Jerry McNerney likes to think about what’s next. The mathematics Ph.D. and former engineer co-chairs the Artificial Intelligence Caucus and has spent a lot of his 16 years in Congress focused on cutting-edge science topics.
But the California Democrat says he wasn’t farsighted enough to get ahead in the House. The retiring member’s advice for the next generation of lawmakers in Washington? Figure out if you’re planning to stay here 40 years or just 20 and plan accordingly. “That’s one thing that would have been helpful to me,” he said.
Sporting a solar system tie, McNerney sat down with CQ Roll Call for an exit interview recently. While McNerney lamented the rise in partisanship over the years and the lack of progress on riparian policy in the drought-plagued West Coast, he took comfort that he was leaving on a high note.
