SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – This Thursday, South Lake Tahoe Democrats (SLT Democrats) were pleasantly surprised that Sen. Adam Schiff accepted the invitation to meet with the group the day after the Tahoe Summit. Members of SLT Democrats asked questions and expressed their leading concerns for the Tahoe region to the senator.

Three members, Annie Davidson, Dr. Jacob Marquette and Nancy Gibson addressed Schiff with concerns around immigration, healthcare and the U.S. Forest Service respectively.

Davidson pointed out the deep concerns surrounding ICE activity in the community. She recognized that the SLT Democrats are primarily white, but hoped to provide a voice for those who were not in attendance, especially because of monetary hardship requiring them to be at their jobs or their fears of being unjustly detained by ICE. Davidson asked, “How will we, especially elected officials, truly stand for this constitution?”

Dr. Jacob Marquette introduced himself as a family and addiction physician and urged Schiff’s office to protect Medi-Cal and Medicaid, which he saw as vital for treating patients in rural areas like Tahoe. He also called for Schiff to not focus on cost-cutting but a capability mindset.

Nancy Gibson, who retired from the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit 10 years ago addressed the poor staffing levels at the U.S. Forest Service, which she said started with the Reagan administration. She urged people to pay attention to Brooke Rollins’ actions as the secretary of agriculture, as she felt her decisions to reduce research and consolidate field sites into a singular one at Fort Collins, Colorado would negatively impact the nation.

Schiff addressed the “horrifying attack of immigrants” and said that litigation has been their strongest tool to stop or slow down harms. However, he felt that the Supreme Court was a limiting factor and called it a “morally bankrupt court” that would pose issues for continuing to fight through litigation in the future.

Regarding healthcare, Schiff acknowledged that Democrats did not have the votes to stop H.R. 1, also called the “One Big Beautiful Bill” by the Trump administration and the “Big Ugly Bill” by its dissidents.

“We have won in the court of public opinion, as it’s the second most unpopular bill passed,” said Schiff, counting on the reputation of the bill to pull support away from Republican candidates in the next election.

Schiff urged people to mobilize, referencing the win against Elon Musk’s favored candidate in Wisconsin’s supreme court race as well as No Kings Day. “None of us are powerless to affect our circumstances… and you’re damn well right (that action) matters.”

During the question portion of the event, Schiff spoke to recent events where Republicans in Texas have been proposing redistricting the state to ensure that the districts are all red. Gov. Gavin Newsom has claimed that he would support an effort to redistrict California to be completely blue. Schiff said, “We can’t fight with one hand tied behind our back,” in support of the governor’s response, but also called for national redistricting reform.

Schiff also spoke to one attendee who advocated for school funding, saying he would fight for the appropriations process, though he believed there should be a mechanism that would prevent Republicans from rescinding or impounding funds to these programs. He expected an impasse in September with upcoming budget meetings.

Lastly, Schiff addressed his voting last week on Sen. Bernie Sanders’ bills to block the sale of rifles and bombs to Israel. Robert Erlich asked him, “What would it take for you to stop the sale of rifles to Israel?”

Schiff told the crowd that that he had earlier circulated a letter among Democrats that called to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, a release of hostages held by Hamas and an end to the Israeli government displacing Palestinians. He felt that there was broad support for the strong critique of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, though that coalition clearly broke apart during voting on Sanders’ bills.

“I believe there is a more surgical way to address this than cutting off military support to Israelis against enemies like the Houthis,” said Schiff. He also attributed the start of the current conflict to the actions of Hamas in 2023, though Palestinian displacement by the Israeli government has been documented back to the 1948 Palestinian war and subsequent expulsion and flight.

Schiff also expressed a long-held view of the United States’ relationship to Israel, where he said, “Just as I would not have people abandon the U.S. due to our president, I would not have people abandon Israel due to its prime minister.” Schiff believes comprehensive and long-term peace could be found through the two-state solution.

The senator wrapped up his meeting with the SLT Democrats by asking them to consider what they could do every day to mitigate harms. “We’re going to get through this. We’re going to do this,” finished Schiff.

Eli Ramos is a reporter for Tahoe Daily Tribune. They are part of the 2024–26 cohort of California Local News Fellows through UC Berkeley.