Category: Dean Phillips

Congressman Dean Phillips Update: December 6, 2019

Hi Neighbors,

I’m checking in to tell you a little more about my week in Washington and to extend an invitation…

ONGOING GRATITUDE

After spending an extraordinary Thanksgiving week in Minnesota, I returned to Washington with a renewed sense of gratitude – especially for Americans of all colors, religions, beliefs and backgrounds who risk their lives everyday to keep us safe. I want to take a moment to honor the three Minnesota National Guard crew members who lost their lives in a Black Hawk helicopter crash yesterday afternoon. I recently flew with a St. Cloud-based crew on a Black Hawk from the Twin Cities up to Fort Ripley, and they were remarkable. I’m absolutely heartbroken and sending love to their families, friends, and fellow service men and women.

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On Wednesday, I took some time to write thank you cards to our service members as part of the American Red Cross Holidays for Heroes program.

Continue reading “Congressman Dean Phillips Update: December 6, 2019”

Trump impeachment battle plays out in politically pivotal suburbs

Democrats are plotting a 2020 strategy that relies heavily on suburban voters moving away from the Republican Party of Trump.

It was a mostly pro-impeachment crowd at U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips’ town hall meeting in suburban Brooklyn Park last month. A retired DFL legislator from Minnetonka drew applause from many of the 200 people when he urged Phillips and his fellow Democrats in Washington to “regain the authority” in the impeachment process underway against President Donald Trump.

But Phillips, a freshman who unseated a long-serving suburban Republican last year, was measured in his response. “I didn’t run for Congress to impeach a president,” he told the group. Phillips reminded his constituents he was slow to back the impeachment inquiry — “I resisted a lot of calls from the left to come out many months ago.”

The political verdict on the impeachment push by the House’s Democratic majority will depend in large part on the response of voters in suburban congressional districts increasingly at the fulcrum of national elections. Phillips, who won his suburban Hennepin and Carver County district on a message of political unity, must now reconcile his desire for bipartisanship with support for an impeachment inquiry that’s split Washington along party lines.

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Rep. Dean Phillips Update: November 30, 2019

Hi Friends,

I’m checking in after a meaningful Thanksgiving with family and friends and taking a moment to reflect with gratitude on the trust you’ve placed in me to represent you in Washington. This is the most gratifying job I have ever had, and I could not be more hopeful about our future. In the spirit of gratitude, I spent my week connecting with Minnesotans who inspire me…

LISTENING AND LEARNING

On Saturday, nearly 300 Minnesotans came out for my fifth town hall meeting. Many of you shared perspectives and actionable ideas, and Brooklyn Park Mayor Jeff Lunde delivered welcoming introductory words. The willingness of this community to invest time and energy into thoughtful policy conversations makes this job a joyful one. Continue reading “Rep. Dean Phillips Update: November 30, 2019”

Dean Phillips: What I’m Looking Forward to This Thanksgiving

Neighbors,

To me, Thanksgiving is a time for reuniting, counting our blessings, and honoring what we’ve been through.

And as I prepare to spend this year’s holiday with my family and friends, I am reminded more than ever the importance of coming together, sharing opinions, and breaking bread.

I won’t deny that things are polarized right now in Washington D.C. I know that many of the debates that we’re having right now on Capitol Hill will be playing out in miniature, around dinner tables in Minnesota and across the country.

But I’ve also learned the importance of respecting and welcoming different opinions into the conversation. It reminds me constantly that what unites us is far more powerful than what divides us.

As you prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope you’ll take a moment to do that: Reach out, break bread, and listen and learn from those around you.

Thank you for being on this journey with me. From my family to yours, I wish you a happy Thanksgiving!

Sincerely,

Dean

Phillips draws large crowd for town hall after week of impeachment hearings

Close to 300 people filled a college auditorium in Brooklyn Park, Minn., on Saturday for a town hall meeting with U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips.

The freshman Democrat, who represents the 3rd District in the western Twin Cities, drew a largely friendly crowd after a week of impeachment hearings in Washington.

Speaking with MPR News ahead of the town hall, Phillips said that while he’s not a member of the House Intelligence Committee, he attended as many of the hearings as he could.

View the complete November 23 article by Brandt Williams on the MPR News website here.