U.S. Rep. Jimmy Panetta on what keeps him up at night and how to fight for democracy in uncertain times.

WHEN JIMMY PANETTA FIRST RAN FOR A SEAT IN CONGRESS IN 2016, he envisioned serving alongside Hillary Clinton in the White House. While he won that first race and has been re-elected four times since, he has served in a time where the old norms no longer exist.

“The problem with our Constitution,” Panetta says, “is that we have relied on these norms, these precedents, these standards, now realizing that’s all they are. And therefore, it’s up to individuals to enhance them and to make them stronger. But as we’ve seen, individuals can also make them weaker. And this is why it’s important that we lean in now more than ever.”

He was sworn in on Jan. 3, 2017 and represents California’s 19th Congressional District which, since redistricting in 2021, includes the coastal half of Monterey County, part of Santa Cruz County (excluding a section of Watsonville) and parts of Santa Clara and San Luis Obispo counties.

Before he was elected, Panetta served as a deputy district attorney in both Alameda and Monterey counties. Panetta is a lawyer and a veteran, having served as a U.S. Navy Reserve intelligence officer. He deployed to the war in Afghanistan in 2007, where he received a Bronze Star.

Panetta was born and raised in Carmel Valley, the son of the illustrious politician Leon Panetta, who among other positions represented the local congressional district a generation before Jimmy.

Panetta recently celebrated his 56th birthday. He is married to Carrie M. Panetta, the presiding judge of the Monterey County Superior Court. They have two daughters.

The Weekly caught up with Panetta to talk about the state of the union in uncertain times.

Weekly: Welcome, and happy birthday.

Panetta: Yeah, I just turned 56 on Oct. 1. It was probably one of the more miserable birthdays I’ve had – being stuck back in D.C. the day of the shutdown. It’s good to be here, but it’s miserable knowing that we’re in the middle of the shutdown at this point.

Constitutional scholars agree that democracy ends when power no longer depends on free and fair elections, when the peaceful transfer of power or legal accountability is upended, even if the elections are technically held. I’m curious if you agree with that definition, and if so, do you believe we are at that threshold or even passed through it, where democracy is on the line? 


The peaceful transition of power is something that we value and uphold as one of the cornerstones of this democracy and that’s why it was such a shock, and continues to resonate amongst the American public, despite what our president is saying, when it came to Jan. 6. I was in the Capitol that day; it was so shocking, not just what happened that day, but what the president continues to do, to make up, to forgive, to basically say that it was almost alright to attack the Capitol.

It was definitely not a peaceful transition of power. It makes us realize that’s something we have to continue to fight for, especially now in dealing with the president, who wants to give honors to someone who invaded the Capitol that day and who basically wipes out all of the criminal convictions and pardons those people who are convicted of crimes that day. It just shows you that our democracy is something that we can never sit back on, and something as we’re seeing now more than ever. We’re in the middle of that fight right now.

Project Democracy is a national nonprofit that has extensively written about the “Authoritarian Playbook,” which identifies seven core tactics used by the leaders around the world to dismantle democracies from within. In that playbook, the tactics include politicizing independent institutions, capturing the courts, dismantling oversight bodies…

DOJ is an example of this…

Spreading disinformation, saturating the public sphere with falsehoods and conspiracy theories. Aggrandizing executive power, bypassing checks and balances – as an example, there have been 209 executive orders issued year-to-date – dismissing congressional oversight, quashing dissent. Scapegoating vulnerable communities using fear and division to consolidate control. Corrupting elections, through voter suppression or gerrymandering or refusal to certify results, even replacing election officials when able. And number seven: stoking political violence.

Many policy wonks believe that we’ve passed through all seven of those portals. What is your take?

Yeah, clearly, based on what this president and the sycophants around him in his cabinet are doing, the problem is, is that he’s allowed to bypass the checks and balances. That’s what I think we’re in the middle of this fight because we have a [Republican-controlled] Congress that absolutely placated the president, abdicated its rule and been complicit in these steps that this president has done toward its authoritarian rule. 


This is something that I’m continuing to fight back on every day, being in the unfortunate position of being in the minority in Congress, watching Speaker Mike Johnson completely bend the knee to this president, as we’ve seen each and every month, each and every week, every day.

You talk about corrupting elections. [We’re] right in the middle of the fight, the perfect example being Texas – going in, asking for five seats, giving them five Republican districts based on gerrymandering in the middle of a 10-year redistricting period. 


That’s why [California’s] Proposition 50 is so important, why we’re in the middle of a fight right now. It’s why we’re standing up to Speaker Johnson and the administration when it comes to this shutdown that we’re going through. It’s why we’re in the middle of the fight of protecting our democracy.

The Cabinet is basically giving in to this president to centralize power, to get past our checks and balances so that he can do this, make the decisions and do what he needs to do in the way he’s doing.

One of the frustrations and one of the scary things that your readers are feeling is that from the very beginning of the creation of our country, one-person rule is a mistake. This is why we needed to create our own country.

That is what is so disturbing, but also so motivating for me to continue to fight back, to make sure that Congress is that check. That’s why I feel obligated to lean into Prop. 50. That’s why I feel obligated to push back when it comes to the government shutdown.
We’re in the middle of this fight and it’s not easy, but it is our job and it’s our obligation to make sure that we live up to these constitutional standards.

If those seven tactics are being deployed successfully, then the rule by one is very much a possibility. Is that a red line for you?

Yes, these are extraordinary times, therefore they call for extraordinary measures.

You are seeing that right now with this government shutdown. I believe our government is there to help people, not to hurt people. People value the federal government.

There’s a growing number of election wonks that believe that the midterm elections scheduled for November 2026 are at grave risk. There are 535 elected representatives, 100 in the U.S. Senate and 435 in the House. In midterms, the power often swings to the party not in control. There could be significant pressure on state legislatures to not certify the election next year if the outcome is unfavorable to the party in power, thereby putting the country into a constitutional crisis, clearly uncharted territory. What do you do other than saying we’re going to fight the fight? 


I haven’t been saying we’re just going to fight the fight. I’m actually fighting the fight. Let’s make that clear. 


We’re seeing that where I’ve leaned into Proposition 50 and basically made sure that people understand, it’s up to them to get involved. This proposition is very unique. This is something that we wouldn’t normally do in this independent redistricting type of state. If we just sat back, if we didn’t do anything, we’re not actually doing something. What we’re doing is allowing the people to choose representatives. We just basically gave them the maps, and they’re going to have to choose from there.

Californians were proud of our independent redistricting commission and that’s what we believe in, but we have to neutralize Texas’ new congressional map.
This is not something that I’m thrilled about, but I’m excited about it in the sense that this is what we have to do to protect our democracy.

But even if Prop. 50 passes in California, do you worry about the 2026 midterm elections?

There will be steps that will be taken, and obviously consulting with our constitutional lawyers as to what we need to do to work with each state, to certify those elections going forward. It’s not going to be easy. I think it’s something we need to be vigilant about.


But I think a perfect example of that, beyond talking about a hypothetical, about what could happen, we’re actually doing something right now with Prop. 50. These are the types of steps that we will take if something like that happens. Could we have imagined this is what this president would do in the middle of a redistricting cycle – go into Texas, say “bend the knee, give me five seats?” No. But he did that. We reacted, we responded.

What I’m talking about is a moment in this country where we really could be coming against something that we’ve never seen before. You repeatedly, proudly state that one of your strengths is your ability to get along with the Republican members. At what point, though, do we cross that line where democracy is at an existential threat?

What we’re going through right now, with this government shutdown, is a Republican majority shove through this continuing resolution without any negotiations whatsoever with Democrats. And what did we do? We stood firm; all but I think one Democrat voted for it, and we were unified against the Continuing Resolution, despite it leading to a government shutdown, because they failed to negotiate with us. My friends across the aisle, they voted for it.

I stood up and I voted against it. It’s exactly what we need to be doing, not just as a party, but as a country, because when you fail to govern – and to me, governing is compromise, governing is coming to the table, governing is negotiating to reach that compromise. I’m here to make sure that the 19th Congressional District is represented. What that means is that I will work with anybody who’s willing to work with me. At the same time, I’m willing to fight anybody who threatens those values, and when you don’t negotiate, when you don’t compromise, you’re not governing. 


How far are you willing to go, as a congressman who’s in the minority? Retired 
Senator Mike Gravel, who spent his final years in Monterey County, wanted the public to know about the Pentagon Papers and read 4,100 pages into the Congressional Record in a historic filibuster. In 1972, Shirley Chisholm was so frustrated with the Democratic Party and her famous line is: “I will be unbought and unbossed.” John Lewis, a leading Congressional advocate for civil rights, was beaten and arrested for leading civil disobedience.

I had the fortunate opportunity to serve with John. When he spoke, people listened because of what he had done and the “good trouble” that he did get in. And people looked to him for that type of guidance.

These are types of areas which you have to realize, being in the minority, are obviously difficult right now. And my role is to make sure that when we will continue to push back and fight back and stand up to this president, to the majority, and we actually get to the point where we take the majority back. That’s what it comes down to. We have to make sure the elections are certified. Right now, my focus is on taking back the House in 2026.

I came into office with President Trump 1.0. We were in the minority for the first two years. Our goal is to give [Minority Leader] Hakeem Jeffries the gavel. When we give him the gavel, he’s going to have the agency. I understand your fear about the election, but our goal is to make sure that we get to that point where we will continue to fight.

On a scale of 1 to 10, how concerned are you that there’ll be a fair and free election next year?

It’s obviously something we need to stay very vigilant about and focus on, but we also got to realize that we have to win Proposition 50. 
We have to make sure that we fight fire with fire, that we’re doing.

We always have to fight for this democracy. We can never sit back. It’s what I’ve learned in my limited time in Congress.

This may be a moment for you, as a lawyer, as a veteran, who has the gravitas to really say, “No, this is not going to happen on my watch.”

I’ve continued to stand up to this, and I will continue to stand up to it. This is something that I’ve continued to do.

There’s a lot of people who are against Proposition 50. We have to make sure they understand how important it is for our democracy.

I can imagine you’ve gotten a lot of grief at the fact that Congress gets paid during the shutdown, while other federal workers do not.

If it gets to the point where, at the end of the month, we get paid and other people aren’t, I will not accept that pay.

Are you ready for an easier topic?

No, this was easy.

Well, I was being facetious. The “easier” topic is Israel. The U.S. provides $3.2 billion to Israel annually; it’s an important ally, but things are wildly complicated. The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his defense minister for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Last month, the UN Independent International Commission Inquiry concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, finding evidence of genocidal intent, which violates for the five acts of the genocide convention.

In the last election cycle, you received $10,000 from the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and according to KQED’s reporting, over $243,000 from AIPAC linked donors – your largest campaign funding source by a factor of 10.

You were one of only 15 Democrats to join the Republicans in supporting HR 9495, which many considered an unconstitutional attack on free speech, empowering the Treasury Secretary to designate certain nonprofits as terrorist organizations, including those speaking out against Israel. So considering all this money you raised from AIPAC, I’m curious where you come down today with Israel’s policies and these allegations of Israel’s war crimes.

Should local voters be concerned that you’re on the wrong side of history here, or under the influence of your largest campaign contributor?

When it comes to my donations or people who give to me and my values, I’m not buying into their values. Let’s make that clear. These are individuals who choose to donate to me based on the values that I have. I’m not changing my stance when it comes to people who give to me. That doesn’t work that way. I don’t do that. They know where I’m at, they know how principled I am.

Let’s talk about HR 9495. I need some time to explain it and this is the problem, that people sit there and they take these votes, or they use these emails that they get from some stakeholders, and they automatically go to it without reading the resolution or understanding the history of it, and then automatically coming up with a deduction without having a conversation. What 9495 does – the Stop Tariff Financing and Tax Penalties on the U.S. Hostage Act – is basically two laws. One, it basically said that hostages abroad don’t have to pay taxes. Then it says that there’s an ability to stop U.S. organizations from supporting terrorist organizations overseas.

This was a Democratic bill under a Democratic administration. In 2022, the Biden administration created the national terrorist fundraising risk assessment, which found that terrorist organizations have used nonprofits to support their activities. So Democrats and Republicans came together in the Ways and Means Committee to basically put this bill together. It was a bipartisan bill. It was voted a number of times on the House floor, and it passed overwhelmingly.

The bill stayed the exact same, and President Trump then gets elected. And people were scared that he would then use this bill to then take away nonprofit status, which is very, very difficult to do, because there are certain standards to ensure this doesn’t happen – it’s well-defined in the IRS code. It can’t just happen willy-nilly. 


It has nothing, nothing, to do with my donations. It has nothing to do with AIPAC. They never contacted me once. Nobody contacted me on this bill. This was a bill that I had worked on in the Ways and Means Committee. It’s a bill that I had studied, that I know, and that’s why I supported it.

The Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on the Israelis was horrific and did call for some sort of response. The question is, what should that response be? Do you agree with the majority of Americans that Israel has committed war crimes?

I was part of the first Congressional delegation to go into Israel [after that], on Oct. 10, 2023. What I saw and what I felt from the victims’ families, who we had direct conversations with, was something that I will never forget. But looking at what has gone on in Gaza right now [just before the ceasefire was announced], it’s absolutely horrific. And it’s why I’ve continued to say that the war must stop.

Your district is a Democratic stronghold.

I won 69.5 percent [of the votes last election], but you got to realize they were not just Democrats.

Many lifelong Democrats feel the party has failed at many levels to meet the urgency of this political moment. Why do you think voters should have faith in the party?

The way this administration started put Democrats on our heels. We felt that, and that was very, very disturbing and very difficult, especially when we’re in the minority, where we don’t have that agency, we don’t have the bully pulpit.

And so people are not getting that message that we’re continuing to send out about what Democrats stand for, when it comes to working families, when it comes to having a strong foreign policy, when it comes to protecting our democracy. So we’ve been doing it, and we’re continuing to push back. 


This administration is about being cruel and basically hurting people. That’s not what we stand for as a Democratic Party. That’s why we’re fighting so hard to protect our health care and to make sure that we push forward and get a budget that’s negotiated. I understand that the message and the messenger have not been well received.

As a veteran who swore an oath to defend the Constitution and as a lawyer with an oath to follow the rules of law, could there be a time when you break with the party, perhaps, give up on the idea of bipartisan collaboration to solve it, and ultimately take actions that would even cost you re-election?

I’ve been outspoken about this. I’m not here to get re-elected.

If it gets to a constitutional crisis, you’re going to have to look at any and all of the ways out of this. And it’s not just going to take me. Let’s make that clear. Just like Prop. 50, it’s going to take the people. That’s what’s one of the great things about this country. We’re not just about one person. We actually have the people who are going to need to stand up and be a part of this.

Does it keep you up at night?

Oh, absolutely. There’s too many aspects about this job that keep me up at night. But this is a hard job.

It looks like a thankless job. 


Right now, it’s tough. It can be very, very tough because no matter what you do, no matter what pieces of legislation you’ve passed – and I’ve got 30 bills signed into law – no matter the federal funding I’ve been able to bring into the district, no matter the good that we do, it’s a constant fight right now. But I’m not in this job to have fun. I’m in this job to be a part of the fight so that our constituents can relish this place that we live in without being able to be kept up at night on these questions that you’re asking me.

Agricultural workers are the backbone of Monterey County’s agricultural economy. The same workers, many of them are undocumented, are being targeted by ICE. Any policies to support and safeguard these people and their families?

This deportation policy by this administration is something that is unbelievably destructive when it comes to creating fear, it’s not just going after felons and gang members, which, as a former prosecutor, I’m OK with.

But once you start broadening that net and sweeping up people based on their color, based on their location, based on what they look like, you’re not only hurting families in this community, you’re hurting our economy, you’re hurting our society, you’re hurting our humanity. We are continuing to push back, obviously, not just with potential legislation, because obviously that’s very difficult right now. 


But we have to continue to make sure that we do our part, and that is coming up with some sort of immigration reform. Look, this may sound outside the box, but I think if there is an opportunity for reasonable immigration reform, this president can do it. He’s got to understand, though, he’s got to get rid of Stephen Miller.
I believe most of the impetus for this immigration policy and deportation policy, it’s coming from Stephen Miller.

I think we can get immigration reform done. What I mean by that is we can secure a border, we can revamp our asylum system, and we need to provide the protections, not just to the men and women who are here working in agriculture construction, healthcare, hospitality, doing a lot of jobs that no American will do. We have to protect them. We always got to protect their families as well. We have to make sure that these people are allowed to come here, work here, contribute here, and continue to be a part of our community and society.

What did you think of Pete Hegseth and President Trump’s speeches to the generals?

That was the most humiliating thing I think I’ve experienced as a veteran. He’s standing in front of the most experienced military leadership in the world, giving such a misogynistic, horrific speech.

The fact that they stood there, not just through his speech, but through the president’s – who got out of his military service based on bone spurs – That gives me hope. If there is a point where it comes to a constitutional crisis, if there is a point where it comes to him attempting to use our men and women in uniform for his personal services to overthrow our democracy, to fulfill his goals of having an autocracy, what I have faith in is not necessarily the Congress or the Senate. What I have faith in are the men and women in uniform, who understand that when they put on that uniform, it’s not to the president – it’s to the Constitution of the United States. That’s what gives me hope.