Kendra Horn talks Trump administration's impact on federal workforce and education in Oklahoma

Kendra Horn is a Democrat who served in Congress from January 3, 2019 – January 3, 2021, representing Oklahoma’s 5th Congressional District.

She defeated incumbent Republican Steve Russell in November 2018 and was herself defeated two years later by the district’s current representative, Stephanie Bice, a Republican.

Last October, Horn was named president and CEO of the Oklahoma City Public Schools Foundation. Created in 1984, OKCPS works to create a bridge between the Oklahoma City community and the state’s largest school district.

According to its website, over the years:

“The Foundation has made strategic pivots to align with the needs of the District. Today, the Foundation continues its ongoing effort to develop and support programs that improve education for the children of Oklahoma City and to elevate its critical role in connecting the resources of the community to the needs of students and teachers in Oklahoma City Public Schools. Our mission: to advance excellence, advocate for equity, and build strong community support for Oklahoma City Public Schools has never been more important.”

Griffin Media Washington Correspondent Alex Cameron interviewed Horn Friday, Feb. 14, on the general subject of the new Trump administration and its efforts to reshape the federal government, primarily, through the work of Elon Musk and his DOGE (Department of Government Efficiency) group. The following is a verbatim transcript of a portion of the interview:

Alex: Are you following closely what’s going on in Washington?

Horn: Absolutely. I think it's impacting all of us, too. There's a lot to take in, a lot of things happening. Right now is absolutely a critical time to pay attention, especially when we're talking about critical federal programs. Wearing my current hat and just looking at the Department of Education, we need to pay attention to these things and why they're important and understand what's going on and how it impacts us, because it's easy to get lost in the slogans and the tweets and the trying to govern by, you know, short statements--but the truth is, it's complicated and it's complex, and there are great needs at the state, local and federal levels. So, we all have to pay attention.

Alex: If you were a Democrat in Washington right now, how would you be responding?

Horn: First and foremost, I think we need people on both sides of the aisle—and this is what I always strove to do is—reach out and work with people on both sides of the aisle. We need Congress to do its job. They have the power of the purse; they have the power to make laws. They need to be doing their jobs. So, regardless of party—and I would say this either way—we need to be asking the tough questions. We need Congress to be doing its job and passing a budget and funding the agencies that it has authorized. Yes, our U.S. president has a lot of power, but no, they don't have unlimited power, and that should be true regardless of who's in the White House. And asking the tough questions is a way that our districts get represented. I would be doing that, regardless of if it was a Democrat or a Republican in the White House, because the bottom line is, you can say you're being transparent, but that doesn't actually mean you're being transparent. Claiming you have powers to do things doesn't give you the power to do things. If agencies have been authorized by Congress, the president can't just unilaterally -- or certainly an unelected person that has just been put in there with powers that are really kind of hazy doesn't just get to do what they want, we still have a democratic system. So, I would be reaching across the aisle. I would be asking the tough questions, regardless of who's in the White House.

Alex: The Trump administration gave federal workers the option to take a buyout and leave their jobs. We’ve heard reports that workers were told the administration only wanted the best, brightest and those who would be loyal to the new administration to stay. What do you think of that?

Horn: Our federal workforce does an amazing job, right? Are there issues in any system? Yes, I think we can say that and then say, how do we figure that out? But our public servants swear an oath of allegiance and loyalty to this country, that's what they do. So many federal workers, day in and day out, have served under administrations of both parties. Our public servants are keeping us safe when we're flying in planes. They're working at the VA, and they're serving our veterans. They're working at the Department of Education to make sure that our schools, like OKCPS, have critical funding, so children have food that they need to so their brains will work so they can learn. They are working at Social Security Administration, at the IRS. They're doing things that literally save lives. Right? Things that we take for granted, making sure our food is safe. The loyalty that we should be asking for and that, historically, we have asked for—for these public servants who are often maligned—is to our nation and to the best interest of our country.

Alex: Is it your opinion that the Trump administration is trying to encroach on Congress's authority? Is that a concern for you?

Horn: Oh, I think it's absolutely clear—yeah. Whether or not this administration likes some of these programs, make your case. You have to work within the system. They can't just eliminate entire federal agencies that have been authorized by Congress. That's not the way our system works. We have the Judiciary, we have the Executive branch, and Congress, and they each have their part to play, and our founders set it up that way, so that one person, or a small group of people couldn’t just take over. It was an intentional decision not to have a king, not to have a dictator in this country. And—make your case. That's how it should work. And we need people of both parties asking, ‘Wait, why?' It's like, president can't unilaterally undo a constitutional amendment. It is very clear, in the 14th amendment, any person born or naturalized is a U.S. citizen. They can't just undo it like that. That's not the way it works.

Alex: What are some of the specific concerns you have about how this could impact education?

Horn: I think education is such an important place for us to talk about right now, because if we're going to—you asked what I would tell people—so, let's take it out of the us versus them, D versus R, because I think that's where we get lost, and put it into real terms. 90 percent of the kids in this state are going to public schools. We have to invest in that education because down the road it's going to we're going to feel the benefit or experience the consequences of investing or not investing. That each child that's coming out of our school system should be ready to face the world and to be productive, either they go into higher education, or they do something else. That means smart policies. That means making sure that our kids aren't scared to go to school, that our teachers can teach, that we're not changing or asking them to change direction in mid-year, that we have adults in positions of power who have the ability to shape policy, that need to fund those basic services. And we should be smart about how we're doing it. And, message to everybody is asking the question “Why?” And, I want to see the receipts, I want to see the receipts, not just a claim of “we can cut all of this money.” Because a lot of the things we’re seeing right now, we won’t feel it—not in a beneficial way. Cutting thousands of jobs that provide essential services, I don't know, that protect our nation's nuclear arsenal, that ensure that kids get breakfast and lunch, that ensure that people who are on Medicaid, have access to health care? That's not just good policy from a human standpoint. It's good economic policy.