Just three days after being sworn into office, Rep. Jake Auchincloss faced one of the darkest days in American democracy as a violent mob breached the U.S. Capitol, postponing the vote to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s win in the Electoral College. “This is a crisis,” Auchincloss said to Joe Mathieu on GBH's Morning Edition today. “It's one that's seared on the beginning of my tenure.”

While serving as a United States Marine in Afghanistan, Auchincloss was no stranger to violence, but he nonetheless found Wednesday's insurrection to be alarming and emblematic of the country’s broader challenges. "It [had] the feel of a patrol base, meaning there were hundreds of armed police officers and National Guardsmen around the entire Capitol building,” he said. “To have our temple of democracy become basically a fortress is just a grim reflection on where we're at as a country right now."

Auchincloss, a Democrat from Newton who took over the House seat previously held by Joe Kennedy III, said he was already worried about how his new role could impact his family at home, including his nine-month old son, and shared that he’s lucky to have supportive neighbors as congressmembers' personal homes become targets for extremists. "I'm thankful that there are people there who are going to watch out for [my wife] and my son,” he said.

“But out of crisis is born opportunity, and this is a time and an opportunity for moral leadership,” Auchincloss said. He outlined three steps that he thinks the country should take immediately: remove President Donald Trump, through resignation or impeachment; reinstall confidence in institutions by encouraging Republicans to certify the election as free and fair; and “get back to governing” to handle the ongoing pandemic and economic crisis.

He also called for an investigation into how the insurrection unfolded on Capitol Hill. “There was a failure yesterday for capital security, and there needs to be swift and transparent accountability because that's unacceptable,” he said.