Oregon Democrat offers advice for victory through persistence and bravery

Democrat Ron Wyden has represented Oregon in the U.S. Senate since 1996 and has advice for his fellow Democrats as they become the minority party following Republicans' victory in the 2024 elections.

He also has a new book, "It Takes Chutzpah: How to Fight Fearlessly for Progressive Change," in which he makes suggestions for how people can accomplish their goals "during turbulent times."

ABC News' Linsey Davis sat down with Wyden on Tuesday to discuss the Senate confirmation hearings, the Southern California wildfires and his book.

ABC NEWS: Joining us now for more on the Senate confirmation process and for what Democrats need to do in order to find their footing as the minority party in Washington is Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden. Senator, thanks so much for your time today.

WYDEN: Thanks for having me.

ABC NEWS: So let's just kind of take a step back, peel the onion back on these confirmation hearings a little bit. Of course, it is a difficult road for the Democrats. You'd need three Republicans to also vote for you, for anybody to not get confirmed.

So let's look at Pete Hegseth, for example. Do you think -- it was obviously a fiery exchange, I think fair to say today -- do you think it's going to be toughest for him?

SEN. WYDEN: Let's talk about what's really going on there. I think the, the Trump people are just making a mockery out of the Advice and Consent provisions. This is something that the Founding Fathers felt so strongly about because this was the key kind of role for the Senate in terms of oversight.

And by limiting the ability of senators, even members who've been pretty senior, to get access to this information, it seems to me the Trump people are just making a mockery out of it. In terms of his background, I feel that Sen. Reed hit a number of my key concerns. I just think there are character questions, I think there are management issues, the fact that these veterans programs on his watch went belly up, are all very troubling.

ABC NEWS: Let's switch gears here for a moment. Of course, the fires in Los Angeles have really dominated the headlines. Oregon, no stranger to wildfires in your state.

Likely you've heard, potentially even the speaker of the House has suggested, that there should be some conditions put on any money, any government funding that goes to the state of California. If that is the road that they choose to go down, what would be your message to your Republican colleagues?

WYDEN: Let me tell you, if the Republicans are going to start putting conditions on California, there are going to be a lot of insurance companies in Florida that are going to say "What in the world is going on?"

Because you can be very sure that if there are conditions put on California, that will apply to other areas in terms of natural disasters -- certainly Florida with the hurricanes.

And you can be very sure that those kinds of approaches that the Republicans are talking about for California will set a new precedent and a dangerous one as it relates to natural disasters.

ABC NEWS: Let's talk about the book "It Takes Chutzpah: How to Fight Fearlessly for Progressive Change." If we, so to speak, say that the Democrats are in the midst of the desert at this time. What do you think that your party's North Star should be?

WYDEN: As Gerald Ford found out years ago, nobody whips inflation. And certainly that was a big, big challenge. So we're going to be zeroed in on those issues people talk about -- in their kitchens and their living rooms -- many of them go to the Senate Finance Committee, for example.

One of my big priorities is going after these middlemen in health care -- they're called pharmacy benefit managers. They're basically taking money that ought to go to seniors and to taxpayers. That's what I talk about in the book; this is not your typical, you know, political book where somebody just starts bragging, then eventually says "I'm running for president." I'm talking about how you can empower individuals.

ABC NEWS: What made you decide "I'm going to title my book 'It Takes Chutzpah'"?

WYDEN: I decided early on, I would say in this book, I'm the Senate's designated driver. I'm the only one out of 100 who has formally announced that I am not running for president. I'm going to be working on, you know, fair taxation, holding down health care costs, tackling this issue of food prices. I'm talking about stuff people care about in their household.

ABC NEWS: You have a good line in here. One of your rules of chutzpah. "You say don't push rocks up hills. Push boulders. They will fall back on you, but you'll gain strength to get to the top." Why do you think that the boulders, so to speak, fell back on the Democrats in November?

WYDEN: Well, I think, as I say, inflation was a big, big challenge. And, you know, we were still coming out of some of the COVID, you know, issues. And the fact that it was an abbreviated campaign.

ABC NEWS: Lastly, what do you hope the takeaway is for any reader who picks up "It Takes Chutzpah"?

WYDEN: Hope they'll say, I'll give you an example. You know, after the holiday, a lot of people say, I'm going to go ask for a promotion and I'm going to ask for a raise. And there are some studies that indicate that a lot of women say, "Maybe I should be a little more cautious. They might hold it against me." I want them to say when they read that book, they have the power, they have chutzpah, go get that promotion, go get that raise.

ABC NEWS: All right, I'm going to do it. I'm going to bring this book into the office with me to the boss. "It Takes Chutzpah." Senator, thank you so much for joining us.

You can read his new book, "It Takes Chutzpah: How to Fight Fearlessly for Progressive Change" starting today, anywhere you get your books.