Exit Interview with Susan Wild

Susan Wild took office in 2018 as part of a wave of female lawmakers who won congressional seats in the midterm election following Donald Trump’s first presidential victory. Now, six years later, Wild is on her way out of Congress as Trump is heading back to Washington, D.C.

In the first of a series of interviews with lawmakers leaving high-profile positions, City & State spoke with Wild, who has served as both House Ethics Committee chair and ranking member, about her time in Washington, what’s needed from Congress and what’s next for her. 

The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

What stands out about the Lehigh Valley that most people may not realize?

One of the things that I really felt was important when I got to Congress was to make sure that people outside of the Lehigh Valley and outside of the state realized just how significant the Greater Lehigh Valley area is in terms of population density and so forth. I kind of made it my mission to make sure that we got on everybody’s radar, because it’s the third-largest region in Pennsylvania, it’s the fastest-growing region, and it obviously is a very, very important part of the state. And for political purposes, it’s the ultimate swing district…So that was a big mission for me, which, I am happy to say, I think I did a pretty good job of raising awareness, particularly with folks in Washington who are responsible for handing out resources.

What are some aspects of a congressperson’s role that people don’t know about?

The job really is almost like two separate jobs. You’ve got the Washington job, which is committee hearings, voting and passing legislation. But equally, if not more important, is the job that you’re doing at home, and part of that’s done by your district staff. They’re doing daily case work on visas and passports and Social Security and all those things. But for members of Congress, it’s a big part of their job to be everywhere you possibly can when you’re home, which is roughly 50% of the time. It’s not just wandering around the streets but having town halls, having roundtables and meeting with people. 

Quite honestly, what became my favorite part of the job was talking to people and hearing about what their problems and concerns were – that goes back to when I was first campaigning in 2018. There were a lot of things you expected to hear about, but a lot were things that you wouldn’t know about unless you were specifically reaching out to people and hearing from them. 

Over the years, to me, the most important part was that I would listen to people and hear what their concerns were – and when I say people, I’m also including companies, businesses, manufacturers, all of that. A lot of the work that I would do in Washington was very much guided by what I was hearing on the ground back home. Probably half the job is the Washington piece of it, but an equally important part of it is the at-home job, and they’re completely different things, so that’s why I often say it’s like having two different jobs.

I also cannot overstate the importance of the district office team. One of my greatest sources of pride is when people I didn't know would walk up to me in a public place and say, ‘I just want you to know you’ve got the greatest staff. They helped me with whatever the issue was, they were so professional. They were so helpful’ … that was really gratifying for me. I had a lot of my district office team stay intact for almost the entire six years, and they just did a fabulous job. I really have to give them a ton of credit, and that’s more important to the success of a member of Congress, if you ask me, than even their D.C. team. The D.C. team is very important for me and for any member of Congress, but for the folks back home, your constituents, the more important job is the one that’s on the ground there.

What advice do you have for Capitol Hill newcomers?

Listen to a lot of people…There’s a whole body of people out there that are happy to help. It’s a customer service job that is very specialized and most people coming into the job don’t know what they’re doing unless they've done it for a different member of Congress. So it has to be people who learn fast – but, more than anything, are really, really good at working with the public, because the public isn’t always nice to them. If something happens or I take a vote that somebody doesn’t like, there’s a lot of animosity that they also have to deal with, or when somebody's just frustrated with the IRS… The temperament of the staff is really, really important. 

And finally, I would just say to anybody coming into the job: Learn from the people who either are your predecessors – or, more importantly, the people who are there in your caucus and have been there for a while and almost always will want to help you do well. You get there and you’re kind of let loose on your own, and you have to create your own office. Some people will reach out, but you have to look for help. And everybody that I ever reached out to, including Charlie Dent, my predecessor, was incredibly helpful to me.

Did you share similar advice with U.S. Rep.-elect Ryan Mackenzie?

Yeah, I’ve only had one conversation with him, although I did text with him last week. I’ve said, ‘Whatever you need, let me know,’ and the person who will be his district director has reached out to mine and they’ve had at least two conversations that I’m aware of. 

There’s some stuff that will need an immediate handoff. The military service academy nominations happen right around now, and for these students, it’s like their college acceptance and it’s very time-sensitive and very much top of mind for them. The nominations will be made very soon, before I leave, but some of the acceptances won’t happen until after I've left. 

Charlie was great about contacting me, and I intend to fully hand that off between me and my staffer who does that work to Ryan’s team, because it’s very, very important to those students. 

I know there have been a lot of post-election takes, particularly coming from the Democratic side, but which among them rung truest for you?

I think the major takeaway in Pennsylvania is that everybody, Democrats and Republicans, recognized how incredibly vital it was, and as a result, an incredible amount of resources were put in on both sides. And I think that as a whole, Democrats may have underestimated Trump's coattails, and I do believe he had very long coattails that affected a lot of races – mine, Matt Cartwright’s, Bob Casey’s. I think perhaps the Democratic Party, the national party more than the state party, really underestimated that because they weren’t as long as in other states. Also, the GOP grassroots efforts to get people registered and so forth clearly paid off. 

I think Democrats have a really good base and basis in the things that we care about. I don’t think we’re nearly as good at messaging…but Democratic values are good. They’re where they should be. But we have not been very good at helping people understand exactly who we are. There’s been this strange kind of morph into people thinking somehow that we’re a party of elitists or that reproductive rights is the only thing that matters. I think Democrats have a lot more to offer and I think we should take advantage of some of the newer voices in Congress, who frankly, are very strong members. And I hope we do. 

What is needed in D.C. within these next two to four years in terms of just having a better, more efficient government?

Politically speaking, it’s going to be a rough couple of years. Just like the last two years, the Republicans are going to have a very narrow majority. In fact, I think it’s going to be more narrow than it is now. GOP lawmakers might line up a little better than they did for the last two years because Trump will have a lot to say to people who don’t get in line. And that may make it easier for the Speaker – Johnson, or whoever it is – to get things passed than in the last two years, because he’s got the president kind of standing there saying, ‘I want this, and the people who don’t get in line will pay the price.’ But in Congress, you always have to deal with things like somebody being out sick, and the majority is very, very narrow. That’s a very hard dynamic to work with. 

Democrats in Congress need to continue to unify and stand together and do everything they can to find consensus with Republicans where they can. There are a lot of us in the Democratic Caucus who are true moderates. The moderates should continue to stay in their lane and work across the aisle to get good things done. I don’t think that’s impossible. Having said that, because there will be a new president and an alarm about what his agenda might be, Democrats will also have to be prepared to stand shoulder-to-shoulder to defeat some of the things he has proposed. 

As an American citizen, I would love to see more of what I always prided myself on. There are a lot of us in Congress who don’t get much attention because it’s not sexy enough to make it onto cable news, but I really hope people will try to work from the center and recognize that it’s not a dirty word to be centrist or moderate. The extremes will always be there in both parties, but as a citizen, I want to see things being done or getting done. That’s what everybody wants, and I’m not really interested in whatever food fights are caused by politics. So if I were going to throw down a challenge, it would be that. Work to make things happen. 

If you’re working with somebody on the other side of the aisle, it doesn’t mean you necessarily agree with their other votes. You can find specific issues that are common and work on them. I’ll just give you a specific example: After Jan. 6, 2021, I was asked often, ‘Do you have a list of members that you won’t work with anymore, meaning insurrectionist Republican members?’ And my answer was, ‘Absolutely not.’ That would be ridiculous. As awful as I thought Jan. 6 was, why would I, before there’s a specific bill that I want to work on or something, say, ‘I’m not working with that person?’

What is next for you?

I will tell you that in the month of January, I’m going to give myself the grace of literally doing almost nothing – perhaps going someplace warm for a little while and getting some things done around the house that I haven’t been able to do. I’m really just giving myself some quiet time beyond that. 

I’m still in Congress, so you can’t actually go out (and openly seek jobs). There’s a phrase for it: You can have as many first dates as you want, but as soon as you have a second date, you have to disclose it. If I was talking to a prospective employer and we were going to vote on something that might affect that employer, I need to disclose that if I’m past the ‘second date.’ I’m not having any of those, but I expect I will want to stay active. 

I’m certainly not retiring, and I am not ruling out running in two years…I really, really love my community and the district. Whatever I am working on, it will be for the betterment of the 7th district and the Lehigh Valley. I met a lot of really great people while I was a member of Congress. I found it very, very rewarding. As I said, I loved working for the community, so I want to do all of those things. And as far as politics is concerned, who knows? I’m not ruling anything out.