Speaker 1: Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news. On this Thursday, the
Speaker 1: twenty third day of the US government shutdown, which is
Speaker 1: now the second longest shutdown in American history, I went
Speaker 1: to Capitol Hill to sit down with Hakeem Jeffreys, the
Speaker 1: Democratic leader in the House of Representatives.
Speaker 2: Thank you for you serve groundhog Day rhythm to it.
Speaker 3: There's a ground Holliday rhythm to it, you know. And
Speaker 3: although there's always something extraordinary that happens as well, Yeah,
Speaker 3: as unexpected because of the nature of how this issor Yes.
Speaker 1: Since the shutdown started, the White House announced a ceasefire
Speaker 1: in Gaza. The Treasury Department extended a twenty billion dollar
Speaker 1: lifeline to Argentina. President Trump is overseeing the demolition of
Speaker 1: the East Wing of the White House. Now. The President
Speaker 1: is preparing for a trip to Asia, where he's expected
Speaker 1: to meet face to face with Chinese President Xixinping. When
Speaker 1: it comes to the shutdown, there are some potential pressure
Speaker 1: points on the horizon. On Friday, October twenty fourth, many
Speaker 1: federal workers will miss their first paychecks. Then, on November first,
Speaker 1: open enrollment starts for health insurance, when many Americans are
Speaker 1: likely to notice their healthcare costs are going to go
Speaker 1: up barring congressional action to restore federal subsidies.
Speaker 2: 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.
Speaker 1: Meanwhile, Jeffries continues to face pressure in his hometown of
Speaker 1: New York City to weigh in on the upcoming mayoral
Speaker 1: race there. Jeffries has yet to make an endorsement, but
Speaker 1: he said he'll do so before early voting starts. Polls
Speaker 1: open this weekend.
Speaker 3: So it's been all encompassing, you know, for the last
Speaker 3: several weeks. That said, I do have a sense of
Speaker 3: obligation to weigh in one way or the other in
Speaker 3: terms of the mayor's race in advance of early voting.
Speaker 1: I'm David Gerrett, and this is the big take from
Speaker 1: Bloomberg News today on the show Shoe, my sit down
Speaker 1: with House Minority Leader Hakim Jeffries on the government shutdown,
Speaker 1: the role of President Trump could play, and ending at
Speaker 1: New York City politics and criticism of democratic leadership ahead
Speaker 1: of the twenty twenty six midterms. Thank you very much
Speaker 1: for having us, really appreciate it.
Speaker 2: Thank you.
Speaker 1: It's day twenty three, and I'm curious sort of what
Speaker 1: has changed between day one, the start of this shutdown,
Speaker 1: and today in terms of the conversation and how you're
Speaker 1: 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 shut down, 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 1: As you and I are speaking, the House speakers doing
Speaker 1: a press conference just down the hall. What is the
Speaker 1: level of engagement? Do you pass one another? Are you
Speaker 1: 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 shutdown.
Speaker 1: I want to ask you about potential off ramps, and
Speaker 1: Tammy Baldwin, the cenator from Wisconsin Democrats said Trump is
Speaker 1: the off ramp at this point. Do you agree with
Speaker 1: that assessment and has there been any kind of outreach
Speaker 1: 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 1: Can I ask you a question of congressional mechanics, and
Speaker 1: that is, can the Democratic leader pick up the phone
Speaker 1: call the White House and reasonably expect the President's going
Speaker 1: to take that phone call? Are you able to do that?
Speaker 1: 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 demand that meeting, agreed to it, then he canceled it,
Speaker 3: and then he was forced by public sentiment to agree
Speaker 3: to it. But unfortunately, we had a discussion for about
Speaker 3: an hour or so, and then there was no follow
Speaker 3: up from either Donald Trump or his administration because they
Speaker 3: are not serious about solving these challenges on behalf of
Speaker 3: the American people. We live in a high cost of
Speaker 3: living environment. The American people are struggling to afford to live,
Speaker 3: struggling paycheck to paycheck, and Donald Trump and Republicans promised
Speaker 3: that they were going to lower costs on day one,
Speaker 3: but costs aren't going down. Costs are going up, Inflation
Speaker 3: 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 more per month. And
Speaker 3: yet we see nothing but in action from the President
Speaker 3: of the United States.
Speaker 1: Keeping that in mind, Jason Smith, Chairman of Houseways and Means,
Speaker 1: was on our area yesterday and he said, maybe there
Speaker 1: could be a longer term CR fourteen months take us
Speaker 1: through the midterms. Am I right? And assuming that's unpalatable
Speaker 1: to you because it does nothing to address what you
Speaker 1: were just talking about, those healthcare 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.
Speaker 2: If you think about it.
Speaker 3: The largest cut to Medicaid in American history, almost a
Speaker 3: trillion dollar cut. This from a president and Republicans who
Speaker 3: promised in January 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 We'reublicans 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,
Speaker 3: which is going to impact tens of millions of people.
Speaker 3: By the way, more than ninety percent of the people
Speaker 3: who receive tax credits connected to their health insurance make
Speaker 3: around sixty three thousand dollars or less. These are working
Speaker 3: class folks. And then we know that Republicans are continuing
Speaker 3: to assault our public health infrastructure in the country related
Speaker 3: to vaccine availability. Their Appropriations bill right now that they
Speaker 3: want us to support in the House. They propose cutting
Speaker 3: one point seven billion dollars from the Centers for Disease
Speaker 3: Control and another five hundred or so million dollars from
Speaker 3: the National Institute of Health. It's not something that's acceptable
Speaker 3: to us in any way, shape or form. This is
Speaker 3: a healthcare crisis that cannot be overstated, and so we've
Speaker 3: got to address it decisively.
Speaker 1: Now, want to talk about your vision for how all
Speaker 1: of this unfold. So my first question is, how do
Speaker 1: you see all this play out? How long do you
Speaker 1: think it's going to be. What's your best guess at
Speaker 1: 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. It's not a
Speaker 3: made up issue. It's a real life issue that has
Speaker 3: adverse consequences on everyday Americans.
Speaker 1: I think back to the beginning of this in the
Speaker 1: days before there were some critics who said that date's
Speaker 1: too far off, and you're making this argument based on
Speaker 1: that November first deadline. People aren't dealing with that in
Speaker 1: real terms. Yet does this become an easier sell to
Speaker 1: the American public as we get closer to that date
Speaker 1: and 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 have
Speaker 3: to be able to plan. They need need some certainty
Speaker 3: to understand are they going to be able to afford healthcare?
Speaker 3: How am I going to manage this situation? What are
Speaker 3: my alternatives? And that's why we felt like it needed
Speaker 3: to be dealt with with the fierce urgency of now
Speaker 3: in connection to what was also happening with the need
Speaker 3: to either fund the government, prevent a shutdown that Republicans
Speaker 3: have now brought to the country, now reopen the government,
Speaker 3: and actually to reach and enlighten bipartisan spending agreement, where
Speaker 3: our only criteria had been if we're going to reach
Speaker 3: an agreement that's by partisan in nature, it has to
Speaker 3: actually improve the lives of the American people in three
Speaker 3: different areas, their health, public safety, and their economic well being,
Speaker 3: particularly as it relates to lowering the high cost of
Speaker 3: living because America is too expensive right.
Speaker 1: Now, a nearer pressure point is Friday, October the twenty fourth,
Speaker 1: Federal workers aren't going to receive their pay checks. How
Speaker 1: confident are you that you're not going to be blamed?
Speaker 1: Democrats aren't going to be blamed for that when that
Speaker 1: 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 2: 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 confident.
Speaker 1: Should workers be worried about that? I've talked to a
Speaker 1: few federal workers who, for the first time, for the
Speaker 1: first shutdown, they've been through their their word that that's
Speaker 1: not going to happen. Is that a reasonable concern?
Speaker 2: Well, the law is crystal clear.
Speaker 3: It's a reasonable concern from the standpoint that when Donald Trump
Speaker 3: says anything, and he's the president of the United States,
Speaker 3: and there's been a willingness to engage in an unlawful and
Speaker 3: illegal behavior, sometimes rubber stamped by the conservative majority on
Speaker 3: the US Supreme Court, that's problematic. But the law is
Speaker 3: very crystal clear in this particular instance, and we are
Speaker 3: going to make sure that every single federal employee receives
Speaker 3: the entirety of their pain.
Speaker 1: People will be watching this and listening to this, hearing
Speaker 1: what you're saying, and detesting that there is this deficitive
Speaker 1: trust between the two parties here, and I don't think
Speaker 1: that engenders a lot of optimism because this gets solved
Speaker 1: anytime soon. Is that misplaced? You? Do you feel like
Speaker 1: it there can be some comedy here somewhere.
Speaker 3: Or we're taking the Ronald Reagan approach to this particular
Speaker 3: situation from the standpoint of what needs to happen, Trust,
Speaker 3: but verify and so, yeah, promises can be made, but
Speaker 3: we need verification. That verification comes in the form of
Speaker 3: actual legislation, decisive legislative action to be able to address
Speaker 3: the Republican healthcare crisis. But we're here each and every day,
Speaker 3: Democrats have been showing up on Capitol Hill. We're committed
Speaker 3: to doing the work to finding a bipartisan path forward,
Speaker 3: to reopening the government and to addressing the healthcare crisis
Speaker 3: that Republicans have viciously visited on the American people.
Speaker 1: Got a couple questions just about the long term consequences
Speaker 1: of this. So the President said, we're closing up programs
Speaker 1: that are Democrat programs that we're opposed to, and they're
Speaker 1: never going to come back in many cases. Is he right?
Speaker 1: Is the work that's being done by omb and his
Speaker 1: 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 a design to benefit the American people.
Speaker 3: So what we're seeing 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.
Speaker 2: On behalf of the American people.
Speaker 3: This is a principal position for us, not politicals, not partisan.
Speaker 3: It's about the quality of life, the health, the safety,
Speaker 3: and the economic well being of the American people. And
Speaker 3: we'll continue to hold this position, and we're going to
Speaker 3: have to, of course, continue to push back against overreach
Speaker 3: from Donald Trump and his administration. Unfortunately, Republicans who control
Speaker 3: the House and the Senate, they have complete control of
Speaker 3: government right now in the Congress, they're not functioning like
Speaker 3: a separate and coequal branch of government. They're a wholly
Speaker 3: owned subsidiary of the Trump cartel. And unfortunately, they continue
Speaker 3: to recklessly rubber stamp Donald Trump's extreme policies.
Speaker 1: We can pour one out for regular order. We haven't
Speaker 1: seen that in a long time. But I wonder if
Speaker 1: what's at risk curious the appropriations processes. You talk to
Speaker 1: you your appropriations team, what do they say about how
Speaker 1: that's likely to change this result? Yes, of what's led
Speaker 1: to the shutdown, but also what we've seen in this
Speaker 1: administration do when it comes to budgeting over the last
Speaker 1: 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.
Speaker 1: Are they worried?
Speaker 3: Well, well, I think Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins have
Speaker 3: expressed concern about how this administration has conducted itself in
Speaker 3: violating congressional intent. The Framers were very clear Congress has
Speaker 3: the power of the purse. That's for good reason. Where
Speaker 3: the institutions that are closest to the American people, particularly
Speaker 3: on the House side, and so yes, the American people
Speaker 3: should be worried, But we need a Congress to actually
Speaker 3: 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 gaterly 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 1: It was Opening Night at the Garden last night, Nicks
Speaker 1: versus Cavs Knicks one one, nineteen to one eleven. Also
Speaker 1: the final mayoral debate in New York City. Did you
Speaker 1: watch it? Have you kept up with what happened on
Speaker 1: 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 Commissioner, Jessica Tish. I think
Speaker 3: that probably will provide a lot of comfort to people
Speaker 3: throughout the city of New York. She's done a great job,
Speaker 3: she's well respected. We're a diverse city, and it'll be
Speaker 3: interesting to see how that is received.
Speaker 2: Upon my return home.
Speaker 1: You've been asked about this a thousand times. Let me
Speaker 1: ask a thousand and one times. Are you prepared to
Speaker 1: 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: and advance of early voting and early two days away.
Speaker 2: Early voting starts on Saturday.
Speaker 1: Yeah, what's what's holding you up? And what are the
Speaker 1: issues that you're still concerned about? And I know that
Speaker 1: you said the last time you were asked about this,
Speaker 1: you're going to have a conversation with sorry Mundani, another conversation.
Speaker 1: What's left undiscussed?
Speaker 3: Well, I hope vic to them today or tomorrow, and
Speaker 3: in fact, I plan on speaking to them today and tomorrow.
Speaker 2: And I think from.
Speaker 3: My standpoint, look, I was prepared to try to bring
Speaker 3: this to a close one way or the other several
Speaker 3: weeks ago, and then the government shut down hit and honestly, Dave,
Speaker 3: it's been all encompassing because this is a traumatic moment
Speaker 3: for the country, that this has been inflicted on the
Speaker 3: American people, and then laying on top of it, right,
Speaker 3: just shutting the government down as Republicans have done, is
Speaker 3: very problematic, but trying to communicate with the American people
Speaker 3: why we as Democrats also believe that addressing the Republican
Speaker 3: health care crisis is necessary, and explaining the entirety of
Speaker 3: the assault on their health care that has occurred this year,
Speaker 3: beginning with the one Big Ugly bill and the largest
Speaker 3: cut to medicate in the American history, and the fact
Speaker 3: that their hospitals and nursing homes and community based health
Speaker 3: centers are closing all across the country. Home care will
Speaker 3: be adversely affected. The possible cut to Medicare at the
Speaker 3: end of the year, the Republican refusal to extend the
Speaker 3: Affordable Care Act tax credits, and the threats that they're
Speaker 3: now making to even try to repeal the Affordable Care Act,
Speaker 3: and the assault on public health infrastructure.
Speaker 2: 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 hard working federal civil servants, and making
Speaker 3: sure that we can enact a bipartisan spending group. So
Speaker 3: it's been all encompassing, you know, 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 1: So I did watch the debate, and the themes of criticism
Speaker 1: that came up from the other two candidates were he's
Speaker 1: inexperienced and his comments on the Middle Easter problematic? Are
Speaker 1: those likewise the same issues that you want to talk
Speaker 1: to him more about? What's left unsaid between the two
Speaker 1: 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, you know, becomes for any mayor, for any executive,
Speaker 3: how are you going to implement that objective?
Speaker 2: Because it's the right objective.
Speaker 3: But he's got to navigate a treacherous governmental terrain in
Speaker 3: terms of the city, state, and most significantly, the federal government,
Speaker 3: because it's clear that Donald Trump has it out for
Speaker 3: democratic led cities all across the country, and we've got
Speaker 3: to be prepared for the fact that Donald Trump is
Speaker 3: coming from New York.
Speaker 1: I guess my question is one of confusion. So I
Speaker 1: sat down with Governor Cuomo, and in that conversation he said,
Speaker 1: I'm a Democrat. My dad was a Democrat. He's really
Speaker 1: taking up that mantle. Of course, he lost the primary.
Speaker 1: He's running as an independent. Isn't there an element here
Speaker 1: of confusion that in this vacuum and you could, I guess,
Speaker 1: do something to close that vacuum. He's able to take
Speaker 1: up that mantle to the detriment of the duly elected
Speaker 1: 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 lead the city moving
Speaker 3: forward at this moment?
Speaker 1: Let me use this as a segue. So a lot
Speaker 1: of people point to his youth, point to as you
Speaker 1: just noted, his emphasis on affordability. Part of your job
Speaker 1: is surveying the national terrain, political terrain, and looking for
Speaker 1: candidates does his success in that primary make you think
Speaker 1: that youth is more important this time around, that that emphasis,
Speaker 1: that kind of monomoniacal emphasis on affordability is going to
Speaker 1: 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, healthcare cost too high, utility costs
Speaker 3: too high, and something needed to be decisively done about it.
Speaker 3: It certainly was our hope that Republicans would keep their
Speaker 3: core promise of lowering the high cost of living. They've
Speaker 3: refused to do it. In fact, what they've done is
Speaker 3: make life more expensive.
Speaker 2: But from the very beginning of the year, it's clear to.
Speaker 3: Us that the affordability issue is central to what we
Speaker 3: need to do on behalf of the American people listen.
Speaker 3: We believe in this country, greatest country in the history
Speaker 3: of the world, that everyone who works hard and plays
Speaker 3: by the rules should be able to provide a comfortable
Speaker 3: life for themselves and for their families, to live the
Speaker 3: good life, good paying job, good housing, good health care,
Speaker 3: good education for their children, and a good retirement. And
Speaker 3: the problem that so many Americans confront right now is
Speaker 3: that far too many people are doing the first two things.
Speaker 3: They're working hard, and they're playing by the rules, but
Speaker 3: they can't get to that American dream, that comfortable life,
Speaker 3: living the good life for themselves and for their family.
Speaker 3: That's what's broken in the country right now. And so
Speaker 3: we've got to fix it. And yes, affordability is a
Speaker 3: big part of it, the central issue, the high cost
Speaker 3: of living. We've also got to find ways to put
Speaker 3: money back into the pockets of the American people actually
Speaker 3: use the tax code to.
Speaker 2: 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 election.
Speaker 3: In Virginia, in New Jersey, and with respect to Prop
Speaker 3: fifty in California.
Speaker 1: What do you say to those candidates who are mounting
Speaker 1: primary campaigns against Democrats who are critical of Democratic leadership,
Speaker 1: maybe looked at what happened in March, wish that you
Speaker 1: and the Senate Minority leader had stood up, then want
Speaker 1: you to do more. What's your message to them? Just
Speaker 1: about the way that this party is operating in its
Speaker 1: current form?
Speaker 3: Well, to be very clear, House Democrats were strongly opposed
Speaker 3: to the partisan Republican spending bill in March, and we
Speaker 3: continue to have that position. 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 unanimous Democratic opposition
Speaker 3: and will continue to stand on principle and defensitve American people.
Speaker 3: At the same period of time, I understand that you know,
Speaker 3: we've seen extraordinary extremism unleased on the American people in
Speaker 3: assault on all of the things that matter, Republican assault
Speaker 3: on the economy, on healthcare, on nutritional assistance, on veterans,
Speaker 3: on farmers, on law abiding immigrant families, on the rule
Speaker 3: of law, on due process, on the American way of life,
Speaker 3: and of course, on democracy itself. It's the reason why
Speaker 3: more than seven million people most recently came out in
Speaker 3: connection with the No King's protests, came out peacefully, powerfully,
Speaker 3: and patriotically in order to express dissent with the fact
Speaker 3: that the country is moving in the wrong direction under
Speaker 3: Donald Trump and sycophantic Republicans in the House and the
Speaker 3: Senate who continue to behave like nothing more more than
Speaker 3: a reckless rubber stamp.
Speaker 2: So we're in a more is more environment.
Speaker 3: And we're just gonna have to continue to do more,
Speaker 3: you know, more rallies, more protests, more speeches on the
Speaker 3: House floor, Senate floor, more town hall meetings and Democratic districts,
Speaker 3: more town hall meetings and Republican districts. We've held a
Speaker 3: hearing every week during this shutdown.
Speaker 2: Here and we'll continue to do that to amplify.
Speaker 3: The voices of the American people in terms of who's
Speaker 3: being hurt by Donald Trump's policies, who's being hurt by
Speaker 3: the shutdown that Republicans have visited upon the American people,
Speaker 3: and who's being hurt by the Republican healthcare crisis.
Speaker 2: And we'll continue to do that, but more will be required.
Speaker 3: And I understand that because this is an extraordinary, unprecedented
Speaker 3: moment of extremism being unleashed on the American people.
Speaker 1: Last question, the capital is quieter than usual? Yeah, city
Speaker 1: a bit quieter than usual. The present's about to leave,
Speaker 1: will be halfway around the world. It's gonna only add
Speaker 1: to that. He was gonna go to Budapeste to meet
Speaker 1: with President Putin. Now curarently that's not happening. What is
Speaker 1: your assessment of how hard he's being on the Russian president?
Speaker 1: Is he being hard enough? Could he be doing more?
Speaker 1: And I have kind of noted here Steve Witkoff, his
Speaker 1: longtime business associate, was kind of running point on setting
Speaker 1: up this meeting between the two of them. Now it
Speaker 1: seems like Secretary of State Marco Rubio is doing that
Speaker 1: as well. What do you make of that? What do
Speaker 1: you make of the approach the president has his team
Speaker 1: has right now to Vladimir Putin into a potential meeting
Speaker 1: 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 of aggression that Russia has
Speaker 3: launched against Ukraine, the American people are with the Ukrainian people,
Speaker 3: and we are with the Ukrainian people because Ukraine is
Speaker 3: not just fighting for its territorial integrity. They are standing
Speaker 3: on the right side of democracy, of freedom, and of truth,
Speaker 3: and Russia is on the side of authoritarianism, of tyranny,
Speaker 3: and of propaganda. And in that kind of situation, we
Speaker 3: should always be standing up for principles that are consistent
Speaker 3: with who we are as Americans. That means standing with Ukraine.
Speaker 3: And Donald Trump continues to in different ways play foot
Speaker 3: see with Vladimir Putin, who is a sworn enemy of
Speaker 3: the United States of America. Congress probably needs to act
Speaker 3: both in the House and the Senate in terms of
Speaker 3: increasing the economic sanctions on Russia. And the only reason
Speaker 3: why Republicans haven't moved legislation that they themselves support is
Speaker 3: because apparently they've been ordered not to bring this legislation
Speaker 3: forward by Donald Trump.
Speaker 1: I assume you applaud what the Treasury sector you did
Speaker 1: yesterday 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.
Speaker 1: They're Jeffrey Snank you very much. Thank you appreciate it.
Speaker 1: This is the Big Take from Bloomberg News. I'm David
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