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Linda T. Sánchez, CA-41 candidate, 2026 primary election questionnaire

May 5, 2026

Ahead of the June primary election, the Southern California News Group compiled a list of questions to pose to the candidates who wish to represent you. You can find the full questionnaire below. Questionnaires may have been edited for spelling, grammar, length and, in some instances, to remove hate speech and offensive language.

Name: Linda T. Sánchez

Current job title: U.S. Representative

Age: 57

Political party affiliation: Democratic

Incumbent: Yes

Other political positions held: N/A

City where you reside: Whittier

Campaign website or social media: voteforlinda.com

From voter ID to war powers and from immigration to tariffs, Congress has tackled many issues over the past year. What do you, though, see as the top three issues impacting Californians, and what specifically could you do as a lawmaker to address these issues? (Please answer in 250 words or less, and keep your response to future proposals.)

California families are struggling just to get by under President Trump’s policies. His tax cuts for billionaires, illegal tariffs, and war of choice in Iran, have made basic necessities even more unaffordable. I have introduced bipartisan legislation to bring the costs of housing, health care and child care down, I have led efforts to overturn his illegal tariffs that are driving up grocery prices, and I voted against the Iran war that caused the spike in gas and energy prices we’re now seeing.

Californians are also deeply concerned about the future of our democracy. We’re watching Trump undermine democratic institutions every day and rig the system to enrich himself and his billionaire buddies without any pushback from Congress. Each day the damage to our democracy grows. That is why I have supported and consistently voted for articles of impeachment against Trump and members of his cabinet. We cannot and will not rest until he is out of office.

Our communities have also been terrorized by ICE. I voted to block their funding because it was the fastest way to rein them in. But we must also go further and fix our broken immigration system in a way that is both humane and fair and offers a real path to citizenship for those who are here and contributing to our communities.

Speaking of voter ID, the president has implored Congress to approve legislation that would require people to show proof of citizenship in order to vote. What role do you believe the federal government plays in telling states how to conduct their own elections, as dictated by the U.S. Constitution? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

At a time when families are struggling with the cost of groceries and gas, President Trump has decided making it harder to vote is his top priority. I voted against the Republican SAVE Act because its goal is not to protect our elections but to undermine them. It would disenfranchise millions of eligible voters by requiring them to show either a passport or birth certificate to vote. Women who can’t find their marriage certificate or workers who can’t afford time off would be unable to vote. It would also restrict mail-in voting, making it harder for seniors, people with disabilities and working families to exercise their right to vote.

I believe in securing our elections by protecting against foreign interference, preventing voter intimidation, and ensuring every vote is counted. The SAVE Act moves us in the wrong direction. I also oppose Trump’s plan to deploy ICE agents at polling places. The chaos they have created has no place in our communities, and certainly not at our polling places.

California has a constitutional right to administer our own elections, and we won’t surrender that to Trump.

What, in your opinion, should the federal government focus on when it comes to immigration policy? For example, do you place a priority on border security, visas for high-skilled workers, refuge for asylum seekers, etc., and why? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

We need to fix our immigration system so it’s both humane and fair. That is why I’m leading the U.S. Citizenship Act in Congress. My bill is the Democratic Party’s response to our broken system. It prioritizes family unity, upholds our moral and legal obligations to asylum seekers, and recognizes the valuable contributions that immigrants make to our communities and our economy.

My bill would create an earned pathway to citizenship for law-abiding, hardworking individuals, legalize Dreamers and farmworkers, and clear the family-based visa backlog to reunite families that have been separated for years. It also strengthens asylum and other humanitarian protections, ensuring that people fleeing violence and persecution are treated with dignity, while we address many of the root causes of migration.

The bill also addresses ICE’s abuses, requiring agents to show identification, bans masks, and prohibits enforcement actions in sensitive places like schools, churches, and hospitals. It also holds the Trump administration accountable for its cruel and inhumane treatment at the detention centers.

It’s been over a year since Gov. Gavin Newsom asked the federal government for supplemental disaster aid to help Southern California communities rebuild after the devastating Palisades and Eaton wildfires, but neither President Donald Trump nor Congress has acted. What would you do to push for the funding, besides writing letters to the Trump administration or the leaders of Congress? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

I worked with my Democratic colleagues to add billions of dollars for California wildfire victims to the latest funding bill. Unfortunately, the Republican majority in Congress continues to block it over ICE funding and the completely unrelated SAVE Act voter suppression bill. Funding for disaster victims should never come with strings attached or unreasonable conditions. That is how we have always treated disasters, whether in a blue or red state. It’s unconscionable that Speaker Johnson and President Trump continue to leave wildfire victims in limbo because they want to attack California. I will keep fighting until the victims receive the relief they are owed.

But we must do more to help wildfire victims. We need to increase federal funding to better protect communities against future wildfires and ensure that victims today have access to all the programs available to other natural disaster victims. For instance, I helped advance the Federal Disaster Tax Relief Act out of committee. That bill will make victims of the recent wildfires eligible for numerous tax relief benefits already available to victims of other natural disasters.

Do you support a ban or restriction on congressional lawmakers and their families from buying or selling individual stocks? Why or why not? And what would you propose to ensure lawmakers aren’t using their positions to engage in insider trading? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

Members of Congress trading stocks is a clear conflict of interest and undermines public trust. The decisions that we make should be for the public good, not personal financial gain. That’s why I’m a cosponsor of the TRUST Act, which would ban members of Congress from trading individual stocks. I also do not own any individual stocks myself. Californians deserve to know their elected officials are serving the public interest, not getting rich off their position.

Do you support stronger regulations on pollution and carbon emissions? If so, how would you ensure those regulations aren’t overly burdensome on small businesses or lower-income families? And if not, how do you propose lawmakers protect the environment and curtail the impacts of climate change? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

I supported Build Back Better and the Inflation Reduction Act under President Biden because both bills made major investments in addressing the climate crisis and expanding clean energy solutions. They also included strong protections for workers and small businesses, including more funding for SBA loans and regulatory relief to help ease the transition.

We don’t have to choose between reducing harmful carbon emissions or our economy. California is proof of that. Investments in clean energy are creating jobs and driving our economic growth. Choosing not to act would be far more costly for our public health and economy.

President Donald Trump has significantly increased spending for the U.S. Department of Defense. Would you, as a member of Congress, approve additional dollars for the military if the president were to ask for more funding? How would you ensure that any military spending does not end up putting the American people or national security in harm’s way? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

President Trump has asked for $200 billion more for his war in Iran, but he has not asked for a single penny to help lower costs at home. I will not support giving him any more funds to engage in his illegal war of choice. We cannot waste billions of dollars on another forever war in the Middle East. That is money that would be better invested in lower costs for working families, extending health care subsidies, rebuilding our aging infrastructure, or improving our schools.

Under what specific circumstances do you believe the U.S. should engage in a war? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

The United States should only go to war when there is a direct threat to American lives or our national security. And before doing so, Congress must be consulted and there must be a thorough plan to win the war and minimize the loss of life.

Do you believe a president should seek congressional approval before engaging in military action overseas? Why, or why not? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

The president must seek Congress’ approval before putting our brave service members in harm’s way, as the Constitution demands.

Congress, in theory, is supposed to serve as a check on the president through budgetary, legislative and oversight powers. Do you believe Congress has fulfilled that obligation during the past two administrations, with one being a Democrat and the other a Republican? Why or why not? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

There was plenty of oversight of the Biden administration, both by Democrats and Republicans in Congress. However, Republicans now have a governing trifecta, controlling the House, Senate and the White House. It’s clear they’re only interested in acting as a rubber stamp for the president’s every demand, consistently voting to block Congress’ ability to conduct oversight. For example, Republicans have refused to investigate his numerous abuses of office to enrich himself and his family, his illegal tariffs, or the threat of ICE in our communities. In fact, I worked with my Democratic colleagues to demand information from the Trump administration after it was reported that the IRS was sharing sensitive taxpayer data to DHS for immigration enforcement. They also blocked a vote on Trump’s illegal tariffs, despite the Constitution requiring us to have authority over tariffs.

Governments around the world are increasingly considering an age ban or other restrictions on social media use among young people, citing mental health and other concerns. Should Congress adopt such restrictions? If so, what specific restrictions do you propose? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

I do everything I can to protect my teenage son, but I can’t see everything happening on his phone. California leads the world in tech innovation, but we also lead in online safety for teenagers. Our protections against addictive algorithms that target children, notification bans during school hours and at night, and stronger parental controls and privacy settings, should be the model for the rest of the country.

Statistically, violent crime rates in California are on the decline, yet residents still don’t feel safe or at ease in their communities. How do you see your role in Congress in addressing the underlying issues that make Californians feel unsafe in their own neighborhoods? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

One of my most important roles as a member of Congress is putting federal dollars back into our communities. Over the years, I have secured millions of dollars for public safety programs in our district, including in Whittier, Norwalk, and La Mirada. This federal funding has strengthened our public transportation infrastructure to make it safer for community residents, and improved training for future law enforcement officers to de-escalate dangerous situations.

As a single mother, keeping our children safe in schools is also a top priority for me. That’s why I have authored bipartisan bills to stop bullying in schools as well as provide more federal funding to keep fentanyl and other dangerous drugs out of our children’s classrooms.

There are term limits to serve in the California Legislature, but none to serve in Congress. Would you advocate for term limits for House members? Why or why not? If you support term limits, how many years maximum should a House member be allowed to serve? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

When a public servant stops serving their community, that’s a problem. That is why primaries are so important and why I welcome them. They strengthen our democratic process and ensures it reflects the will of the people. I think term limits are not necessarily the solution. A member should be able to keep serving their community, so long as they retain the trust of their constituents and continue to deliver results.

It takes years to build institutional knowledge of Congress and the federal government and how it functions. While there certainly comes a point when a person’s age begins to impact their ability to serve and we need to address that, throwing away a public servant’s tenure and knowledge of their community to serve an arbitrary term limit does not necessarily benefit us.

What’s a hidden talent you have? (Please answer in 250 words or less.)

I love performing stand-up comedy. It’s both exciting and terrifying to step on a stage in front of a room full of people and try to make them laugh. Being a single mom and balancing a demanding work schedule means I don’t get to do it as often as I’d like. But comedy has always been a way for me to connect with people and hopefully bring a little joy to them, so I still try to find time whenever I can.

Orange County Register

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Linda T. Sánchez, CA-41 candidate, 2026 primary election questionnaire

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