As part of the UCLA Luskin Public Policy Alumni Speaker Series, UCLA community members heard from double Bruin Sandeep Prasanna on the rise of extremism and efforts to undermine democracy Monday.
Prasanna, the 2022 UCLA Luskin Master of Public Policy Alumnus of the Year, is a senior advisor on matters relating to Congress, government and corporate investigations for the law firm Miller & Chevalier Chartered, which is based in Washington, D.C. He previously served as investigative counsel for the United States House of Representatives’ Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol. He is also an adjunct professor at the School of Law, a role he started Tuesday.
During the event, Mark Peterson, a professor of public policy, political science and law, asked Prasanna questions about the Jan. 6 committee and the state of Congress. Prasanna said the combination of COVID-19 restrictions, the racial justice protests of 2020 and the 2020 presidential election created an environment in which the insurrection could unfold.
“What I hope people will understand from the results of the Jan. 6 investigation is that Jan. 6 was not just one event,” he said during the conversation. “There was the attack on the Capitol, which occurred during a finite set of time, … but what we found in our investigation was Jan. 6 was, and is really, an ongoing effort to undermine our democratic institutions.”
Prasanna added that as the country prepares for this year’s election, he is concerned by the normalization of political violence. He said this often manifests in violence against and the intimidation of election workers.
Regarding the political climate of Congress, Prasanna said during his time directly working in government, he saw a deterioration in interactions between members of opposing parties. He added that he previously felt there was a greater emphasis on bipartisanship in passing legislation.
“When I worked on the Homeland Security Committee, … every single bill was bipartisan, and it was negotiated. We had really good working relationships with the staff on the other side,” he said. “Now, … the only thing that they’re (the committee is) doing is pushing impeachment of the Secretary of Homeland Security.”
[Related: House impeaches Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas]
However, Prasanna said during the event that he thinks creating a friendly and interactive environment in Congress would mitigate the demonization of other party members.
Sanketh Santhosh, a fourth-year political science transfer student, said he attended the event both because of the upcoming election and his interest in the ramifications of the insurrection on American democracy.
Multiple students added that they appreciated seeing Indian representation on a high-level committee.
“I’m also Indian, and I haven’t ever actually come across an Indian … who’s at that stage in the policy field at all,” said Hansika Nath, a third-year economics and global studies student.
Prasanna, who received a Juris Doctor and a master’s in public policy in 2015, said in an interview with the Bruin that his experience at UCLA was invaluable in learning more about policymaking.
“The thing that people often say about law school is that they teach you how to think like a lawyer. My addendum to that is that, at Luskin, I think I learned how to do like a policymaker,” he said. “The combination of both of those educational programs was extraordinarily valuable to the start of my career in D.C., and the things that I learned continue to guide me in the work that I do.”
Overall, Santhosh said hearing a more human perspective on the insurrection and its aftermath allowed him to contextualize the event beyond reading about it in an article or report.
“Well, it’s like Dr. Peterson said. Students that are here at UCLA are among the leaders of tomorrow,” Santhosh said. “Learning from a UCLA alum about what happened that day (Jan. 6) really proves to students the amount of possibilities and opportunities that can happen for their post-grad endeavors. … They (UCLA) should continue to do these sorts of things.”
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