Music

And now, from the University of Chicago Institute of Politics and CNN Audio, the Ax Files, with your host David Axelrod.

Joe Negus, the young congressman in Colorado, is only entering his third year in Congress, and yet he's already begun to make his mark.

The son of African immigrants has emerged as one of the notable young leaders in Washington. His eloquence was on full display during the recent impeachment trial of former president Donald Trump.

I sat down with Negus this week to talk about some breaking news and try to learn more about him. Here's that conversation.

Congressman Joe Negus, it's really good to meet you. You are a suddenly a nationally known figure by dint of your work on the impeachment as an impeachment man.

You've got a great story, and I'm really eager to explore it. In addition to the issues of that experience, that experience raises a welcome.

Well, thank you David. It's a real pleasure for me. It's so nice to meet you and glad to be on your podcast.

Tell me about your family history. You referenced it in your oratory and your presentations during that impeachment trial, and you've talked about it elsewhere.

But I don't know that people know that much about your family and their history. Share to me your parents experience.

You're a first term, you're a first term, you're a second term congressman and a first generation American. So tell me about their journey from aria.

Yeah, sure. Well, you're right. So I, you know, I'm a proud color. I've lived in Colorado almost all my life, but my parents story, my family story, like so many other Americans is an immigrant story.

My folks came here to the United States over 40 years ago as refugees from small country in East Africa called aria, which at the time was in a civil war with the opia.

They came to the United States. You know, we're welcomed here with open arms. Many in the air train community.

Tell me what you know of their experience there. What you know, there were two civil wars in short sequence there. And obviously Ethiopia was involved in all of this.

But tell me what that meant for their lives there. What stories did they share with you about their lives and what caused them to leave?

Yeah, you know, they so as you just as you referenced the aria was a 30 year war of independence. Essentially, aria had been annexed as part of Ethiopia back in the early 60s.

And so a 30 year war of independence ensued that ultimately, you know, concluded with the with aria, you know, being its own country in the early 90s.

They both left aria fairly young age, you know, they were both dead was in his 20s and mom was in her late teens.

And they came over separately. They didn't know each other. They met their children community. At that time, the aria and refugees were being admitted to various different countries all over the world.

I have cousins and family members that live in countries like Germany and England and France. And in the United States, there were many aria trans who settled in California, Washington state, New York.

My parents were both in California. So they actually met in a small town called Bakersfield, California. And that's where I was born.

...