U.S. Rep. Gabe Amo (D-R.I. 1) spoke in Sayles Hall on Monday, addressing national issues that he described as a “constitutional crisis.” The event was hosted by the Brown Political Union.
A focal point of the talk was the “unprecedented” utilization of executive power in the Trump administration. Amo voiced alarm about “an erosion of norms,” describing long-held values disappearing “with speed, with scale, a wholesale elimination.”
Prior to serving as a representative, Amo worked as a community affairs director in former Rhode Island Gov. Gina Raimondo’s administration. He was also a staff assistant in the Obama administration. Prior to his election, he most recently served as the deputy director of the White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs under former President Joe Biden.
Amo won his Congressional seat in a 2023 special election following a hotly contested primary. He made history as the first person of color elected to represent Rhode Island in Congress and was re-elected in 2024.
In an interview with The Herald after the talk, Amo attributed his victory to three things: his “spirit of service” for his community, his range of experiences in government and his “laser focus” on “finding real solutions to intractable challenges.”
Amo kicked off the event by reflecting on his upbringing. He grew up as a child of immigrants from Ghana and Liberia, taking local public transit to school every day. “I exhibit a lot of progress that the American Dream represents,” Amo said of his journey to Congress.
Amo’s approach to advocating for his constituents is guided by these lived experiences, he said. “We are all made of some level of hard work, grit, resilience and determination,” he added.
Along with warnings about the Trump administration, Amo also condemned the reach and discredited the qualifications of Elon Musk as a special government employee.
He vouched for the value of programs like Social Security and Medicaid, as well as for institutions like the Food and Drug Administration and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration — institutions targeted by the Trump administration.
After these warnings, the talk shifted to focus on bipartisan issues with an emphasis on collaborating across party lines. Amo noted seeing “bipartisan breakthrough” on the topic of food advocacy. “It’s just got to be unifying to feed hungry kids,” Amo said.
In response to a student question about the recent funding cuts to Brown and other peer institutions, Amo expressed support for academic freedom and encouraged students to trust the effort and influence of Brown’s leadership. “There is a legitimate agency in these institutions to stand up and protect what you believe in,” Amo said.
But Amo also implored everyone to “find your place and find your voice.”
Malcolm Furman ’27, incoming president of the BPU, said that while BPU has a national scope, the club also makes an effort to feature locally elected officials like Amo.
Furman said that Amo’s talk was “particularly valuable” amid federal actions that have been affecting Brown.
For Owen Fick ’27, attending the event and hearing Amo speak was reassuring. As a student interested in research, Amo’s talk left Fick with a sense that “things may seem really dire, but there is still hope for change.”
Everton Prospere ’27, the chairman of the party of pragmatic progressives within the BPU, attended the event out of interest in his Congressional representative. “You don’t really often get a chance to speak to a sitting member of Congress.”
Prospere’s biggest takeaway from Amo’s talk was not just optimism, but “taking that optimism and doing something with it.”
