Olivia Troye on her VA-7 Congressional Campaign and the Midterms, Trump, Iran, Hegseth, DHS, Gabbard, Miller and More

Olivia Troye on her VA-7 Congressional Campaign and the Midterms, Trump, Iran, Hegseth, DHS, Gabbard, Miller and More

From The Back Room with Andy Ostroy by Produced by RFR and Andy Ostroy

May 2, 2026 · 1h 3m · Episode 499

About this episode

Olivia Troye discusses her congressional campaign and various political issues including the Iran war and the midterms.

Olivia Troye spent almost 20 years in national security, working at the Pentagon, the National Counterterrorism Center under President Obama, and the Department of Homeland Security in the first Trump term as Counterterrorism advisor to Vice President Mike Pence. She resigned from the White House in August 2020, and went on to play a pivotal role in the election that year. Over the past decade she’s been an outspoken Trump critic, and spoke at the 2024 Democratic National Convention. She is now running as a democrat for the House in Virginia’s 7th Congressional district. Olivia and I discuss the Iran war and Sec Def Pete Hegseth's testimony before Congress this week; the cost and impact of the war on the American people and homeland security; her campaign for the open House seat in Virginia's 7th Congressional district; the economy and the midterms; and more. But first, The Back Room crew discusses Hegseth's "full Bondi" performance on the Hill, the new indictment of former FBI Director James Comey, and the shameful gutting of the Civil Rights Act of 1965 by the Supreme Court in its Louisiana redistricting ruling. Plus, don't miss our winners and losers, and Andy's rant on the…

People in this episode

Host: Andy Ostroy

Guest: Olivia Troye

Topics covered

  • Congressional campaign
  • national security
  • midterm elections
  • Trump criticism
  • Iran war
  • Civil Rights Act
  • political commentary

Keywords

  • Olivia Troye
  • Trump
  • Iran
  • Hegseth
  • midterms
  • Virginia
  • national security
  • Civil Rights Act
  • Comey
  • politics

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Department of Homeland Security, Democratic National Convention, Supreme Court

Places: Virginia, Virginia’s 7th Congressional district

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