, Congresswoman. So to answer your question, well, first I actually cast a ballot. So this is the day before Super Tuesday. Virginia's a Super Tuesday state. Knowing that I would be on Capitol Hill and unable to vote, I cast my vote about two and a half weeks ago. And at that time, I voted for Senator Klobuch.”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“As other people talk about. And then recoup and rejoin and build an additional coalition to go that additional three and then potentially the remainder of the way, that's progress. If I say I want to go 10 feet and if we can't go 10 feet, I'm not going anywhere. I haven't actually progressed. And so it's actually an issue of progress versus.”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“For the agents who are helping these families. And it's a difficult situation for everyone. And so it was my priority was to address the immediacy. Of a problem, which was they were going to round of money and we weren't going to be able to feed children. And I will never apologize for addressing the immediacy of a problem that is a hungry child.”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“The families and the kids and the individuals who had crossed the border and were then being held in facilities. And our bill was this very strong bill that was not going to get a vote in the Senate. And the Senate passed their version of a supplemental with, I forget the exact number, but more than 80 votes at this point. And this was even during some of the presidential campaigning when all the senators who were running for president at the time were down in Florida themselves. So missing some senators who would have otherwise voted, it got more than 80 votes, including the two Democratic senators from Virginia, who said, this is a good bill. This gets money to the border. This ensures we can feed the kids who are being held with their families. This is getting first aid supplies. This is paying overtime.”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It's not comfortable at all. But I think we've settled into a good place. You mentioned over the summer we had a supplemental bill, which was the House passed a really strong supplemental border bill that was kind of everything, a very strong Democratic majority would want to see if we were sending money to the border to help.”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“You vote your conscience. And I think that's an important thing because frequently on other bills, oh, we really want to make sure everybody's aligned on this. And, you know, they'll try and, you know, other members of the caucus, and it happens on both sides of the aisle. They'll sort of, you know, harangue you, hey, hey, vote with us on this, vote with us on this. But on this one, there wasn't even a peep of that, which I think is an important thing to say because I think it might be hard to believe, but in fact, it's absolutely the truth.”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“As early as maybe even back to when he was first sworn in, and then there were members of the caucus who were opposed to it, as I was for such a long time. What I have appreciated about the way that she handled it was she did not endeavor to influence anyone. And even once we were in an impeachment inquiry, even when the impeachment vote was coming. She and majority leader Hoyer and Whip Clyburn would explicitly say we will not whip on this vote, we will not influence people on this vote.”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, I'm going to remind a little bit and also say, you know, we've actually voted prior to this impeachment inquiry we had voted on there was an impeachment charge that came forward in the House and we voted to table it. I didn't think that it was worthy of a vote in the 115th Congress, I think such votes came up twice. So people who say like this was just, this was their intent from day one, I think miss the fact that there were three prior efforts and the majority of House Democrats even voted it down. Now, as it relates to the speaker's work, I don't envy the position that she's been in. I think it's been a significant challenge because she had members of the Democratic Caucus who did want to impeach the president.”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And I want to believe, and I hope it's true, that the level of transparency that I have provided in what my decision-making process was, the level of detail that I have gone into when discussing everything I did before making a decision, reading through the reports, watching the testimony on TV, reading through the written testimony, and just digging into it in order to really be comfortable saying I had taken in every fact I could take. I had taken in every bit of information before voting to a beach. And I want to believe that people will respect me for...”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So, you know, I had a little bit of a rowdy town haul in the winter after we had entered the impeachment inquiry. There's a lot of folks who voted for the president in my district who are still wholly aligned with him, who don't want to believe that he did anything wrong. And so, you know, it was a challenge, but it was a challenge to stand before them in a kind of crowded auditorium and say this is why I did what I did. This is why I will vote to impeach the president. This is why I thought it was important that we even have a dedicated impeachment inquiry. And I don't know how that will impact me in November 2020, but I do know that I have been able to look at constituents right in the eyes and say, you may not agree with this decision, but let me please explain to you why I did it.”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, I think I'll quote my parents on this, which is it's always worth it to do the right thing no matter how hard it is. And so I believe we did the right thing. I did the right thing in the implications of that or how hard it wasn't. In the end didn't matter because it was the right thing.”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“You know, at the time At the time we thought through, or I thought through that and talked about it with some of my colleagues, what happens if this is true and no one cares? And I would argue perhaps a fourth option, which is it's true. People care, but no one, not enough people had the strength or the courage to say, you know, this is in fact. This is in fact. Such a serious allegation, the facts prove it, they outline it, that yes, there should be a conviction.”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“That, in fact, our president wasn't willing to exchange foreign aid and didn't want political. What about the third power?”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I don't know where this investigation will lead, but we have a duty at this point to have a dedicated focused investigation on these allegations, because if these allegations are true, then they are indeed impeachable. And I didn't want to dance around it. I didn't want people to think, oh, well, she thinks we should do an impeachment inquiry, but maybe she's just not there yet. Maybe she's this or that. I wanted to be very clear that it is the focus of these particular allegations that require the full strength of Congress to dig into those investigations and either prove or disprove them for two reasons. One, if they are true, we need to know because that's an unthinkable thing, which indeed is where it led us. But if they're not true, we also need to ensure that countries throughout the world know”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Whether you're a congress member or not, but I'm talking about. Well, so the reason that we did that is because we had been watching the situation very, very closely. And, you know, many of our colleagues were calling for an impeachment inquiry. But the allegations that came out as it related to Ukraine, the notion that the president was withholding foreign aid, so taxpayer-appropriated dollars, trying to compel a foreign country to create start an investigation for the purposes of undermining that individual's political future. To me, that was such a clear violation of the oath that he had sworn and not publicly making that line in the sand clear for me would be inconsistent with the duty that I had. And so what I set out to do, the way that, and I think my colleagues who wrote the op-ed with me would agree, but I'll speak for myself, is I thought it was important to say this is a turning point, to communicate that very clearly with the people who I represent. This is a turning point. This is why it's a turning point.”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And a life-threatening Terrible illness. And I just thought, you know, they spend every day fighting for their daughter. They spend every day trying to keep her alive, essentially. And the fear that they have expressed is something I have never known and never want to know. And as much as they fight for this one little girl, somebody needs to be fighting for them. And so it was very broad, but it was very personal. And so I said, you know what? I can fight for people like them and for people I'll never meet. And I have a background where I know I can be fearless in this. And I have a focus on informed decision making that I think should be brought to any policy objectives. And I'm just, I'm going to do it.”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Keeping this country safe was hard to watch, but ultimately it was the day of the House Healthcare vote that I decided definitively that I would run. And that was based on the notion that I have, we have dear friends who have a child with a very difficult illness. And on the day that the House of Representatives voted to repeal the ACA, our friends expressed a level of fear that I have never known. Yeah. For the future of their daughter's health. She had a preacher.”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“At the most basic level, I had spent the entirety of my time at the agency collecting information to inform policymakers, collecting information, facts and evidence, because I believed, and I worked with an entire organization full of people who believe that informed decision making is how you make good decisions and keep the American people safe. And so watching the administration pivot more towards a place of partisanship and more towards a place of loyalty over information or political promises over informed decision making as it relates to domestic policy as well for me was difficult to watch watching us move to a place where we're pitting ourselves against some of our most basic and important allies was hard for me to watch antagonizing the intelligence community and public servants who've devoted their lives to”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Find out relatively shortly whether or not the Taliban intends to be faithful to some of the tenants of this agreement and even the notion of trying to create peace in Afghanistan.”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So that's an initial challenge that may impact the agreement overall. The way that I'm viewing this agreement is with a very baseline level of hopefulness. And certainly I come from the Intel community, so we're not so kind of up and down with our emotions on these sorts of things. But I think that if overall the administration views this as the right first step, then I think we're in the right direction. This certainly is not the finality of an agreement that the United States should have with the Taliban, but I do think it's a right first step in the direction towards if our ultimate goal is to remove U.S. forces and the need for U.S. forces to be in Afghanistan, then I think this is a step in the right direction. You know, the pathway forward is one that's fraught when you're dealing with the United States, the government of Afghanistan, then Taliban leaders. And so it is my hope, and I think we should.”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“There's a number of factors. First, one of the challenges to success might be that the last I read, the Afghan government has said that they don't intend to release the prisoners as laid out in the agreement.”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“I haven't gotten very much direct feedback from him, but I think as it's been noted and just even open source reporting, he's had some real challenges engaging with the German government and being a good being the best foot forward for the American people.”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, you know, I think that even just the notion that you have someone who's allegedly supposed to be continuing as an ambassador while also being acting director of national ambassadors. Yes, to a strong ally, important nation, a strong relationship that is a full-time job. You know, I think that in and of itself demonstrates a...”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“If I had the ability to vote, I would vote for someone who had a broader understanding of the intelligence community who had demonstrated an interest and a respect for the role of intelligence and the value that it can bring to informed decision making. And I don't think that Congressman Ratcliffe has demonstrated that in his time as a public figure.”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Is not wholly knowable. I take a lot of heart knowing that the career Intel officers who are content to not talk about work, to sacrifice time away from their family, to focus on the mission and the mission first. I know that they're still driven to do the right thing and that they are going to continue collecting the information because it's what they signed up for in the first place.”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Well, I'm worried on a variety of fronts. I think that one of the challenges is that we have the best intell agencies in the world, but we also depend very heavily on our partners throughout the world. You know, if information gathering is like creating putting together a jigsaw puzzle, we might have 90 pieces, but those 10 missing pieces are actually pretty vital. And if we're supposed to be through coordination with other intelligence agencies and other governments getting those 10 missing pieces from this country or that country, the fact that we see American leadership degrading our own intelligence agencies, I think harms us in the long run. The fact that we see U.S. leadership speaking ill of intelligence and in some cases actually sharing foreign received intelligence jeopardizes our ability to get information from those strong liaisons relationship. So I think overall the full extent of the problem is”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And I guess then it's not just a question of you want to please the president, but if you want to keep your job. We now have evidence that the president will relieve you of your job if you present information.”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And you can say in this world these facts may lead to this, and in this world these facts may lead here. But I think to know that the person in charge of coordinating our intelligence agencies and coordinating their work together, and in fact the person who the president of the United States is leaning on as a resource, to know that that person might be more focused on pleasing the president and a president who has demonstrated that he often doesn't like to receive information that is disagreeable to him. And the reality of the world is oftentimes disagreeable. The reality of a nuclear program, the reality of a threat, the reality of a potential pandemic outbreak is all disagreeable information, the growth or hits to a terrorist organization, but to know that the person might”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“100%. Assurance, we think this, and this is where it came from, and everything's caveated, everything is specified because your job is to just be factual.”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And I'm sure you probably had the experience of listening to a briefing, and you might ask a question. And the question comes from your perspective and the perspective that comes with your role. And the answer that you most assuredly got back was caveatted and, well, with this level of...”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“When you have a variety of people on the ground working, you have intelligence analysts who are of different backgrounds, different perspectives, digging through information, asking the right questions. And so what has traditionally been the strength of the U.S. intelligence community, which is a real diverse group of people focused on solving and understanding, maybe not solving, understanding the world's greatest challenges and those that face us, and then to hear.”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“be it the ability to spend holidays with family or even putting their lives in risk at risk on a weekly daily basis it is very hard for those individuals to hear some of the assaults on the agency, to hear that the members of the intelligence community are themselves partisan or are serving insert whatever sort of rhetoric is put out there because the intelligence community for the time that I was there and continues today with the friends who I still have there has always been more of a nonpartisan it had to be it was a nonpartisan element of the executive branch it was a group of people who were different you know and you get the best intelligent”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“That's right. I worked for a company, they've changed their name a number of times. Now it was the advisory board company. Now it's called EAB. And so they handle recruitment of students to universities. They work on developing recruitment strategies, implementing recruitment strategies, and kind of a variety of things in the educational consulting space.”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And then we moved to Virginia and It was home, and it was hard to leave the agency. It was hard to leave that lifestyle where there's such an urgency to every day. You were involved in the most important things in the world. And if you're not, your friend is, and to feel like you are serving this really important purpose every day. But I found new ways to kind of invest my time in the community. I started a Girl Scout. I became a volunteer with moms demand action.”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“And we said, No, no, that's not an option. And she said, Well, but I want to live in Virginia. And she said, everybody we love lives in Virginia, why don't we live in Virginia? And it was a really insightful thing, I think, perhaps, or maybe very basic. But in any way, it struck a chord with me. And Adam and I started kind of joking about moving back to Virginia. Well, maybe we'll bid on this place, or maybe we'll go to Virginia. And what was started as a very basic conversation that was in jest or kind of lighthearted became, well, maybe we should go look at houses or maybe we should move. And so ultimately, we made the decision to try moving to Virginia and our family plan was we'll move there for five years and invest in the community where we both had grown up that we really loved, be close to family, be close to our kids, cousins, our siblings. And then if I want to go back to CIA, I'll pivot back after five years. I had known of many people who had left for a time and come back.”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“On the map, and we had friends who were posted in Nairobi at the time, and we would Skype with them, and they had monkeys in their backyard. So I thought, surely she's going to say Nairobi. And she said, well, Virginia.”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“It was a culmination of a couple things. I had reached a point where, you know, I was really pivoting in my career. Where do we go next? We had spent time overseas. We were then on the West Coast living domestically. And, you know, we were thinking these are all the places we might go. And a story I've told on the campaign trail, which I think gives a good explanation of it. One day it was a Saturday morning and Adam and I were having breakfast and our oldest daughter who was five at the time was bouncing about and we said we were looking at locations to bid on because it was bid season. And so you bid on different locations and then they choose you and then you go. Like that's how it works. And so it was bidding season. We were starting to look wherever they're going to be availability, what type of, what is it like for families to live there? Where do we want to be? And so it just was what was meant to be a fun conversation. And we said, oh, do you want to live in Nairobi or London or San Jose? Pointing all these places.”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“Money laundering cases when I was in DC. I worked potential anthrax cases. So this is post 9-11 when there was frequently anthrax, for time, real anthrax, but then it became a lot of hoaxes after that. And so I used to work jointly on those issues. And then I worked Haida, high intensity drug trafficking area cases with local law enforcement and FBI and DEA and state and local police.”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source
“So that was cool because I had toyed with the idea of his law enforcement having grown up in a law enforcement family. His law enforcement the right path for me or is intelligence collection. And those variations on a similar theme, but they're very different. And one is very overt and you wear a gun and you have a badge and you are this person of authority when you enter a particular situation because you are a federal agent and then the CIA is the kind of opposite side of that coin. And so while I was going through my background check, I had applied, you know, I mentioned a couple of the places I had applied. I applied with the FBI, applied with Secret Service, applied with the Postal Inspection Service, and I ended up choosing to go with them. I got a job offer relatively quickly. And so I went through the academy. I was trained to carry a firm. I carried a gun every day. And I worked on the dangerous males team, I believe we called it at the time. And so I worked narcotics.”
2020-03-09 · The Axe Files with David Axelrod · Ep. 374 — Rep. Abigail Spanberger · IDENTIFIED FROM THE TRANSCRIPT · source