From Track Star to Capitol Hill:

Connor's Unforgettable Glimpse Into Government

By Connor Knight

Hi All!

My name is Connor Knight, and I am a rising senior student-athlete on the Long Island University-Brooklyn Track & Field Team. From June 25-30, 2024, I took a trip with South Carolina Citizens for Life to Washington, D.C. to shadow Congressman Joe Wilson, R-SC, and his staff for a day and to attend the National Right to Life Conference. 

Our journey began at the Longworth House which was the second of three office buildings constructed for the U.S. House of Representatives. This is where Congressman Wilson has had his office since he was elected in 2001, and he has refused to move to a larger senior office due to liking his view of the Capitol. Additionally, he also has a large number of photographs and other memorials that adorn the walls of his office. Moving them to another office would be a daunting task. Just watch this video from when he moved into his current office a few years ago!

Video courtesy of @RepJoeWilson YouTube channel

When we first arrived, the Congressman’s staff introduced us to his interns and then we were told the Congressman may not be in that day because of a medical procedure the previous day. His staff and interns spoke very highly of the Congressman’s character and how interning for him has been such a great experience. 

At 10:00 a.m., the interns took us down to the House Committee on Small Business where we got to listen in on an interesting session dealing with the federal government’s use of special software to censor people. The ranking member of this committee is New York Democrat Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez, and she opened the session by arguing that the government does not use any special software designed to censor the public and that this is a right-wing myth. The Committee then invited four witnesses to speak about the issue. One of these was Ms. Jenin Younes who testified that, while she leans left politically, she doesn’t agree that such censorship is a right-wing myth and that the federal government, all the way up to the current administration, has used private industry software to do what the constitution prohibits. She also added how the government hides behind the guise of fighting misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation, but the problem is that these are all defined by the censors. Another key witness was Dr. Mary Anne Franks who testified that the government is allowed to do everything that the witnesses have accused it of and that their actions are not censorship, including funding a political media outlet that sides with their own party.

After lunch, the interns took us on a tour of the Capitol Building. Upon returning to the office, we were able to meet Congressman Wilson. He took us to his next meeting which was with the Committee on Foreign Affairs. The topic of discussion involved the subcommittee on Europe going over the Biden administration's policy on current European events such as the war in Ukraine and the displacement of Armenians. Congressman Bill Keating, D-MA, began the discussion by talking about the downsides of the Republicans proposal to cut 12% of the foreign affairs budget. The committee opened up the floor for the Honorable James O’Brien who is the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs. He testified about the $1.2 billion budget for foreign affairs stating that 38% will be spent on the war in Ukraine, with plans to rebuild their nation, and 26% spent on global governance challenges (mainly defeating China). Congressman Wilson used his time to speak on the importance of Ukraine winning the war against Russia. He stressed that this is a bipartisan issue and that the current administration must allow Ukrainians to go on the offensive and strike back against Russia now that they are able to fight back.

After the committee hearing was over, Congressman Wilson took us to the House session where several bills for amendments were being voted on. There were two bills on the floor each having a 10-minute voting period and ten other bills each with a 2-minute voting period. Even though the House is divided up into two sides it was great to see Congressman Wilson willingness to talk with opposing members of the House. He told us that while they may not agree on the time of day, it’s important to treat everyone with respect, and that’s exactly how he conducted himself.

I would like to close out the first edition of my trip to D.C. by saying thank you to all the donors that made this trip possible. Getting to shadow one of our U.S. Congressmen and witness the House vote was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I am so privileged to have been a part of because of all your support.