District 45 Rep. Derek Tran ceremonially sworn in at CSUF

Nearly two months after being officially sworn into Congress, 45th Congressional District Rep. Derek Tran was joined by members of the Cal State Fullerton and Orange County community at the Golleher Alumni House for a ceremonial swearing-in.

Coming into his first term in Congress, the newly elected Democrat will face the uphill battle of opposing Republican control over both chambers of Congress and the presidency.

“Our community institutions have been threatened by funding freezes and there’s too much fear and uncertainty coming out of Washington right now, but I remain hopeful that our proud and diverse community will endure,” Tran said.

In addition to President Donald Trump’s electoral victory, Republicans now hold 218 seats to the Democrats’ 215 seats in the House of Representatives, while in the Senate, Republicans control 53 seats to the Democrats’ 47.

Regarding recent issues in Washington, Tran reiterated his stance in support of diversity, equity and inclusion programs.

“I do not think highly of those executive orders,” he said in an interview with the Daily Titan. “I think it’s purposeful in a manner of destroying how great our country is and I’m going to continue fighting for those issues.”

Still, Tran remains confident that Democrats can oppose the Republican agenda.

“I think [the Republicans] have a very thin majority in Congress right now. They’re going to need every single vote,” Tran said. “It’s going to be very tough for them to tell [the Democrats] that they want to negotiate in good faith, but we’ve seen Speaker Johnson renege on a couple of his promises the last time around.”

As part of the ceremony, U.S. Court of Appeals 9th District Judge Jacqueline Nguyen gave brief remarks and read the oath of office, while 46th Congressional District Rep. Lou Correa spoke to the crowd prior. In addition, CSUF Interim Vice President for University Advancement Kimberly Shiner was also present and spoke briefly during the ceremony.

“Your voice on the hill is more important now than ever and I look forward to your leadership, not only for your constituents here in Orange County, but for the entire country,” Nguyen said.

In November, California’s 45th District election was won by 653 votes over the then-incumbent Rep. Michelle Steel as the vote-counting process spanned three weeks before the Associated Press called the race for Tran in early December.

The slim margins that determined Tran’s victory came after an election season that saw frequent jabs exchanged between the two candidates, highlighted by allegations of corruption and communist sympathies, among other controversies.

With the recent flurry of executive actions from the Trump administration, Democrats have felt increased pressure to act. Notably, a Feb. 11 article published by Axios detailed a tense closed-door meeting between top Democratic party officials and leaders from grassroots groups MoveOn and Indivisible.

Among the many criticisms were that Democrats need to be more confrontational and are not doing enough to combat the Trump Administration.

As Tran looks towards business on Capitol Hill, he said that his democratic values are what his constituents elected him for.

“I’m going to fight for our constitution,” Tran said. “I’m going to fight for democracy, because it’s important that I bring back these values for my constituents and that’s why they sent me there.”

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