Look around Emily Randall’s office on Capitol Hill, and a few things stand out.

Elk horns remind her of her grandfather, who brought them home from a hunt on the Olympic Peninsula around the time she was born. 

“Alaska Airlines has a nice oversized game policy … I had to wrap it really well, and then the carpentry shop built a little mount for them,” the Democrat says.

Also dotting the purple walls? Her grandfather’s first union agreement as a sheet metal worker and a “protect trans kids” sign that she bought at a Pride event. 

Wallpaper from drag queen RuPaul’s home decor collection covers the bathroom, which Randall opened up to all visitors after Speaker Mike Johnson’s announcement last year that single-sex facilities on the Hill were “reserved for individuals of that biological sex.”

“I think finding places where we can connect … makes this place a little more human,” Randall says. 

As the freshman from Washington state builds a reputation on the Hill for personal expression, she also has a suggestion: Listen more.

“I used to be in committees in the state Senate where members would ask questions to which they didn’t know the answer — so they could learn the answer and improve their policy analysis,” she says. “And now we get our five minutes to make our speech, and you want it to be clippable, and you want to make sure you say the thing that makes you look smart, and that is weird.”

Randall recently sat down with Roll Call to talk about what her first term at the Capitol has been like so far. This interview has been edited and condensed.

Q: You were a state senator before this. What’s surprised you most about Congress? 

A: How performative it is. We’re all sort of influencers, right? And in a fractured media environment, you’ve got to try all different ways to reach people, and so that’s what we’re doing. 

I’ve talked to a lot of people who’ve said, “It was when C-SPAN cameras came in — that made it more performative.” But we had TVW in the state legislature and still were able to have a meaningful discussion. 

Q: You’re the first LGBTQ+ Latina elected to Congress, as well as the first openly LGBTQ+ person elected to Congress from Washington state. What has that been like?

A: It was certainly never my motivation to run for office, but it sneaks up on me sometimes when there are either kids at events or elders.

Young people are growing up in this anti-LGBTQ world that my generation didn’t to the same extent. We celebrated marriage equality wins, and now these kids are having their identities attacked all the time, and to see a person who shares their identity in a position of power is really exciting. 

And then there’s the grandmas, or people who saw all their friends die during the AIDS pandemic, who just get teary-eyed about what it means to them to have a queer elected official, and that reminds me of the great responsibility of being a “first.”

Q: You’ve brought a lot of your personal style, whether that’s decorating your office or dressing colorfully. How has that been received? 

A: What I love about the way that we’ve decorated the office is that one, it’s happy and feels like me. I need the space to feel true. 

But also, when groups of people come into the room, they’re like, “Oh, this is the most welcoming congressional office we’ve ever been to.” 

Often folks will be like, “Oh, I recognize that artist,” or “My grandpa was a sheet metal worker too.” Finding places where we can connect, whether it’s through colorful clothes or art or vibes, makes this place a little more human. 

Q: Last year, you led a letter with other Democratic women to the National Women’s Soccer League, urging them to uphold their collective bargaining agreement after rejecting the Spirit’s contract with Trinity Rodman. 

A: We have fought for so long for women to be paid equally and commensurately with their skills. And in a lot of private-sector spaces and public-sector spaces, we’ve been able to make progress, but sports is sort of the last frontier. 

Collective bargaining and your ability to advocate for a fair contract is such a benchmark of democratic values. It was the right thing to do, and I was really excited that it was like that day or the next day that they made progress. 

I was just watching the WNBA draft, and to see the jump from 2025 pay to 2026 pay for rookies? Incredible, incredible.

Q: You’ve been conducting unannounced oversight visits to ICE’s Northwest processing facility in Tacoma and have said you were denied entry twice. What are you seeing?

A: Announced visits give them time to prepare and show you exactly what they want you to see, and so we try to do both.

We’re seeing folks held for longer and longer stays. There are barriers to health care access. We’re hearing reports of nontimely food delivery, people not getting access to the outdoors.

I visited this young man, a gay Iranian man. He’s trying to seek asylum, and to be out and be deported back to Iran — that would be a death sentence.

I just think about the human toll, the regular people in our communities who are being harassed in the streets and detained and having their human rights violated. We need a better system, and we need to hold this administration accountable.

Quick Hits 

Last book you read? “Yellowface” by R.F. Kuang 

In politics, can the ends justify the means? I think yes, they have to — but don’t commit crimes or atrocities or human rights violations along the way. 

What’s the most meaningful thing you display in your office? These elk horns. It’s a Roosevelt elk that my grandpa shot. They were in his garage for most of my life, and when I was elected to Congress, I knew they were going to come with me. 

Your least popular opinion? Politicians should talk less. Maybe among my colleagues that’s unpopular — but I think among the American people, they’d like to see us listen more.

Something your friends know about you that your constituents might not? My first fundraising effort was for this read-a-thon in elementary school. The Miss America at the time, she’s the one in “Little Miss Sunshine” at the beginning, she had a literacy campaign, and so I raised money and got to present her with a big check.