Like many people who cherish the United States of America, January 6, 2021 was a day Seth Magaziner decided to do something about what happened.
Magaziner, then serving as Rhode Island’s general treasurer, got a call about the siege on the United States Capitol from the state police colonel. Due to the violence in Washington, D.C., the colonel said, he planned to send several state troopers to keep watch over Magaziner and several other Rhode Island elected officials.
“I had this surreal experience of watching a violent mob… storming the Capitol, attacking police officers to try to stop the counting of votes under our Constitution, while state police cruisers were circling outside my house,” the congressman said in a Tuesday, April 11, conversation at Brown University. “I thought, okay, this is what I want to do: I want to be on the front lines of trying to protect our democracy. This is the fight of our generation: to make sure we preserve our democracy, to make sure that there’s accountability for those who would attack our democracy… so that people can have faith in our democratic system of government going forward.”
It wasn’t the easiest path for him to get to Congress, but he endeavored to reach there and do something about the MAGA extremism that has taken root in this nation.
Today, the spotlight is on Rhode Island’s very own Rep. Seth Magaziner!
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Rep. Seth Magaziner (Rhode Island-2)
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Biography — Who is Seth Magaziner?
Rep. Seth Magaziner seems like an unlikely candidate to be the one who warns about MAGA extremism. He grew up in a Democratic leaning family with a mixed heritage. Wikipedia has more on his early life and schooling.
Seth Magaziner was born in Bristol, Rhode Island, on July 22, 1983, to Suzanne and Ira Magaziner.[4][5] Ira Magaziner is a policy advisor for politicians, governments, and non-governmental organizations.[6] Suzanne is Catholic and Ira is Jewish.[7][8] Seth is the oldest of three children.[9]
Magaziner graduated from Milton Academy in Milton, Massachusetts, in 2002.[10] He then attended Brown University, where he served as president of the Brown University Democrats, president of the College Democrats of Rhode Island, and as a member of the Brown University Steering Committee on Slavery and Justice.[11][12] Magaziner graduated from Brown with a Bachelor of Arts in history in 2006.[13] He received a Master of Business Administration from the Yale School of Management in 2010.[11][14]
Magaziner wasn’t a politician at first. After graduating from college, he joined Teach for America and spent some time in the classroom before spending some time in the private sector. Then, he decided to run for Treasurer of Rhode Island.
Representative Magaziner started his career as a public school teacher. Prior to being elected to Congress in 2022, he served as Rhode Island’s General Treasurer for eight years where he spearheaded an initiative to rebuild school buildings across the state and created new clean energy programs at the Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank, creating thousands of jobs and lowering costs for ratepayers.
Seth has served as Rhode Island’s General Treasurer since 2015 where he has delivered results for the second congressional district by investing in education, job creation, and clean energy infrastructure. As Chair of the state’s school building task force, Seth led a statewide school construction initiative that created over 28,000 jobs and repaired or replaced over 200 schools like Garden City Elementary School in Cranston and the soon-to-be-completed combined elementary school in Johnston. Seth also launched innovative clean energy financing programs that have helped cities and towns build out solar, wind and climate resiliency projects, saving taxpayers money and reducing fossil fuel emissions. With help from the programs Seth created, the town of West Warwick hasn’t paid an electricity bill on any municipal building in five years.
Magaziner also has interviewed with CSPAN, in which he hit many of the themes above. As a former public school teacher myself, I was happy to hear that his brief stint as a teacher influenced his outlook on life.
It was not expected for Magaziner to be in Congress in the first place. Rhode Island has a small population, and it was at risk for losing a Congressional district after the 2020 Census. However, sufficient population numbers were found in the state to ensure that Rhode Island kept its second district until at least 2032.
Once it was confirmed that Rep. Langevin would retire, this race became a tricky open seat race that became very competitive. The GOP lucked out and got their strongest possible recruit to run here, while the Democratic Party had to muddle through a primary election.
Magaziner Sounds the Alarm on MAGA Extremism
Rep. Seth Magaziner may be new to Congress, but he is one of the few still consistently ringing the tocsin on the threat MAGA extremists pose to this country. He held a forum at Brown University to discuss the subject.
Magaziner said that while he is still finding his feet in Washington, he is determined to focus on understanding and combating the political extremism that is, he said, fueling a growing number of violent and sometimes fatal incidents in the nation. After campaigning for a spot, he was appointed the Democratic ranking member of the Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement and Intelligence Subcommittee within the House’s Homeland Security Committee, where he has the opportunity to invite and learn from experts on international affairs and security.
That position has allowed the congressman to better understand what legislative, and even academic, action is needed to reduce domestic terrorism, which is now killing more Americans than international terrorism.
He sat down for a local interview to discuss his policy agenda and his attempts to combat MAGA extremism in the House of Representatives.
Donnis: You're on the House Committee on Homeland Security. How is the nation doing enough to counter the threat posed by domestic extremists?
Magaziner: We have to do more. And this is an issue that I focused on quite a bit since I started in Congress earlier this year. More Americans have been killed by domestic terrorists over the last five years than by international terrorists. And that's unusual. That didn't used to be the case. But more Americans have been killed in acts of terror, committed by white supremacists, anti-semitic individuals, racially, ethnically-motivated, anti-government extremists than by international groups like Al Qaeda over the last five years. And so we need to direct the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice to really focus on this domestic extremism threat. And we have to focus on it, not just from a law enforcement point of view, but also from an education and counseling point of view, because a lot of this extremism is being carried out by, by young people, by teenagers in some cases, which once again, speaks to the importance of having good counseling in the schools, and making sure that young people who are feeling alienated by society know that there are people who care about them, and there are other paths that they can take and places they can go. So we need a whole of government approach to this. Unfortunately, some of my Republican colleagues, even on the Homeland Security Committee, don't seem to want to talk about this issue, even though many Americans have lost their lives to extremists in recent years. So we need to take this seriously.
Donnis: Do you believe here in New England, law enforcement is doing enough to counter the rise of hate groups that are trying to increase their ranks and intimidate people?
Magaziner: They’re trying to, and you're right to point out by the way that there are groups even here in New England, that are neo Nazi type groups that are growing membership and becoming more organized. I've met with the Providence leadership of the FBI here at the Providence FBI office. I've met with the State Police here in Rhode Island. And I do believe that law enforcement is making this more of a priority here locally, but they need the federal support, they need the federal resources, and Congress has a role to play in making sure that those resources are made available.
Magaziner joined MSNBC very early in the morning to discuss Donald Trump and the possibility for more violence occurring during indictments and trials. Thankfully, none of the violence surrounding Trump being indicted has come to pass.
His perch on the House Homeland Security Committee leaves him uniquely suited to propose legislation that will help combat the scourge of homegrown terrorism. First was the Keeping Gun Dealers Honest Act, which is meant to stem the tide of illegally trafficked firearms in America. This not only leads to gun safety, it also takes illegal weapons out of the hands of lone wolf terrorists.
Representative Seth Magaziner announced the introduction of his bill, H.R.3863: Keeping Gun Dealers Honest Act, along with representatives of Rhode Island law enforcement, gun safety advocacy groups, and members of our community whose lives have been personally impacted by gun violence.
This legislation, introduced during National Gun Violence Awareness Month with companion legislation by Senator Ed Markey (D-MA), will strengthen accountability measures for gun dealers who are selling guns “off the books,” falsifying records, and providing guns to straw purchasers, gun traffickers, and dangerous individuals.
While the vast majority of gun dealers follow the law, a small number of bad-actor gun dealers – roughly 5 percent – supply guns used in 400,000 crimes annually according to a report by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. The Keeping Gun Dealers Honest Act would crack down on these illegal practices by authorizing more frequent inspections of gun dealers, increasing penalties for serious offenses like failing to perform federally required background checks, and strengthening the Department of Justice’s authority and discretion in enforcing gun laws.
“Rogue gun dealers who sell guns without background checks, falsify records, or knowingly provide criminals with firearms threaten the safety of all Americans. We must equip law enforcement and federal agencies with the tools and resources they need to hold these bad actors accountable,” said Rep. Seth Magaziner. “The billwill stiffen penalties and enact more stringent accountability measures to address the flow of illegal firearms into our communities. We must do more to end the gun violence epidemic and prevent guns from falling in the hands of criminals.”
Another bill has passed the House of Representatives, which is no small feat with the GOP in control. The bill dealt with cyber security at airports. Again, his focus on national security shines through.
Rep. Seth Magaziner will continue to speak out about the potential for MAGA inspired violence in America. It is prudent for those on our side of the aisle to listen, as January 6th illustrates the cult-like devotion MAGA has for the former President.
Magaziner — More than Meets the Eye
Other than the two bills related to combatting MAGA extremism noted above, Rep. Seth Magaziner typically does not introduce bills for the consideration of the House. Instead, he works through the process of amending a bill to get some of his priorities passed. Here is a good example of Magaziner using the amendment process successfully.
He also leaves his mark in the House Democratic Caucus by co-sponsoring bills that match up with his priorities. Some examples include the TRUST in Congress Act to ban stock trading, the Assault Weapons Ban Act, and the Women’s Health Protection Act. Here is a statement from Magaziner’s office explaining his decision to co-sponsor the PRO Act.
Representative Seth Magaziner (RI-02) became an original cosponsor of H.R. 20, the Richard L. Trumka Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO Act). The PRO Act, which is a comprehensive proposal to protect the rights of workers, will ensure workers’ ability to collectively bargain for higher wages, better benefits, and safer workplaces.
“Every single worker ought to have the right to join a union and fight for fair benefits and wages, and for safe working conditions,” said Rep. Seth Magaziner. “We must protect the right for workers to organize, and hold companies who engage in anti-worker tactics accountable. I’ll always be proud to stand with labor unions and working people, so that all Rhode Islanders have an opportunity to achieve a stable middle class life.”
Magaziner also wants to accomplish things for working people, much as his CSPAN interview stated. Earlier this year, Magaziner joined MSNBC to discuss the budget proposal President Biden proposed. He said that it was meant to help working people, and was a baseline to kick off negotiations.
Magaziner was invited on MSNBC early in the morning to discuss the historic ousting of Speaker McCarthy, in which a band of Republican rebels voted with Democratic Party. He explains what may happen to aid to Ukraine and the future election of a new Speaker.
On occasion, I like to remind my readers that the job is much more than just legislation and speeches and raising money for your next campaign. Magaziner reflected on his constituent services 100 days into Congress — similar to what many freshman lawmakers have done.
Magaziner is a more complete legislator than what meets the eye, not only on his signature issue of combatting MAGA extremism but on many other issues affecting both Rhode Island and the United States. Remember that he is a legislative neophyte, and is still learning on the job.
Rep. Seth Magaziner may not be the most prominent New Face in Congress, but we should definitely listen to his warnings about MAGA extremism. His perch on the Homeland Security Committee gives him the podium to ring the tocsin. All it takes is one lone wolf domestic terrorist to cause a scene of carnage that few will forget (Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols are perfect examples).
He does more than warn us about MAGA extremism though. Magaziner serves his constituents in the Ocean State well, whether it is through the bill amendment process or by advocating for Democratic priorities through the media. Magaziner has 3.6k followers on the platform once known as Twitter, which is respectable for a new face in Congress.
It would be a shame to lose this treasure from Rhode Island.
New Faces in Congress is a diary series meant to highlight our new and diverse members of Congress in the Democratic Party. These 36 House freshmen range from political neophytes to seasoned legislative veterans. The series will run every Sunday morning, bright and early.
Last week, the New Faces in Congress series continued with a profile on Rep. Hillary Scholten from Michigan’s 3rd district. If you missed it, feel free to click on this link to read all about her!
During the next two weeks, I take a break from New Faces in Congress to look at the key Senate and House races in 2024. See you then!
Rep. Seth Magaziner (Rhode Island-2)
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