SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — East Bay Congressman Eric Swalwell talked with KRON4’s Catherine Heenan Friday about his priorities for his third term, President Trump, Russia and what’s next for Democrats.

The Representative of California’s 15th district, which encompasses eastern Alameda County, likes to try doing things a little differently.

Recently, he went on a hike near Lake Chabot with his constituents, instead of the usual town hall meeting.

The Dublin native is also a big social media user, especially Snapchat. He even encourages people to ‘snap’ him. His username is @RepSwalwell.

And while most of his Democratic colleagues tend to avoid Fox News, he goes out of his way to show up there.

“First, because that’s the only way my parents can watch,” he said when asked why. “They’re Republicans. My in-laws in Indiana are Republicans. So I know that it’s important not to just talk to Democrats. That audience is also a part of America…at Fox News, it’s a different perspective and I welcome having my views tested. I think that’s the great thing about our country.”

The Representative criticized President Trump for broken promises saying the Democrats have to step up with their own ideas and proposals, even when it’s an uphill battle.

He told Heenan that it’s not enough that the stock market is growing, people’s paychecks have to grow too.

He believes the top agenda items Democrats need to keep fighting for include education and the retraining of workers.

“Modern schools in every community. Making sure that young people today have skills that are relevant to this economy. Making sure that if people lose their jobs because of automation or cheaper labor overseas, they can get training in our community,” Representative Swalwell said.

“It’s a responsibility that not only the government has, but businesses have – to retrain workers. To me, that means open community colleges, whether it’s a 19-year-old to get the skills that they need or someone like my mom. Who works very hard as an administrative assistant. But if she were to be replaced by a digital assistant, I’d want her to be able to go to a community college and get relevant skills. Because she still has a lot of time ahead to work. And finally, making sure that if we do tax reform, it encourages growth and shares the profits. Not just at the top but with the backbone of the American workforce.”

Representative Swalwell also discussed some of the big challenges and risks he believes are facing the U.S.

He’s a member of the House Intelligence Committee and said that he’s not only worried about Russia, he’s afraid for what could happen ‘next.’

“I’m very afraid about what happens in 2018 if we don’t do anything about Russia’s Interference Campaign,” he told Heenan. “It’s not just that the Russians are sharpening their knives and want to come at us again — there are other countries that have similar capabilities and look at a divided United States. And a president who doesn’t even acknowledge that Russia was responsible. And they’ll see that as an opportunity.”

Congressman Swalwell says he believes a ‘worst case scenario’ is getting closer. Meantime, he wants a panel of bi-partisan-chosen experts to look into what happened regarding Russia and the presidential election.