WEBVTT - House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Shutdown Day 23 0:00:00.240 --> 0:00:09.160 Bloomberg Audio Studios, podcasts, radio news. On this Thursday, the 0:00:09.280 --> 0:00:12.080 twenty third day of the US government shutdown, which is 0:00:12.119 --> 0:00:15.280 now the second longest shutdown in American history, I went 0:00:15.320 --> 0:00:17.959 to Capitol Hill to sit down with Hakeem Jeffreys, the 0:00:18.000 --> 0:00:20.120 Democratic leader in the House of Representatives. 0:00:20.840 --> 0:00:25.200 Thank you for you serve groundhog Day rhythm to it. 0:00:25.360 --> 0:00:27.960 There's a ground Holliday rhythm to it, you know. And 0:00:28.320 --> 0:00:32.760 although there's always something extraordinary that happens as well, Yeah, 0:00:32.840 --> 0:00:35.919 as unexpected because of the nature of how this issor Yes. 0:00:37.240 --> 0:00:40.560 Since the shutdown started, the White House announced a ceasefire 0:00:40.600 --> 0:00:44.320 in Gaza. The Treasury Department extended a twenty billion dollar 0:00:44.479 --> 0:00:48.920 lifeline to Argentina. President Trump is overseeing the demolition of 0:00:48.960 --> 0:00:51.960 the East Wing of the White House. Now. The President 0:00:52.040 --> 0:00:54.640 is preparing for a trip to Asia, where he's expected 0:00:54.640 --> 0:00:58.120 to meet face to face with Chinese President Xixinping. When 0:00:58.160 --> 0:01:00.960 it comes to the shutdown, there are some potential pressure 0:01:00.960 --> 0:01:04.640 points on the horizon. On Friday, October twenty fourth, many 0:01:04.680 --> 0:01:08.920 federal workers will miss their first paychecks. Then, on November first, 0:01:09.360 --> 0:01:12.759 open enrollment starts for health insurance, when many Americans are 0:01:12.880 --> 0:01:15.160 likely to notice their healthcare costs are going to go 0:01:15.319 --> 0:01:18.600 up barring congressional action to restore federal subsidies. 0:01:18.800 --> 0:01:20.399 This is extraordinary stuff. 0:01:20.440 --> 0:01:23.800 We've never seen anything like this in the history of 0:01:23.840 --> 0:01:26.160 the country, which is why we believe it needs to 0:01:26.160 --> 0:01:27.600 be decisively addressed. 0:01:28.000 --> 0:01:31.480 Meanwhile, Jeffries continues to face pressure in his hometown of 0:01:31.520 --> 0:01:34.200 New York City to weigh in on the upcoming mayoral 0:01:34.280 --> 0:01:37.200 race there. Jeffries has yet to make an endorsement, but 0:01:37.280 --> 0:01:40.840 he said he'll do so before early voting starts. Polls 0:01:41.200 --> 0:01:42.520 open this weekend. 0:01:42.280 --> 0:01:44.920 So it's been all encompassing, you know, for the last 0:01:45.480 --> 0:01:48.320 several weeks. That said, I do have a sense of 0:01:48.360 --> 0:01:51.480 obligation to weigh in one way or the other in 0:01:51.560 --> 0:01:53.760 terms of the mayor's race in advance of early voting. 0:01:56.520 --> 0:01:58.280 I'm David Gerrett, and this is the big take from 0:01:58.320 --> 0:02:01.040 Bloomberg News today on the show Shoe, my sit down 0:02:01.080 --> 0:02:04.640 with House Minority Leader Hakim Jeffries on the government shutdown, 0:02:04.760 --> 0:02:06.960 the role of President Trump could play, and ending at 0:02:07.200 --> 0:02:11.240 New York City politics and criticism of democratic leadership ahead 0:02:11.240 --> 0:02:18.800 of the twenty twenty six midterms. Thank you very much 0:02:18.800 --> 0:02:19.880 for having us, really appreciate it. 0:02:19.880 --> 0:02:20.200 Thank you. 0:02:21.120 --> 0:02:23.800 It's day twenty three, and I'm curious sort of what 0:02:23.919 --> 0:02:26.679 has changed between day one, the start of this shutdown, 0:02:26.680 --> 0:02:29.120 and today in terms of the conversation and how you're 0:02:29.120 --> 0:02:31.160 feeling about where things are well. 0:02:31.200 --> 0:02:34.200 As Democrats, we continue to make clear to our Republican 0:02:34.200 --> 0:02:37.120 colleagues that we will sit down with them anytime, any 0:02:37.120 --> 0:02:41.840 place in order to reopen the government to negotiate a 0:02:41.840 --> 0:02:46.120 bipartisan agreement that actually makes life better for the American 0:02:46.160 --> 0:02:50.440 people in terms of spending and funding. But we also 0:02:50.720 --> 0:02:54.359 have to decisively address the Republican healthcare crisis. We've maintained 0:02:54.360 --> 0:02:57.600 that position from the very beginning before Republicans shut the 0:02:57.639 --> 0:03:00.840 government down and during the entirety of shut down, because 0:03:00.840 --> 0:03:03.720 it is a real crisis that has been created at 0:03:03.760 --> 0:03:06.280 this moment, particularly as it relates to the urgent need 0:03:06.320 --> 0:03:08.400 to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. 0:03:08.440 --> 0:03:10.799 As you and I are speaking, the House speakers doing 0:03:10.800 --> 0:03:13.400 a press conference just down the hall. What is the 0:03:13.480 --> 0:03:15.400 level of engagement? Do you pass one another? Are you 0:03:15.440 --> 0:03:18.480 speaking with one another? Are Democrats talking to Republicans right now? 0:03:18.520 --> 0:03:21.640 The conversations have been very limited, unfortunately, because Donald Trump 0:03:21.680 --> 0:03:25.480 has not given House Republican leaders or Senate Republican leaders 0:03:25.480 --> 0:03:30.320 permission to negotiate reinforcing the principle from our view that 0:03:30.400 --> 0:03:33.240 he made the decision to shut the government down. They 0:03:33.280 --> 0:03:36.560 want to continue to inflict pain on federal employees. They've 0:03:36.560 --> 0:03:39.640 done that from the very beginning of Donald Trump's presidency. 0:03:39.760 --> 0:03:43.560 In fact, more than two hundred thousand federal employees had 0:03:43.560 --> 0:03:48.240 been forced off the job prior to the government shutdown. 0:03:48.520 --> 0:03:50.840 I want to ask you about potential off ramps, and 0:03:51.000 --> 0:03:54.320 Tammy Baldwin, the cenator from Wisconsin Democrats said Trump is 0:03:54.320 --> 0:03:56.280 the off ramp at this point. Do you agree with 0:03:56.320 --> 0:03:58.800 that assessment and has there been any kind of outreach 0:03:58.880 --> 0:04:00.000 or dialogue between you and the White House. 0:04:00.800 --> 0:04:03.600 Lady Schumer made Claire earlier this week that we have 0:04:03.680 --> 0:04:07.600 reached out to the White House again to indicate that 0:04:07.640 --> 0:04:11.800 prior to Trump's departure for Asia, he should sit down 0:04:11.840 --> 0:04:15.400 with Democrats to find a path forward to reopen the government, 0:04:15.440 --> 0:04:18.360 to enter into a bipartisan spending agreement, and to address 0:04:18.360 --> 0:04:22.839 the healthcare crisis that Marjorie Taylor Green acknowledges must be addressed, 0:04:23.160 --> 0:04:26.200 and that traditional conservatives who are in the toughest seats 0:04:26.200 --> 0:04:30.120 in the country have now publicly acknowledged this week needs 0:04:30.160 --> 0:04:30.760 to be addressed. 0:04:30.839 --> 0:04:32.760 Can I ask you a question of congressional mechanics, and 0:04:32.800 --> 0:04:36.000 that is, can the Democratic leader pick up the phone 0:04:36.440 --> 0:04:39.479 call the White House and reasonably expect the President's going 0:04:39.520 --> 0:04:41.560 to take that phone call? Are you able to do that? 0:04:41.640 --> 0:04:43.640 And if so, what's keeping you from having that done well? 0:04:43.680 --> 0:04:45.960 Traditionally that probably is the case, but in this White 0:04:46.000 --> 0:04:49.000 House that's very much on Claire. Donald Trump didn't have 0:04:49.040 --> 0:04:54.280 a meeting with House or Senate Democratic leadership until two 0:04:54.360 --> 0:04:57.640 days prior to the government shutting down, and we had 0:04:57.640 --> 0:05:02.480 to demand that meeting, agreed to it, then he canceled it, 0:05:02.839 --> 0:05:06.080 and then he was forced by public sentiment to agree 0:05:06.080 --> 0:05:09.440 to it. But unfortunately, we had a discussion for about 0:05:09.440 --> 0:05:11.760 an hour or so, and then there was no follow 0:05:11.839 --> 0:05:16.040 up from either Donald Trump or his administration because they 0:05:16.080 --> 0:05:19.720 are not serious about solving these challenges on behalf of 0:05:19.720 --> 0:05:22.839 the American people. We live in a high cost of 0:05:22.920 --> 0:05:28.080 living environment. The American people are struggling to afford to live, 0:05:28.920 --> 0:05:33.359 struggling paycheck to paycheck, and Donald Trump and Republicans promised 0:05:33.880 --> 0:05:35.320 that they were going to lower costs on day one, 0:05:35.400 --> 0:05:37.880 but costs aren't going down. Costs are going up, Inflation 0:05:38.000 --> 0:05:42.480 going up, electricity prices through the roof, housing costs, expensive, 0:05:42.520 --> 0:05:47.760 grocery costs increasingly expensive. And now people facing the possibility 0:05:47.960 --> 0:05:51.359 as we approached the open enrollment period for health insurance 0:05:51.400 --> 0:05:54.760 on November one, that millions of folks are going to 0:05:54.839 --> 0:05:57.440 see premium increases that could be as high as a 0:05:57.640 --> 0:06:02.000 thousand or two thousand dollars more more per month. And 0:06:02.080 --> 0:06:05.320 yet we see nothing but in action from the President 0:06:05.360 --> 0:06:06.159 of the United States. 0:06:06.279 --> 0:06:10.240 Keeping that in mind, Jason Smith, Chairman of Houseways and Means, 0:06:10.279 --> 0:06:12.480 was on our area yesterday and he said, maybe there 0:06:12.480 --> 0:06:15.480 could be a longer term CR fourteen months take us 0:06:15.480 --> 0:06:18.279 through the midterms. Am I right? And assuming that's unpalatable 0:06:18.320 --> 0:06:19.880 to you because it does nothing to address what you 0:06:19.920 --> 0:06:21.560 were just talking about, those healthcare subsidies. 0:06:21.640 --> 0:06:25.480 Yes, it's definitively unacceptable to us. We've made clear from 0:06:25.480 --> 0:06:28.359 the beginning we will not vote for a partisan, Republican 0:06:28.400 --> 0:06:31.440 spending bill that continues to cut the healthcare of the 0:06:31.440 --> 0:06:34.719 American people in the face of an extraordinary crisis that 0:06:34.800 --> 0:06:36.240 Republicans have created. 0:06:36.440 --> 0:06:37.320 If you think about it. 0:06:37.279 --> 0:06:41.560 The largest cut to Medicaid in American history, almost a 0:06:41.600 --> 0:06:44.800 trillion dollar cut. This from a president and Republicans who 0:06:44.880 --> 0:06:48.039 promised in January that they would love and cherish Medicaid. 0:06:48.400 --> 0:06:50.240 As a result of the policies in the One Big 0:06:50.320 --> 0:06:54.640 Ugly Bill, we're seeing hospitals and nursing homes and community 0:06:54.680 --> 0:06:59.599 based health centers closed all across the country because of 0:06:59.600 --> 0:07:03.440 what We'reublicans have done. We also are facing a possible 0:07:03.480 --> 0:07:06.240 five hundred and thirty six billion dollar cut to Medicare 0:07:06.880 --> 0:07:09.360 at the end of the year if Congress doesn't act 0:07:09.800 --> 0:07:12.840 they refuse to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, 0:07:13.280 --> 0:07:15.400 which is going to impact tens of millions of people. 0:07:15.440 --> 0:07:17.880 By the way, more than ninety percent of the people 0:07:17.920 --> 0:07:22.160 who receive tax credits connected to their health insurance make 0:07:22.280 --> 0:07:27.040 around sixty three thousand dollars or less. These are working 0:07:27.120 --> 0:07:31.120 class folks. And then we know that Republicans are continuing 0:07:31.160 --> 0:07:35.520 to assault our public health infrastructure in the country related 0:07:35.520 --> 0:07:39.400 to vaccine availability. Their Appropriations bill right now that they 0:07:39.440 --> 0:07:44.880 want us to support in the House. They propose cutting 0:07:45.040 --> 0:07:51.120 one point seven billion dollars from the Centers for Disease 0:07:51.120 --> 0:07:55.240 Control and another five hundred or so million dollars from 0:07:55.240 --> 0:07:58.840 the National Institute of Health. It's not something that's acceptable 0:07:58.840 --> 0:08:01.040 to us in any way, shape or form. This is 0:08:01.080 --> 0:08:04.600 a healthcare crisis that cannot be overstated, and so we've 0:08:04.600 --> 0:08:06.480 got to address it decisively. 0:08:06.680 --> 0:08:08.840 Now, want to talk about your vision for how all 0:08:08.880 --> 0:08:10.840 of this unfold. So my first question is, how do 0:08:10.920 --> 0:08:13.480 you see all this play out? How long do you 0:08:13.480 --> 0:08:15.080 think it's going to be. What's your best guess at 0:08:15.080 --> 0:08:15.600 this point? 0:08:16.000 --> 0:08:19.160 Well, listen, I think the longer this goes on, the 0:08:19.160 --> 0:08:24.160 more pressure that unfortunately continues to mount on Congress decisively 0:08:24.280 --> 0:08:28.200 to act, meaning our Republican colleagues who control the House 0:08:28.240 --> 0:08:32.760 and the Senate. And it shocks a lot of people 0:08:33.360 --> 0:08:36.360 that House Republicans have been on vacation now four consecutive weeks, 0:08:36.440 --> 0:08:41.600 have literally canceled votes for four consecutive weeks. That's an 0:08:41.640 --> 0:08:46.000 unsustainable position. We believe they need to get back to work, 0:08:46.360 --> 0:08:49.679 come back from vacation, sit down, let's do the business 0:08:49.679 --> 0:08:52.520 of the American people. We also, of course, are going 0:08:52.600 --> 0:08:56.200 to approach the November first open enrollment period, and at 0:08:56.240 --> 0:09:00.520 that moment in time, it will be crystal clear to 0:09:00.640 --> 0:09:05.160 the American people that their premiums, copais and deductibles are 0:09:05.240 --> 0:09:09.239 about to skyrocket in ways that will crush them financially, 0:09:10.000 --> 0:09:12.640 and they will be unable to go see a doctor 0:09:12.679 --> 0:09:15.640 when they need one, when their children need one, when 0:09:15.640 --> 0:09:19.760 their family needs one. And it's unsustainable for Republicans to 0:09:19.840 --> 0:09:24.280 continue to refuse to address that issue. It's not a 0:09:24.320 --> 0:09:27.720 made up issue. It's a real life issue that has 0:09:27.960 --> 0:09:30.760 adverse consequences on everyday Americans. 0:09:30.880 --> 0:09:32.360 I think back to the beginning of this in the 0:09:32.440 --> 0:09:35.000 days before there were some critics who said that date's 0:09:35.040 --> 0:09:37.320 too far off, and you're making this argument based on 0:09:37.320 --> 0:09:40.120 that November first deadline. People aren't dealing with that in 0:09:40.160 --> 0:09:44.240 real terms. Yet does this become an easier sell to 0:09:44.320 --> 0:09:46.040 the American public as we get closer to that date 0:09:46.040 --> 0:09:47.840 and the need as we hit November first. 0:09:47.559 --> 0:09:50.440 Well, our view was that we needed to address this 0:09:50.520 --> 0:09:55.360 issue in October because of the fact that notices were 0:09:55.400 --> 0:09:58.679 going out to tens of millions of Americans who have 0:09:58.760 --> 0:10:01.040 to be able to plan. They need need some certainty 0:10:01.480 --> 0:10:04.040 to understand are they going to be able to afford healthcare? 0:10:04.880 --> 0:10:06.760 How am I going to manage this situation? What are 0:10:06.800 --> 0:10:10.319 my alternatives? And that's why we felt like it needed 0:10:10.360 --> 0:10:12.640 to be dealt with with the fierce urgency of now 0:10:13.200 --> 0:10:17.520 in connection to what was also happening with the need 0:10:17.960 --> 0:10:21.120 to either fund the government, prevent a shutdown that Republicans 0:10:21.160 --> 0:10:24.160 have now brought to the country, now reopen the government, 0:10:24.559 --> 0:10:30.280 and actually to reach and enlighten bipartisan spending agreement, where 0:10:30.400 --> 0:10:33.760 our only criteria had been if we're going to reach 0:10:33.800 --> 0:10:36.320 an agreement that's by partisan in nature, it has to 0:10:36.400 --> 0:10:39.920 actually improve the lives of the American people in three 0:10:39.920 --> 0:10:46.480 different areas, their health, public safety, and their economic well being, 0:10:46.840 --> 0:10:50.000 particularly as it relates to lowering the high cost of 0:10:50.040 --> 0:10:52.480 living because America is too expensive right. 0:10:52.400 --> 0:11:05.720 Now, a nearer pressure point is Friday, October the twenty fourth, 0:11:06.280 --> 0:11:08.840 Federal workers aren't going to receive their pay checks. How 0:11:08.880 --> 0:11:10.640 confident are you that you're not going to be blamed? 0:11:10.640 --> 0:11:12.319 Democrats aren't going to be blamed for that when that 0:11:12.640 --> 0:11:13.200 comes around. 0:11:13.520 --> 0:11:17.520 Well, from the very beginning of this president's term, Donald 0:11:17.559 --> 0:11:21.479 Trump and the Republicans have assaulted in the most egregious 0:11:21.520 --> 0:11:26.440 way possible hardworking federal civil servants and public employees. 0:11:26.480 --> 0:11:27.479 And it's outrageous. 0:11:28.400 --> 0:11:31.520 As I mentioned, more than two hundred thousand federal employees 0:11:31.559 --> 0:11:34.000 have already been forced off the job. That was prior 0:11:34.040 --> 0:11:36.840 to Donald Trump shutting down the government. We passed the 0:11:36.880 --> 0:11:40.360 law on twenty seventeen that Donald Trump signed which requires 0:11:40.360 --> 0:11:45.480 that furloughed workers, all federal employees, receive their back pay. 0:11:45.840 --> 0:11:50.840 Is Donald Trump that's now suggesting unlawfully that he can 0:11:50.840 --> 0:11:54.600 withheld hold that pay and they might not be confident. 0:11:54.679 --> 0:11:56.280 Should workers be worried about that? I've talked to a 0:11:56.320 --> 0:11:58.800 few federal workers who, for the first time, for the 0:11:58.800 --> 0:12:00.760 first shutdown, they've been through their their word that that's 0:12:00.800 --> 0:12:02.920 not going to happen. Is that a reasonable concern? 0:12:03.080 --> 0:12:04.240 Well, the law is crystal clear. 0:12:04.280 --> 0:12:07.280 It's a reasonable concern from the standpoint that when Donald Trump 0:12:07.280 --> 0:12:10.240 says anything, and he's the president of the United States, 0:12:10.280 --> 0:12:12.840 and there's been a willingness to engage in an unlawful and 0:12:12.920 --> 0:12:17.040 illegal behavior, sometimes rubber stamped by the conservative majority on 0:12:17.120 --> 0:12:20.440 the US Supreme Court, that's problematic. But the law is 0:12:20.559 --> 0:12:23.640 very crystal clear in this particular instance, and we are 0:12:23.640 --> 0:12:27.520 going to make sure that every single federal employee receives 0:12:27.520 --> 0:12:29.080 the entirety of their pain. 0:12:29.520 --> 0:12:32.439 People will be watching this and listening to this, hearing 0:12:32.440 --> 0:12:35.320 what you're saying, and detesting that there is this deficitive 0:12:35.360 --> 0:12:38.000 trust between the two parties here, and I don't think 0:12:38.000 --> 0:12:40.200 that engenders a lot of optimism because this gets solved 0:12:40.240 --> 0:12:43.600 anytime soon. Is that misplaced? You? Do you feel like 0:12:43.640 --> 0:12:46.160 it there can be some comedy here somewhere. 0:12:46.360 --> 0:12:48.880 Or we're taking the Ronald Reagan approach to this particular 0:12:48.920 --> 0:12:52.000 situation from the standpoint of what needs to happen, Trust, 0:12:52.040 --> 0:12:55.680 but verify and so, yeah, promises can be made, but 0:12:55.760 --> 0:12:58.560 we need verification. That verification comes in the form of 0:12:58.720 --> 0:13:05.359 actual legislation, decisive legislative action to be able to address 0:13:05.760 --> 0:13:09.959 the Republican healthcare crisis. But we're here each and every day, 0:13:10.000 --> 0:13:12.920 Democrats have been showing up on Capitol Hill. We're committed 0:13:12.960 --> 0:13:17.000 to doing the work to finding a bipartisan path forward, 0:13:17.480 --> 0:13:20.679 to reopening the government and to addressing the healthcare crisis 0:13:20.679 --> 0:13:24.040 that Republicans have viciously visited on the American people. 0:13:23.960 --> 0:13:26.400 Got a couple questions just about the long term consequences 0:13:26.440 --> 0:13:29.040 of this. So the President said, we're closing up programs 0:13:29.080 --> 0:13:31.680 that are Democrat programs that we're opposed to, and they're 0:13:31.720 --> 0:13:35.680 never going to come back in many cases. Is he right? 0:13:35.840 --> 0:13:38.120 Is the work that's being done by omb and his 0:13:38.120 --> 0:13:40.360 administration irrevocable. 0:13:40.840 --> 0:13:45.120 Well, Republicans have been trying to shut down programs unlawfully 0:13:45.200 --> 0:13:48.840 from the very beginning of this presidency in ways that 0:13:48.920 --> 0:13:54.480 clearly violate the law because they're inconsistent with bipartisan bills 0:13:54.520 --> 0:13:58.800 that have been passed dictating how taxpayer dollars are spent 0:13:59.000 --> 0:14:01.320 in ways that a design to benefit the American people. 0:14:01.520 --> 0:14:03.720 So what we're seeing right now is not inconsistent. These 0:14:03.720 --> 0:14:08.360 are just threats from Donald Trump trying to intimidate Democrats 0:14:08.720 --> 0:14:11.720 from backing away from the position that we've taken. 0:14:11.520 --> 0:14:12.640 On behalf of the American people. 0:14:12.679 --> 0:14:16.400 This is a principal position for us, not politicals, not partisan. 0:14:16.920 --> 0:14:19.840 It's about the quality of life, the health, the safety, 0:14:20.080 --> 0:14:22.680 and the economic well being of the American people. And 0:14:22.720 --> 0:14:25.280 we'll continue to hold this position, and we're going to 0:14:25.360 --> 0:14:28.320 have to, of course, continue to push back against overreach 0:14:28.360 --> 0:14:31.920 from Donald Trump and his administration. Unfortunately, Republicans who control 0:14:32.000 --> 0:14:34.200 the House and the Senate, they have complete control of 0:14:34.280 --> 0:14:39.080 government right now in the Congress, they're not functioning like 0:14:39.160 --> 0:14:42.040 a separate and coequal branch of government. They're a wholly 0:14:42.080 --> 0:14:46.840 owned subsidiary of the Trump cartel. And unfortunately, they continue 0:14:47.160 --> 0:14:51.240 to recklessly rubber stamp Donald Trump's extreme policies. 0:14:51.840 --> 0:14:55.040 We can pour one out for regular order. We haven't 0:14:55.040 --> 0:14:57.320 seen that in a long time. But I wonder if 0:14:57.320 --> 0:14:59.840 what's at risk curious the appropriations processes. You talk to 0:14:59.880 --> 0:15:03.200 you your appropriations team, what do they say about how 0:15:03.200 --> 0:15:05.320 that's likely to change this result? Yes, of what's led 0:15:05.360 --> 0:15:07.120 to the shutdown, but also what we've seen in this 0:15:07.160 --> 0:15:09.160 administration do when it comes to budgeting over the last 0:15:09.160 --> 0:15:09.680 few months. 0:15:09.720 --> 0:15:13.400 Well, our appropriators on the Democratic side, Rosa Deloro and 0:15:13.480 --> 0:15:17.760 on the Senate side of the Democratic Caucus of course, 0:15:17.800 --> 0:15:22.440 Patty Murray. They are superb appropriators and they're committed to 0:15:22.520 --> 0:15:25.200 a process of finding a bipartisan path. 0:15:25.320 --> 0:15:25.960 Are they worried? 0:15:26.400 --> 0:15:31.400 Well, well, I think Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins have 0:15:31.640 --> 0:15:35.720 expressed concern about how this administration has conducted itself in 0:15:35.840 --> 0:15:39.560 violating congressional intent. The Framers were very clear Congress has 0:15:39.560 --> 0:15:41.600 the power of the purse. That's for good reason. Where 0:15:41.600 --> 0:15:44.840 the institutions that are closest to the American people, particularly 0:15:44.840 --> 0:15:47.320 on the House side, and so yes, the American people 0:15:47.360 --> 0:15:51.320 should be worried, But we need a Congress to actually 0:15:51.360 --> 0:15:55.240 reassert itself in the best interests of the American people, 0:15:55.640 --> 0:15:58.360 so that the administration is not allowed just to make 0:15:58.400 --> 0:16:03.640 these decisions gaterly on their own without the people's representatives 0:16:03.640 --> 0:16:07.280 in the House of the Senate actually being able to 0:16:07.400 --> 0:16:13.400 have our will exerted through our representation of everyday Americans. 0:16:13.800 --> 0:16:16.040 It was Opening Night at the Garden last night, Nicks 0:16:16.120 --> 0:16:18.840 versus Cavs Knicks one one, nineteen to one eleven. Also 0:16:18.920 --> 0:16:21.280 the final mayoral debate in New York City. Did you 0:16:21.320 --> 0:16:22.920 watch it? Have you kept up with what happened on 0:16:22.960 --> 0:16:23.720 stage last night? 0:16:24.200 --> 0:16:27.080 I wasn't able to catch the debate live. I did 0:16:27.280 --> 0:16:29.920 catch the final few moments of the next game, I 0:16:30.000 --> 0:16:33.160 do admit, but the debate had already ended at that 0:16:33.200 --> 0:16:36.360 point by time my day ended. I didn't think it 0:16:36.400 --> 0:16:40.080 was interesting yesterday, and a strong step that was taken 0:16:40.120 --> 0:16:44.480 by Zoran, the Democratic nominee, when he indicated his intention 0:16:44.920 --> 0:16:49.080 to retain our current police Commissioner, Jessica Tish. I think 0:16:49.120 --> 0:16:51.240 that probably will provide a lot of comfort to people 0:16:52.200 --> 0:16:54.440 throughout the city of New York. She's done a great job, 0:16:54.520 --> 0:16:58.320 she's well respected. We're a diverse city, and it'll be 0:16:58.360 --> 0:17:00.000 interesting to see how that is received. 0:17:00.160 --> 0:17:01.120 Upon my return home. 0:17:01.480 --> 0:17:03.360 You've been asked about this a thousand times. Let me 0:17:03.400 --> 0:17:06.280 ask a thousand and one times. Are you prepared to 0:17:06.359 --> 0:17:08.480 endorse the Democratic nominee for mayor in New York? 0:17:08.600 --> 0:17:10.840 Well, what I'll say is I'm prepared to weigh in 0:17:10.880 --> 0:17:13.200 and advance of early voting and early two days away. 0:17:13.280 --> 0:17:14.720 Early voting starts on Saturday. 0:17:14.880 --> 0:17:17.000 Yeah, what's what's holding you up? And what are the 0:17:17.080 --> 0:17:18.639 issues that you're still concerned about? And I know that 0:17:18.640 --> 0:17:20.119 you said the last time you were asked about this, 0:17:20.480 --> 0:17:23.679 you're going to have a conversation with sorry Mundani, another conversation. 0:17:24.280 --> 0:17:26.440 What's left undiscussed? 0:17:26.520 --> 0:17:28.119 Well, I hope vic to them today or tomorrow, and 0:17:28.640 --> 0:17:32.040 in fact, I plan on speaking to them today and tomorrow. 0:17:32.160 --> 0:17:33.240 And I think from. 0:17:33.080 --> 0:17:36.800 My standpoint, look, I was prepared to try to bring 0:17:36.840 --> 0:17:39.480 this to a close one way or the other several 0:17:39.480 --> 0:17:43.240 weeks ago, and then the government shut down hit and honestly, Dave, 0:17:43.359 --> 0:17:47.600 it's been all encompassing because this is a traumatic moment 0:17:47.760 --> 0:17:50.720 for the country, that this has been inflicted on the 0:17:50.760 --> 0:17:54.320 American people, and then laying on top of it, right, 0:17:54.440 --> 0:17:58.240 just shutting the government down as Republicans have done, is 0:17:58.359 --> 0:18:02.840 very problematic, but trying to communicate with the American people 0:18:03.840 --> 0:18:09.960 why we as Democrats also believe that addressing the Republican 0:18:09.960 --> 0:18:14.760 health care crisis is necessary, and explaining the entirety of 0:18:14.800 --> 0:18:17.680 the assault on their health care that has occurred this year, 0:18:18.160 --> 0:18:20.920 beginning with the one Big Ugly bill and the largest 0:18:20.920 --> 0:18:23.320 cut to medicate in the American history, and the fact 0:18:23.320 --> 0:18:26.640 that their hospitals and nursing homes and community based health 0:18:26.680 --> 0:18:30.280 centers are closing all across the country. Home care will 0:18:30.280 --> 0:18:33.639 be adversely affected. The possible cut to Medicare at the 0:18:33.720 --> 0:18:36.919 end of the year, the Republican refusal to extend the 0:18:36.920 --> 0:18:39.560 Affordable Care Act tax credits, and the threats that they're 0:18:39.600 --> 0:18:43.399 now making to even try to repeal the Affordable Care Act, 0:18:43.640 --> 0:18:45.760 and the assault on public health infrastructure. 0:18:45.800 --> 0:18:47.320 This is extraordinary stuff. 0:18:47.320 --> 0:18:50.719 We've never seen anything like this in the history of 0:18:50.760 --> 0:18:53.040 the country, which is why we believe it needs to 0:18:53.040 --> 0:18:57.640 be decisively addressed, along with of course reopening the government, 0:18:57.920 --> 0:19:01.840 standing by a hard working federal civil servants, and making 0:19:01.880 --> 0:19:04.159 sure that we can enact a bipartisan spending group. So 0:19:04.160 --> 0:19:07.840 it's been all encompassing, you know, for the last several weeks. 0:19:07.920 --> 0:19:11.200 That said, I do have a sense of obligation to 0:19:11.320 --> 0:19:13.560 weigh in one way or the other in terms of 0:19:13.560 --> 0:19:15.440 the mayor's race in advance of early voting. 0:19:15.520 --> 0:19:18.040 So I did watch the debate, and the themes of criticism 0:19:18.080 --> 0:19:20.160 that came up from the other two candidates were he's 0:19:20.160 --> 0:19:24.159 inexperienced and his comments on the Middle Easter problematic? Are 0:19:24.200 --> 0:19:26.480 those likewise the same issues that you want to talk 0:19:26.480 --> 0:19:28.760 to him more about? What's left unsaid between the two 0:19:28.760 --> 0:19:28.960 of you. 0:19:29.320 --> 0:19:34.800 Well, I've certainly already publicly communicated and privately communicated some 0:19:34.840 --> 0:19:37.040 of my concerns with respect to some of the views 0:19:37.040 --> 0:19:40.200 that he's expressed in terms of foreign policy. That said, 0:19:40.720 --> 0:19:45.240 I believe his relentless focus on affordability is the right focus. 0:19:45.640 --> 0:19:48.919 The question, you know, becomes for any mayor, for any executive, 0:19:49.200 --> 0:19:52.240 how are you going to implement that objective? 0:19:52.320 --> 0:19:53.560 Because it's the right objective. 0:19:54.359 --> 0:19:59.280 But he's got to navigate a treacherous governmental terrain in 0:19:59.359 --> 0:20:04.280 terms of the city, state, and most significantly, the federal government, 0:20:05.080 --> 0:20:08.439 because it's clear that Donald Trump has it out for 0:20:08.560 --> 0:20:11.760 democratic led cities all across the country, and we've got 0:20:11.760 --> 0:20:13.600 to be prepared for the fact that Donald Trump is 0:20:13.640 --> 0:20:14.440 coming from New York. 0:20:15.200 --> 0:20:17.000 I guess my question is one of confusion. So I 0:20:17.000 --> 0:20:20.240 sat down with Governor Cuomo, and in that conversation he said, 0:20:20.720 --> 0:20:22.880 I'm a Democrat. My dad was a Democrat. He's really 0:20:22.880 --> 0:20:24.960 taking up that mantle. Of course, he lost the primary. 0:20:24.960 --> 0:20:27.760 He's running as an independent. Isn't there an element here 0:20:28.119 --> 0:20:31.399 of confusion that in this vacuum and you could, I guess, 0:20:31.480 --> 0:20:34.040 do something to close that vacuum. He's able to take 0:20:34.119 --> 0:20:36.760 up that mantle to the detriment of the duly elected 0:20:36.760 --> 0:20:37.680 Democratic nominee. 0:20:37.680 --> 0:20:39.800 Well, it's interesting because he is running as an independent, 0:20:39.880 --> 0:20:42.399 so he's not the Democratic nominee. But of course he 0:20:42.440 --> 0:20:44.879 has a long history as a Democrat. I think some 0:20:44.920 --> 0:20:49.480 of the concerns that I've seen articulated, however, is well, 0:20:49.520 --> 0:20:54.360 what is the actual path to victory given the inability 0:20:54.920 --> 0:21:00.359 to convince a majority of Democrats in the primary that 0:21:00.400 --> 0:21:02.720 you were the right person to lead the city moving 0:21:02.760 --> 0:21:03.560 forward at this moment? 0:21:03.880 --> 0:21:05.399 Let me use this as a segue. So a lot 0:21:05.440 --> 0:21:07.639 of people point to his youth, point to as you 0:21:07.720 --> 0:21:11.640 just noted, his emphasis on affordability. Part of your job 0:21:11.880 --> 0:21:15.359 is surveying the national terrain, political terrain, and looking for 0:21:15.440 --> 0:21:19.240 candidates does his success in that primary make you think 0:21:19.280 --> 0:21:22.360 that youth is more important this time around, that that emphasis, 0:21:22.400 --> 0:21:25.280 that kind of monomoniacal emphasis on affordability is going to 0:21:25.320 --> 0:21:27.200 be critical here as you look at the midterms and beyond. 0:21:27.320 --> 0:21:30.560 What we've said from the very beginning of this year 0:21:30.760 --> 0:21:32.919 when we came back into session, in fact, in my 0:21:33.000 --> 0:21:35.720 first set of remarks on the House floor that would 0:21:35.720 --> 0:21:40.639