With violence erupting at home and instability spreading overseas, U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas, D-N.H., challenged Dartmouth students to see uncertainty not as a barrier, but as a call to action.
"I would say, don't wait around. You have power now," Pappas told a crowd of 80 during a Jan. 30 talk in Filene Auditorium, with another 50 watching online. "You're going to be dealing with the consequences of the decisions that are being made in Concord and Washington far longer than me or anyone else."
He added: "Even in a chaotic, divided Washington, there are ways that you can help people and ways that you can actually get things across the finish line. All is not lost. And I think what we need to remember is we still have power as citizens to decide what comes next and to engage to hold leaders accountable."
The hour-long discussion was part of the Rockefeller Center for Public Policy's Law and Democracy: The United States at 250 series, co-sponsored by Dartmouth Dialogues.
Kristin Smith, a visiting associate professor of sociology and the director of Rocky's Policy Research Shop, and Quinn Alred '26, a member of the New Hampshire Democratic Party Executive Committee, moderated the talk.
Pappas is serving his fourth term representing New Hampshire's First Congressional district and is also seeking to replace U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., who is retiring at the end of this year.
Pappas noted that while he did not attend Dartmouth, his grandfather is an alumnus who took him to Big Green football games as a child.
He highlighted his legislative achievements, including the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics Act of 2022 that expanded benefits for veterans, and infrastructure legislation.
Pappas also criticized the Trump administration's immigration policies and called for more accountability, including the removal of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem over the deadly actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement under her watch.
"If not, I've signed on to articles of impeachment, and I think that Congress should take that up next week. This goes beyond whether she's qualified for the job, which I don't believe she is. This is about operations that are running roughshod over civil liberties, over the law, over the Constitution," Pappas said.
"The fact that in the wake of two of these incidents where deadly force was used against American citizens, where she goes out and creates this narrative and lies to the American public about what transpired in those incidents, saying that these were both domestic terrorists, and I think a plain viewing of those videos will show that that's not what transpired there," Pappas said.
He added that there should be a "core law enforcement function" to remove violent illegal immigrants from the country, but: "What we're seeing now with ICE is not that."
Pappas said he supports stricter guardrails and congressional oversight of ICE actions and funding, noting that he introduced legislation to redirect the extra $75 billion added to Homeland Security funding to instead support local law enforcement.
Pappas said the Trump administration wants to use some of that money to build a 1,500-person detention center in Merrimack to use for deportations, despite local opposition. He said Homeland Security officials will not return his calls, nor calls from local or state officials.
"New Hampshire believes in local control, and they're totally disrespecting the ability of communities to understand, to be good stewards, and actually to keep their community safe," Pappas said. "I've met with the police chief recently there who has no clue what's happening, and that will be a huge drain on local law enforcement resources in that community."
Among the other topics Pappas discussed:
- The economy: Inequality has been building since the early 1980s, he said. Democrats "have to be the party that recognizes the inequities, the unfairness of the economy and speaks out for working people and truly puts some good ideas on the table around housing and child care and health care and education that's going to help people build a life and be able to get ahead. There's just no margin for error."
- Higher education and free expression: He defended universities speaking out on funding threats and the role of campuses as marketplaces of ideas, urging institutions to push back against political pressure.
- Reproductive rights: Pappas supports bills to restore a nationwide right to abortion care, arguing reproductive rights are private health decisions.
- War powers and executive authority: He supports reasserting Congress' constitutional role on military action and challenging executive overreach on tariffs and trade authority.
- Tech, privacy, and online safety: Pappas supports stronger guardrails on big tech, consumer privacy protections, and preventing weaponization of online hate.
Ben Buurma '29, who grew up in Florida and is active in Democratic politics, said his biggest takeaway from the event was "the importance of holding our elected representatives accountable for their actions," and was pleased Pappas talked about ICE.
"That was of particular importance to me because it feels like our law is treated increasingly as a guide, not a rule," Buurma said. "Maintaining the rule of law and due process in all circumstances is crucial to a just society, and Pappas' discussion reminded me how important it is to demand moral clarity from our government."
Pappas' Senate bid did not come up explicitly during his talk. Over the weekend, President Donald Trump endorsed former U.S. Sen. John E. Sununu, R-N.H., who is seeking the GOP nomination, saying "he will work tirelessly to advance our America First agenda." Also running in the GOP primary is former Massachusetts Republican Sen. Scott Brown, who lost to Shaheen in 2014.
Sununu, a former House lawmaker who served in the U.S. Senate from 2003-2009, is the son of former New Hampshire Gov. John H. Sununu and the brother of former Gov. Chris Sununu.