Ep. 512 — Sen. Alex Padilla

The Axe Files with David Axelrod

CNN

News

4.6 • 7.7K Ratings

🗓️ 17 November 2022

⏱️ 59 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Just months after graduating from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a degree in engineering, California Senator Alex Padilla was drawn to politics, outraged by a state ballot initiative regarding undocumented immigrants. He soon became the youngest Los Angeles City Council president and is now the first Latino senator from California. Sen. Padilla joined David to talk about the 2022 midterms, election deniers and voter suppression, policing and public safety, his relationship with California Governor Gavin Newsom, the diversity of the Latino community, and his dedication to immigration reform.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	And now, from the University of Chicago Institute of Politics and CNN Audio, the Axe Files, with
0:12.6	your host, David Axelrod.
0:19.0	One big winner in the election just passed was Alex Padilla, who was appointed to the
0:23.7	United States Senate in 2021 to replace Kamala Harris and won a resounding mandate for a
0:29.9	full term from the voters of California last week.
0:33.6	Son of Mexican immigrants, Padilla has a remarkable personal story, which I discussed with him yesterday,
0:39.8	along with the meaning of these surprising national results.
0:43.6	Here's that conversation.
0:51.6	Senator Padilla, it's so good to be with you.
0:55.4	I want to start off by congratulating you.
0:57.8	You had a pretty prodigious victory on November 8th.
1:01.9	Thank you.
1:02.9	Thank you.
1:03.9	It is California.
1:04.9	There's still counting votes, but the margin is certainly big.
1:08.7	And just being able to settle in as an elected United States senator, just an appointed United
1:14.9	States senator is, I mean, it is still tremendous to think that the voters of California
1:21.6	have once again put their trust in confidence in me and the fight that I bring on their
1:27.0	behalf to the United States Senate, but also I got to confess, I constantly think back
1:33.7	on my life journey, starting with my parents who are immigrants from Mexico, my dad for
1:40.6	many years working as a short order cook, my mom cleaning houses.
1:44.0	It's one of those only in America, or even one generation.
	...

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