Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news.
Speaker 2: It's day twenty three, and I'm curious sort of what
Speaker 2: has changed between day one, the start of the shutdown,
Speaker 2: and today in terms of the conversation and how you're
Speaker 2: feeling about where things are well.
Speaker 3: As Democrats, we continue to make clear to our Republican
Speaker 3: colleagues that we will sit down with them anytime, any
Speaker 3: place in order to reopen the government to negotiate a
Speaker 3: bipartisan agreement that actually makes life better for the American
Speaker 3: people in terms of spending and funding. But we also
Speaker 3: have to decisively address the Republican healthcare crisis. We've maintained
Speaker 3: that position from the very beginning before Republicans shut the
Speaker 3: government down and during the entirety of the shutdown, because
Speaker 3: it is a real crisis that has been created at
Speaker 3: this moment, particularly as it relates to the urgent need
Speaker 3: to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits.
Speaker 2: As you and I are speaking, the House speakers doing
Speaker 2: a press conference just down the hall, what is the
Speaker 2: level of engagement? Do you pass one another? Are you
Speaker 2: speaking with one another? Are Democrats talking to Republicans right now?
Speaker 3: The conversations have been very limited, Unfortunately, because Donald Trump
Speaker 3: has not given House Republican leaders or Senate Republican leaders
Speaker 3: permission to negotiate reinforcing the principle from our view that
Speaker 3: he made the decision to shut the government down. They
Speaker 3: want to continue to inflict pain on federal employees. They've
Speaker 3: done that from the very beginning of Donald Trump's presidency.
Speaker 3: In fact, more than two hundred thousand federal employees had
Speaker 3: been forced off the job prior to the government shut down,
Speaker 3: and this is something that we've continued to see them
Speaker 3: build upon during the shutdown until Donald Trump gets serious
Speaker 3: about reopening the government. Unfortunately, we're going to remain in
Speaker 3: this situation and everyday Americans are being hurt.
Speaker 2: He's getting ready to take a trip to Asia. Is
Speaker 2: it appropriate for him to be doing that at this
Speaker 2: moment when the government is shut down.
Speaker 3: I think that the president had a responsibility both domestically and.
Speaker 1: Throughout the world.
Speaker 3: However, what has been irresponsible is that throughout this shutdown
Speaker 3: he's found more time to golf than he has to
Speaker 3: engage with Democrats on Capitol Hill. He's decided to try
Speaker 3: to steal two hundred and thirty million dollars in taxpayer
Speaker 3: funds from the Department of Injustice.
Speaker 1: Donald Trump and.
Speaker 3: His administration have found forty billion dollars to bail out
Speaker 3: a right wing want to be dictator and Argentina, and
Speaker 3: can't find a dime to extend the Affordable Care Act
Speaker 3: tax credits to keep health care affordable for tens of
Speaker 3: millions of Americans. And on top of all of that,
Speaker 3: they are demolishing the East wing of the White House
Speaker 3: in ways that have appropriately horrified the American people.
Speaker 2: I want to ask you about potential off ramps, and
Speaker 2: Tammy Baldwin the Center from Wisconsin Democrats said Trump is
Speaker 2: the off ramp at this point. Do you agree with
Speaker 2: that assessment? And has to in any kind of outreach
Speaker 2: or dialogue between you and the White House.
Speaker 3: Lady Schumer made Claire earlier this week that we have
Speaker 3: reached out to the White House again to indicate that
Speaker 3: prior to Trump's departure for Asia, he should sit down
Speaker 3: with Democrats to find a path forward to reopen the government,
Speaker 3: to enter into a bipartisan spending agreement, and to address
Speaker 3: the healthcare crisis that Marjorie Taylor Green acknowledges must be addressed,
Speaker 3: and that traditional conservatives who are in the toughest seats
Speaker 3: in the country have now publicly acknowledged this week needs
Speaker 3: to be addressed.
Speaker 2: Can I ask you a question of congressional mechanics, and
Speaker 2: that is, can the Democratic leader pick up the phone
Speaker 2: call the White House and reasonably expect the President's going
Speaker 2: to take that phone call? Are you able to do that?
Speaker 2: And if so, what's keeping you from having that done well?
Speaker 3: Traditionally that probably is the case, but in this White
Speaker 3: House that's very much on Claire. Donald Trump didn't have
Speaker 3: a meeting with House or Senate Democratic leadership until two
Speaker 3: days prior to the government shutting down, and we had
Speaker 3: to man that meeting. He initially agreed to it, then
Speaker 3: he canceled it, and then he was forced by public
Speaker 3: sentiment to agree to it. But unfortunately, we had a
Speaker 3: discussion for about an hour or so, and then there
Speaker 3: was no follow up from either Donald Trump or his
Speaker 3: administration because they are not serious about solving these challenges
Speaker 3: on behalf of the American people. We live in a
Speaker 3: high cost of living environment. The American people are struggling
Speaker 3: to afford to live, struggling paycheck to paycheck, and Donald
Speaker 3: Trump and Republicans promised that they were going to lower
Speaker 3: costs on day one, but costs aren't going down.
Speaker 1: Costs are going up.
Speaker 3: Inflation going up, electricity prices through the roof, housing costs expensive,
Speaker 3: grocery costs increasingly expensive. And now people facing the possibility
Speaker 3: as we approached the open enrollment period for health insurance
Speaker 3: on November one, that millions of folks are going to
Speaker 3: see premium increases that could be as high as a
Speaker 3: thousand or two thousand dollars more per month. And yet
Speaker 3: we see nothing but in action from the President of
Speaker 3: the United States.
Speaker 2: Keeping that in mind, Jason Smith, Chairman of Houseways and Means,
Speaker 2: was on our area yesterday and he said, maybe there
Speaker 2: could be a longer term CR fourteen months, take us
Speaker 2: through the midterms. Am I right? And assuming that's unpalatable
Speaker 2: to you because it does nothing to address what you
Speaker 2: were just talking about, those health care subsidies.
Speaker 3: Yes, it's definitively unacceptable to us. We've made clear from
Speaker 3: the beginning we will not vote for a partisan, Republican
Speaker 3: spending bill that continues to cut the healthcare of the
Speaker 3: American people in the face of an extraordinary crisis that
Speaker 3: Republicans have created. If you think about it, the largest
Speaker 3: cut to Medicaid in American history, almost a trillion dollar cut.
Speaker 3: This from a president and Republicans who promised in January.
Speaker 1: That they would love and cherish Medicaid.
Speaker 3: As a result of the policies in the One Big
Speaker 3: Ugly Bill, we're seeing hospitals and nursing homes and community
Speaker 3: based health centers closed all across the country because of
Speaker 3: what Republicans have done. We also are facing a possible
Speaker 3: five hundred and thirty six billion dollar cut to Medicare
Speaker 3: at the end of the year if Congress doesn't act
Speaker 3: they refuse to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits UH,
Speaker 3: which is gonna impact tens of millions of people.
Speaker 1: By the way, more than ninety percent of.
Speaker 3: The people who receive tax credits connected to their health
Speaker 3: insurance make around sixty three thousand dollars or less. These
Speaker 3: are working class folks. And then we know that Republicans
Speaker 3: are continuing to assault our public health infrastructure in the
Speaker 3: country related to vaccine availability. Their Appropriations bill right now
Speaker 3: that they want us to support UH in the House,
Speaker 3: they propose cutting one point seven billion dollars from the
Speaker 3: Centers for Disease Control and another f five hundred or
Speaker 3: so million dollars from the National Institute of Health. It's
Speaker 3: not something that acceptable to us in any way, shape
Speaker 3: or form. This is a healthcare crisis that cannot be overstated,
Speaker 3: and so we've got to address it decisively.
Speaker 2: Now, want to talk about your vision for how all
Speaker 2: of this unfolds. So my first question is, how do
Speaker 2: you see all this play out? How long do you
Speaker 2: think it's going to be. What's your best guess at
Speaker 2: this point?
Speaker 3: Well, listen, I think the longer this goes on, the
Speaker 3: more pressure that unfortunately continues to mount on Congress decisively
Speaker 3: to act, meaning our Republican colleagues who control the House
Speaker 3: and the Senate. And it shocks a lot of people
Speaker 3: that House Republicans have been on vacation now four consecutive weeks,
Speaker 3: have literally canceled votes for four consecutive weeks. That's an
Speaker 3: unsustainable position. We believe they need to get back to work,
Speaker 3: come back from vacation, sit down, let's do the business
Speaker 3: of the American people. We also, of course, are going
Speaker 3: to approach the November first open enrollment period, and at
Speaker 3: that moment in time, it will be crystal clear to
Speaker 3: the American people that their premiums, copais, and deductibles are
Speaker 3: about to skyrocket in ways that will crush them financially,
Speaker 3: and they will be unable to go see a doctor
Speaker 3: when they need one, when their children need one, when
Speaker 3: their family needs one. And it's unsustainable for Republicans to
Speaker 3: continue to refuse to address that issue.
Speaker 1: It's not a made up issue.
Speaker 3: It's a real life issue that has adverse consequences on
Speaker 3: everyday Americans.
Speaker 2: I think back to the beginning of this in the
Speaker 2: days before there were some critics who said that date's
Speaker 2: too far off, and you're making this argument based on
Speaker 2: that November first deadline. People aren't dealing with that in
Speaker 2: real terms. Yet does this become an easier sell to
Speaker 2: the American public as we get closer that date and
Speaker 2: the need as we hit November first.
Speaker 3: Well, our view was that we needed to address this
Speaker 3: issue in October because of the fact that notices were
Speaker 3: going out to tens of millions of Americans who.
Speaker 1: Have to be able to plan.
Speaker 3: They need some certainty to understand are they going to
Speaker 3: be able to afford healthcare? How am I going to
Speaker 3: manage this situation? What are my alternatives? And that's why
Speaker 3: we felt like it needed to be dealt with with
Speaker 3: the fierce urgency of now in connection to what was
Speaker 3: also happening with the need to either fund the government,
Speaker 3: prevent a shutdown that Republicans have now brought to the country,
Speaker 3: now reopen the government, and actually to reach and enlighten
Speaker 3: bipartisan spending agreement, where our only criteria had been if
Speaker 3: we're going to reach an agreement that's by partisan in nature,
Speaker 3: it has to actually improve the lives of the American
Speaker 3: people in three different areas, their health, public safety, and
Speaker 3: their economic well being, particularly as it relates to lowering
Speaker 3: the high cost of living because America's too expensive right now.
Speaker 2: A nearer pressure point is Friday, October twenty fourth, Fed
Speaker 2: workers aren't going to receive their paychecks. How confident are
Speaker 2: you that you're not going to be blamed? Democrats aren't
Speaker 2: going to be blamed for that when that comes around.
Speaker 3: Well, from the very beginning of this president's term, Donald
Speaker 3: Trump and the Republicans have assaulted in the most egregious
Speaker 3: way possible hardworking federal civil servants and public employees.
Speaker 1: And it's outrageous.
Speaker 3: As I mentioned, more than two hundred thousand federal employees
Speaker 3: have already been forced off the job. That was prior
Speaker 3: to Donald Trump shutting down the government. We passed the
Speaker 3: law on twenty seventeen that Donald Trump signed which requires
Speaker 3: that furloughed workers, all federal employees receive their back pay.
Speaker 3: Is Donald Trump that's now suggesting unlawfully that he can
Speaker 3: withheld hold that pay and they might not be compensated.
Speaker 2: Should workers be worried about that? I've talked to a
Speaker 2: few federal workers who, for the first time, for the
Speaker 2: first shutdown, they've been through their word that that's not
Speaker 2: going to happen. Is that a reasonable concern?
Speaker 3: Well, the law is crystal cleare It's a reasonable concern
Speaker 3: from the standpoint that when Donald Trump says anything, and
Speaker 3: he's the president of the United States, and there's been
Speaker 3: a willingness to engage in an unlawful and illegal behavior,
Speaker 3: sometimes rubber stamped by the conservative majority on the US
Speaker 3: Supreme Court, that's problematic. But the law is very crystal
Speaker 3: clear in this particular instance, and we are going to
Speaker 3: make sure that every single federal employee receives the entirety
Speaker 3: of their pain.
Speaker 2: Russell Vote Present, seemingly fond of calling him Darth Vader,
Speaker 2: says he's playing budgetary twister as all this unfolds, and
Speaker 2: that's maybe lessen the pain that some constituents feel as
Speaker 2: a result of this. How has that complicated your efforts here?
Speaker 2: The fact that some government entities are still running, some
Speaker 2: people are still getting paid, but it's not across the board,
Speaker 2: it's not universal.
Speaker 3: Well, of course, in any government shut down, it is
Speaker 3: critical that there are federal employees who are deemed essential
Speaker 3: in order to allow the country to continue to function
Speaker 3: as best we can.
Speaker 1: But the most comprehensive.
Speaker 3: Way forward, of course, is to make sure that we
Speaker 3: can negotiate a spending agreement that makes life better for
Speaker 3: the American people, that we pay every single federal employee
Speaker 3: by reopening the government. And that's what Republicans have refused
Speaker 3: to do. Donald Trump consistently has chosen not to engage,
Speaker 3: even though we've made our position clear and have held
Speaker 3: to that position in the House, in the Senate. Senate
Speaker 3: Democrats being bold and courageous on behalf of the American
Speaker 3: people to say we have to decisively address the healthcare
Speaker 3: crisis that impacts people all across the country. And by
Speaker 3: the way, David, the reality is Republican constituents are being
Speaker 3: impacted adversely by the Republican refusal to address the Affordable
Speaker 3: Care Act tax credit and sanction. The five states that
Speaker 3: would be most impacted are West Virginia, Wyoming, Alaska, Tennessee,
Speaker 3: and Mississippi. The next five states are all states currently
Speaker 3: governed by Republicans. About forty five percent of the people
Speaker 3: who benefit from the Affordable Care Act tax credits apparently
Speaker 3: are registered Republicans, another thirty five percent are Democrats, and
Speaker 3: the balance are independents are unaffiliated. This is an American issue,
Speaker 3: and we're fighting hard on behalf of everyone every day, Americans,
Speaker 3: working class Americans, and middle class Americans all across the land.
Speaker 2: So fundamentally, is this an issue of trust that you
Speaker 2: have the Senate majority leaders saying, look open the government,
Speaker 2: we will talk about these sepsties, We'll talk about healthcare.
Speaker 2: Are you just unable to trust Republicans at this moment
Speaker 2: or believe that would happen were we to go that path.
Speaker 3: It's hard for the American people that trust Republicans, particularly
Speaker 3: as it relates to the issue of health care costs
Speaker 3: of living. Group of people who promise to lower costs
Speaker 3: on day one cost having gone down, they've gone up.
Speaker 3: Trump tariffs are making life more expensive thousands of dollars
Speaker 3: per year more in additional expenses.
Speaker 1: There's also a group of people who said we.
Speaker 3: Were going to love and cherish Medicaid, and then they
Speaker 3: went out and enacted the largest cut to Medicaid in
Speaker 3: American history. A group of folks who have said they'll
Speaker 3: never touch Medicare, and now because of the one big
Speaker 3: ugly bill, they've triggered the possibility of the largest cut
Speaker 3: to Medicare in the history of the country if Congress
Speaker 3: doesn't act by the end of the year. And so,
Speaker 3: of course these folks have zero credibility on this issue,
Speaker 3: which is why we need decisive action. And by the way,
Speaker 3: in the House, Republicans have voted to repeal the Affordable
Speaker 3: Care Act more than seventy different times since twenty ten.
Speaker 3: They are relentlessly obsessed, meaning these extremists on the other
Speaker 3: side of the aisle with ripping healthcare away from the
Speaker 3: American people.
Speaker 1: And so we think it's.
Speaker 3: Very reasonable for everyday Americans to be skeptical about any
Speaker 3: promises made by Republicans. We don't need a wing and
Speaker 3: a prayer, we need decisive legislative action.
Speaker 2: People will be watching this and listening to this, hearing
Speaker 2: what you're saying, and detecting that there is this deficitive
Speaker 2: trust between the two parties here, and I don't think
Speaker 2: that engenders a lot of optimisms because this gets solved
Speaker 2: anytime soon. Is that misplaced? Do you feel like it
Speaker 2: there can be some comedy here somewhere, or.
Speaker 3: We're taking the Ronald Reagan approach to this particular situation
Speaker 3: from the standpoint of what needs to happen, Trust, but verify,
Speaker 3: and so yeah, promises.
Speaker 1: Can be made, but we need verification.
Speaker 3: That verification comes in the form of actual legislation, decisive
Speaker 3: legislative action to be able to address the Republican healthcare crisis.
Speaker 3: But we're here each and every day, Democrats have been
Speaker 3: showing up on Capitol Hill. We're committed to doing the
Speaker 3: work to finding a bipartisan path forward, to reopening the
Speaker 3: government and to addressing the healthcare crisis that Republicans have
Speaker 3: viciously visited on the American people.
Speaker 2: Got a couple questions just about the long term consequences
Speaker 2: of this. So the President said, we're closing up programs
Speaker 2: that are Democrat programs, that we're opposed to, and they're
Speaker 2: never going to come back in many cases, is he right?
Speaker 2: Is the work that's being done by Omb and his
Speaker 2: administration irrevocable?
Speaker 3: Well, Republicans have been trying to shut down programs unlawfully
Speaker 3: from the very beginning of this presidency in ways that
Speaker 3: clearly violate the law because they're inconsistent with bipartisan bills
Speaker 3: that have been passed dictating how taxpayer dollars are spent
Speaker 3: in ways that are designed to benefit the American people.
Speaker 3: So what we're saying right now is not inconsistent. These
Speaker 3: are just threats from Donald Trump trying to intimidate Democrats
Speaker 3: from backing away from the position that we've taken on
Speaker 3: behalf of the American people. This is a principal position
Speaker 3: for us, not politicals, not partisan. It's about the quality
Speaker 3: of life, the health, the safety, and the economic well
Speaker 3: being of the American people. And will continue to hold
Speaker 3: this position, and we're going to have to, of course,
Speaker 3: continue to push back against overreach from Donald Trump and
Speaker 3: his administration. Unfortunately, Republicans who control the House and the Senate,
Speaker 3: they have complete control of government right now in the
Speaker 3: cos they're not functioning like a separate and coequal branch
Speaker 3: of government. They're a wholly owned subsidiary of the Trump cartel,
Speaker 3: and unfortunately they continue to recklessly rubber stamp Donald Trump's
Speaker 3: extreme policies.
Speaker 2: We can pour one out for regular order. We haven't
Speaker 2: seen that in a long time. But I wonder if
Speaker 2: what's at risk curious the appropriations processes. You talk to
Speaker 2: your appropriations team, what do they say about how that's
Speaker 2: likely to change this result? Yes, of what's led to
Speaker 2: the shutdown, but also what we've seen this administration do
Speaker 2: when it comes to budgeting over the last few months.
Speaker 3: Well, our appropriators on the Democratic side, Rosa Deloro and
Speaker 3: on the Senate side of the Democratic Caucus of course,
Speaker 3: Patty Murray. They are superb appropriators and they're committed to
Speaker 3: a process of finding a bipartisan path. Are they worried, Well, well,
Speaker 3: I think Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins have expressed concern
Speaker 3: about how this administration has conducted itself in violating Congressional
Speaker 3: and the Framers were very clear Congress has the power
Speaker 3: of the purse.
Speaker 1: That's for good reason.
Speaker 3: Where the institutions that are closest to the American people,
Speaker 3: particularly on the House side, and so yes, the American
Speaker 3: people should be worried, but we need a Congress to
Speaker 3: actually reassert itself in the best interests of the American people,
Speaker 3: so that the administration is not allowed just to make
Speaker 3: these decisions unilaterally on their own without the people's representatives
Speaker 3: in the House of the Senate actually being able to
Speaker 3: have our will exerted through our representation of everyday Americans.
Speaker 2: It was Opening Night at the Garden last night Nicks
Speaker 2: versus Calves nixt one, nineteen one eleven, also the final
Speaker 2: mayoral debate in New York City. Did you watch it?
Speaker 2: Have you kept up with what happened on stage last night?
Speaker 3: I wasn't able to catch the debate live. I did
Speaker 3: catch the final few moments of the next game, I
Speaker 3: do admit, but the debate had already ended at that
Speaker 3: point by time my day ended. I didn't think it
Speaker 3: was interesting yesterday, and a strong step that was taken
Speaker 3: by Zoran, the Democratic nominee when he indicated his intention
Speaker 3: to retain our current police.
Speaker 1: Commissioner, Jessica Tish.
Speaker 3: I think that probably will provide a lot of comfort
Speaker 3: to people throughout the city of New York. She's done
Speaker 3: a great job, she's well respected. We're a diverse city,
Speaker 3: and it'll be interesting to see how that is received
Speaker 3: upon my return home.
Speaker 2: You've been asked about this a thousand times. Let me
Speaker 2: ask a thousand and one times. Are you prepared to
Speaker 2: endorse the Democratic nominee for mayor in New York?
Speaker 3: Well, what I'll say is I'm prepared to weigh in
Speaker 3: in advance of early voting and early votes two days.
Speaker 1: Early voting starts on Saturday.
Speaker 2: Yeah, what's holding you up and what are the issues
Speaker 2: that you're still concerned about. I know that you said
Speaker 2: the last time you were asked about this, you're going
Speaker 2: to have a conversation with sorry Mndoni, another conversation. Yeah,
Speaker 2: what's left undiscussed?
Speaker 3: Well, I hope speak to him today or tomorrow, and
Speaker 3: in fact, I plan on speaking to him today and tomorrow.
Speaker 3: And I think from my standpoint, look, I was prepared
Speaker 3: to try to bring this to a close one way
Speaker 3: or the other several weeks ago, and then the government
Speaker 3: shut down hit and honestly, it's been all encompassing because
Speaker 3: this is a traumatic moment for the country that this
Speaker 3: has been inflicted on the American people. And then laying
Speaker 3: on top of it right, just shutting the government down
Speaker 3: as Republicans have done is very problematic, but trying to
Speaker 3: communicate with the American people why we as Democrats also
Speaker 3: believe that addressing the Republican healthcare crisis is necessary, and
Speaker 3: explaining the entirety of the assault on their healthcare that
Speaker 3: has occurred this year, beginning with the one Big Ugly
Speaker 3: bill and the largest cut to medicate in the American history,
Speaker 3: and the fact that their hospitals and nursing homes and
Speaker 3: community based health centers are closing all across the country.
Speaker 3: Home care will be adversely affected the possible cut to
Speaker 3: Medicare at the end of the year, the Republican refuses
Speaker 3: to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, and the
Speaker 3: threats that they're now making to even try to repeal
Speaker 3: the Affordable Care Act, and the assault on public health infrastructure.
Speaker 1: This is extraordinary stuff.
Speaker 3: We've never seen anything like this in the history of
Speaker 3: the country, which is why we believe it needs to
Speaker 3: be decisively addressed, along with of course, reopening the government,
Speaker 3: standing by a hardworking federal civil servants, and making sure
Speaker 3: that we can enact a bipartisan spending group, So it's
Speaker 3: been all encompassing, you know.
Speaker 1: For the last several weeks.
Speaker 3: That said, I do have a sense of obligation to
Speaker 3: weigh in one way or the other in terms of
Speaker 3: the mayor's race in advance of early voting.
Speaker 2: So I did watch the debate, and the themes of
Speaker 2: criticism that came up from the other two candidates were
Speaker 2: he's inexperienced and his comments on the Middle Easter problematic?
Speaker 2: Are those likewise the same issues that you want to
Speaker 2: talk to him more about? What's left unsaid between the
Speaker 2: two of you.
Speaker 3: Well, I've certainly already publicly communicated and privately communicated some
Speaker 3: of my concerns with respect to some of the views
Speaker 3: that he's expressed in terms of foreign policy. That said,
Speaker 3: I believe his relentless focus on affordability is the right focus.
Speaker 3: The question becomes for any mayor, for any executive, how
Speaker 3: are you going to implement that objective? Because it's the
Speaker 3: right objective, But he's got to navigate a treacherous governmental
Speaker 3: terrain in terms of the city, state, and most significantly,
Speaker 3: the federal government. Because it's clear that Donald Trump has
Speaker 3: it out for democratic led cities all across the country.
Speaker 3: And we've got to be prepared for the fact that
Speaker 3: Donald Trump is coming from New York.
Speaker 2: I guess my question is one of confusion. So I
Speaker 2: sat down with Governor Cuomo, and in that conversation he said,
Speaker 2: I'm a Democrat. My dad was a Democrat. He's really
Speaker 2: taking up that mantle. Of course, he lost the primary.
Speaker 2: He's running as an independent. Yeah, isn't there an element
Speaker 2: here of confusion that in this vacuum and you could,
Speaker 2: I guess, do something to close that vacuum, he's able
Speaker 2: to take up that mantle to the detriment of the
Speaker 2: duly elected Democratic nominee.
Speaker 3: Well, it's interesting because he is running as an independent,
Speaker 3: so he's not the Democratic nominee. But of course he
Speaker 3: has a long history as a Democrat. I think some
Speaker 3: of the concerns that I've seen articulated, however, is well,
Speaker 3: what is the actual path to victory given the inability
Speaker 3: to convince a majority of Democrats in the primary that
Speaker 3: you were the right person to leave the city.
Speaker 1: Moving forward at this moment, let.
Speaker 2: Me use this as a segue. So a lot of
Speaker 2: people point to his youth, point to a is you
Speaker 2: just noted his emphasis on affordability part of your job
Speaker 2: is surveying the national terrain, political terrain, and looking for candidates.
Speaker 2: Does his success in that primary make you think that
Speaker 2: youth is more important this time around, that that emphasis,
Speaker 2: that kind of monomoniacal emphasis on affordability is going to
Speaker 2: be critical here as you look at the midterms and beyond.
Speaker 3: What we've said from the very beginning of this year
Speaker 3: when we came back into session, in fact, in my
Speaker 3: first set of remarks on the House floor that would
Speaker 3: have been on January third, that we were relentlessly committed
Speaker 3: to lowering the high cost of living, that America is
Speaker 3: too expensive, housing costs too high, grocery cost too high,
Speaker 3: childcare cost too high, health care cost too high, utility
Speaker 3: costs too high, and something needed to be decisively done
Speaker 3: about it. It certainly was our hope that Republicans would
Speaker 3: keep their core promise of lowering the high cost of living.
Speaker 3: They've refused to do it. In fact, what they've done
Speaker 3: is make life more expensive. But from the very beginning
Speaker 3: of the year, it's clear to us that the affordability
Speaker 3: issue is central to what we need to do on
Speaker 3: behalf of the American people listen. We believe in this
Speaker 3: country greatest country in the history of the world, that
Speaker 3: everyone who works hard in plays by the rules should
Speaker 3: be able to provide a comfortable life for themselves and
Speaker 3: for their families, to live the good life, good paying job,
Speaker 3: good housing, good health care, good education for their children,
Speaker 3: and a good retirement. And the problem that so many
Speaker 3: Americans confront right now is that far too many people
Speaker 3: are doing the first two things. They're working hard, and
Speaker 3: they're playing by the rules, but they can't get to
Speaker 3: that American dream, that comfortable life, living the good life
Speaker 3: for themselves and for their family. That's what's broken in
Speaker 3: the country right now. And so we've got to fix it.
Speaker 3: And yes, affordability is a big part of it, the
Speaker 3: central issue, the high cost of living. We've also got
Speaker 3: to find ways to put money back into the pockets
Speaker 3: of the American people actually use the tax code to.
Speaker 1: Make their life better.
Speaker 3: Instead, what we've seen with Republicans, this one big, ugly
Speaker 3: bill that's now law, is that they hurt everyday Americans
Speaker 3: in order to reward their billionaire donors with massive tax breaks.
Speaker 3: That's why I think that voters are going to reject
Speaker 3: this Republican extremism and Republican policies all across the country
Speaker 3: and will begin to see that during the upcoming general
Speaker 3: election in Virginia, in New Jersey, and with respect to
Speaker 3: Prop fifty in California.
Speaker 2: What do you say to those candidates who are mounting
Speaker 2: primary campaigns against Democrats who are critical of Democratic leadership,
Speaker 2: looked at what happened in March, wished that you and
Speaker 2: the Senate Minority leader had stood up, then want you
Speaker 2: to do more. What's your message to them? Just about
Speaker 2: the way that this party is operating in its current form?
Speaker 3: Well, to be very clear, you know, House Democrats were
Speaker 3: strongly opposed to the partisan Republican spending bill in March,
Speaker 3: and we continue to have that position.
Speaker 1: And I'm thankful for the.
Speaker 3: Incredible leadership of Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats who you
Speaker 3: know strongly opposed the one big ugly bill from the
Speaker 3: very beginning all the way through the end, unanimous Democratic
Speaker 3: opposition and will continue to stand on principle and defensive
Speaker 3: American people. At the same period of time, I understand
Speaker 3: that you know, we've seen extraordinary extremism unleased on the
Speaker 3: American people in assault on all of the things that matter,
Speaker 3: Republican assault on the economy, on healthcare, on nutritional assistance,
Speaker 3: on veterans, on farmers, on law abiding immigrant families, on
Speaker 3: the rule of law, on due process, on the American
Speaker 3: way of life, and of course, on the democracy itself.
Speaker 3: It's the reason why more than seven million people most
Speaker 3: recently came out in connection with the No Kings protests,
Speaker 3: came out peacefully, powerfully, and patriotically in order to express
Speaker 3: dissent with the fact that the country is moving in
Speaker 3: the wrong direction under Donald Trump and sycophantic Republicans in
Speaker 3: the House and the Senate who continue to behave like
Speaker 3: nothing more than a reckless rubber stamp.
Speaker 1: So we're in a more is more environment.
Speaker 3: And we're just going to have to continue to do more,
Speaker 3: more rallies, more protests, more speeches on the House floor,
Speaker 3: Senate floor, more town hall meetings and Democratic districts, more
Speaker 3: town hall meetings and Republican districts. We've held a hearing
Speaker 3: every week during this shutdown here, and we'll continue to
Speaker 3: do that to amplify the voices of the American people
Speaker 3: in terms of who's being hurt by Donald Trump's policies,
Speaker 3: who's being hurt by the shutdown that Republicans have visited
Speaker 3: upon the American people and who's being hurt by the
Speaker 3: Republican healthcare crisis. Will continue to do that, but more
Speaker 3: will be required, and I understand that because this is
Speaker 3: an extraordinary, unprecedented moment of extremism being unleashed on the
Speaker 3: American people.
Speaker 2: Last question, the capital is quieter than usual, city, a
Speaker 2: bit quieter than usual. The President's about to leave, will
Speaker 2: be halfway around the world. It's going to only add
Speaker 2: to that. He was going to go to Budapeste to
Speaker 2: meet with President Putin. Now apparently that's not happening. What
Speaker 2: is your assessment of how hard he's being on the
Speaker 2: Russian president? Is he being hard enough? Could he be
Speaker 2: doing more? And I've kind of noted here Steve Whitkoff,
Speaker 2: his longtime business associate, was kind of running point on
Speaker 2: setting up this meeting between the two of them. Now
Speaker 2: it seems like Secretary of State Marco Rubio is doing
Speaker 2: that as well. What do you make of that? What
Speaker 2: do you make of the approach the president has his
Speaker 2: team has right now to Vladimir Putin into a potential
Speaker 2: meeting with him.
Speaker 3: Well, I think one the president should actually be focused
Speaker 3: right now on reopening the government immediately, on reaching a
Speaker 3: bipartisan spending agreement immediately, and addressing the Republican healthcare crisis immediately.
Speaker 3: In terms of the war UH of aggression that Russia
Speaker 3: has launched a against Ukraine, the American people are with
Speaker 3: the Ukrainian people, and we are with the Ukrainian people
Speaker 3: because Ukraine is not just fighting for its territorial integrity, UH.
Speaker 3: They are standing on the right side of democracy, of freedom,
Speaker 3: and of truth, and Russia is on the side of authoritarianism, UH,
Speaker 3: of tyranny and of propaganda. And in that kind of situation,
Speaker 3: we should always be standing up for principles that are
Speaker 3: consistent with who we are as Americans. That means standing
Speaker 3: with Ukraine. And you know, Donald Trump continues to in
Speaker 3: different ways play foot see with Vladimir Putin, who is
Speaker 3: a sworn enemy of the United States of America. Congress
Speaker 3: probably needs to act both in the House and the
Speaker 3: Senate in terms of increasing the economic sanctions on Russia.
Speaker 3: And the only reason why Republicans haven't moved legislation and
Speaker 3: that they themselves support, is because apparently they've been ordered
Speaker 3: not to bring this legislation forward by Donald Trump.
Speaker 2: I assume you applaud what the treasury sector you did yesterday,
Speaker 2: putting those sanctions on the Russian oil companies.
Speaker 3: It's a step in the right direction, but there's more
Speaker 3: decisive action that needs to be taken