- Sen. John Curtis stressed the importance of building allies and finding common ground, using examples from Martha Hughes Cannon's life and his own work.
- Curtis advised students to prepare for career unpredictability, stressing that even traditionally "safe" federal jobs face layoffs, and encouraged adaptability and a focus on being good people.
- Curtis expressed concern that congressional actions are increasingly driven by social media and cable news appearances rather than substantive work.
Speaking to a full audience on Brigham Young University’s campus on Monday morning, Sen. John Curtis urged students to seek unity and to prepare for the unpredictable in their careers.
Dressed in a green suit and tie for St. Patrick’s Day, Utah’s new U.S. senator took some time to talk to students sitting in the first few rows before his speech. He also acknowledged BYU President Shane Reese and Rep. Celeste Maloy, who represents Utah’s 2nd District, who were in the audience.
Curtis referred to Trump’s reelection as a “stop the car moment” for the country.
“We’re spending $2 trillion more than we’re bringing in in revenue every year. As a result, we are seeing some layoffs,” Curtis said, explaining American dissatisfaction with foreign affairs and government spending.
Curtis on how to prepare for a career in an unpredictable job market
Several students asked questions related to their anxiety about getting a job in the federal government amid widespread layoffs.
Curtis encouraged students to prepare for unpredictability regardless of where they want to be employed.
Curtis explained how there are currently three million federal employees, depending on how they’re counted. “We’ve laid off 50,000,” he said.
Over the past several decades, federal jobs have gained the reputation of being “safe and predictable,” Curtis said, but he added, “I’m here to tell you, there is no safe place.”
“That’s why you have to be the best that you are. Life will bring you layoffs — I guarantee that is there for all of you,” he said.
However, Curtis offered BYU students three pieces of advice to be able to make the best of any situation they find themselves in: Cultivate allies and alliances, find common ground and seek strength through unity.
The need for allies and alliances
Curtis paid homage to his wife’s direct ancestor, Martha Hughes Cannon — the first female state senator in U.S. history. The connection served as the foundation for his first piece of advice.
“Cannon had the difficult task of being a woman in a time when woman couldn’t vote. She was less than 5 feet tall. She convinced an all male delegation at the state convention to put the right for women to vote into the state constitution,“ he said. ”So how did she do that?“ Curtis asked.
“She didn’t bludgeon the men, she didn’t write an op-ed saying how bad men were, she didn’t try to embarrass the men, she made them allies and alliances. She made them on her team, so they were willing to be part of what she did,” Curtis said.
Then Curtis asked his audience if they believed Congress worked together as allies.
When one hand shot up, Curtis said, “Oh there’s Celeste Maloy.” He asked her to stand and asked the audience to clap for her.
Maloy said, “I’m here to heckle you,” and Curtis laughed and said, “Security, would you just... .”
Common ground and strength through unity
Curtis' second piece of advice was to step away from compromise and move towards finding common ground.
The senator recollected a memory from his mission to Taiwan for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He’d had one companion on his mission who he felt he had nothing in common with. “Everything about him irritated me, even the way he prayed,” Curtis said.
He continued, “But I’m here to tell you, that if you get away from compromise and work toward common ground, you will be able to do marvelous things. And there’s not a single person on this campus that you don’t have some cross-section with.”
Curtis also referenced a trip he took as a senator to the Colombia-Venezuela border with House Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., that resulted in a bipartisan, suicide prevention bill in 2022.
“I don’t think you would find a single thing we would agree on politically,” Curtis said, but he explained how “marvelous things” come from focusing on common ground rather than compromise.
Curtis continued to describe the United States as a “self-healing country” with a Constitution that is “inspired by God.”
The qualities needed to be a good member of Congress are ...
Curtis believes a good congressman is “a good person.”
“We don’t need more lawyers in Washington, D.C., we don’t need more businessmen, we don’t need more teachers, we need more good people,” he said.
He posed the question, “Would you rather have your senator be a good person or a good lawyer?”
Then Curtis quoted NBA star Michael Jordan, who famously said about Kobe Bryant, “He don’t let the game come to him. He just go out there and take it.”
“Let the game come to you” means “don’t overthink about where you want to end up,” Curtis said. “Don’t try to force the game,” he said, “because if you are a good person and you do your best to do what you need to do, the game will come to you.”
Then Curtis got personal with his audience.
After he returned from his mission, he didn’t know what he wanted to do in his career. An uncle invited him over to his house to recruit him for a sales opportunity, and Curtis went, even though he wasn’t interested.
At the event, a man who didn’t know much about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints started asking Curtis questions about his mission.
“Well guess what, I was a returned missionary, guess what I’m gonna do?” Curtis asked. He started meeting with the man in his home about the church. Then Curtis knocked on the man’s neighbor’s door to introduce them, and that man ended up offering Curtis a job that acted as a “first cornerstone” in his political career.
“Watch and see if the game is coming to you. Keep pursuing that, but keep your eyes and ears open to what someone with more power than you has in store for you,” Curtis said.
Curtis believes many congressmen are too focused on social media and cable news
Social media clicks and cable news appearances fuel too much congressional action, Curtis said.
“My colleagues want to have a million followers, so they do things that get them a million followers,” he said.
These incentives reward “bad behavior in Washington D.C.,” and make it more difficult to reward good behavior when it happens. However, Curtis said, most of of his colleagues “thrive on doing good things,” but it’s hard for them to get recognition for their good work.
“The ones who scream and shout and yell and have a million followers and end up on cable news, they are not moving our country forward,” Curtis said.
Curtis: Congress doesn’t elect the president
When asked what Curtis believes the role of Congress is in modern politics, he said, “Sometimes I feel like shouting from the housetops, the Senate does not elect the president, you do. And yet, you want me to fix it.”
The two tools senators have are the bully pulpit and passing legislation, he said.
“The point I’m trying to make is too often we’re looking to Washington and saying, ‘Rein the president in,’ and yet, we’re not looking at communities, we’re not looking at families,” Curtis said.
He continued, “The reality of it is we need to take a harder look at our families and our communities and take a harder look at why we’re electing the type of people we’re electing instead of looking to Washington D.C., to fix it.”
