LEADER JEFFRIES: "IT IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT THAT WE AVOID A CATASTROPHIC, UNNECESSARY REPUBLICAN SHUTDOWN"
Washington, D.C. – Today, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries held a press conference where he highlighted that while extreme MAGA Republicans are in the midst of a destructive civil war and attempting to shut down the government, House Democrats will continue fighting to protect the American people and our national security.
LEADER JEFFRIES: Earlier today, House Democrats and House Republicans, in a meeting that was hosted by Speaker McCarthy, met with President Zelenskyy of Ukraine. It was a very candid, open, forward-looking discussion where we were able to talk about the importance of continuing to stand behind the Ukrainian people in aggressively pushing back against this war of aggression that has been launched by Vladimir Putin and Russia.
The conflict between Ukraine and Russia is important in terms of standing behind the Ukrainian people as it relates to the territorial dynamics that are at issue. But of course, the war of aggression launched by Russia involves other dynamics that are more important. Our values are at stake and our values are the values of the Ukrainian people. The values of the Ukrainian people are shared by the American people. We had an opportunity to express our appreciation for the resilience, the strength, the heart, the soul that the Ukrainian people have exhibited and of course, their courage and their bravery on the battlefield and amongst the civilian population. This is a struggle between Ukraine and Russia, but it's also a struggle on the global stage between democracy and autocracy, between freedom and tyranny, between truth and propaganda, between good and evil. And it's important for us to stand behind Ukraine until victory is won. And I'm confident that that is certainly what House Democrats will continue to do.
In that regard, in terms of us moving forward to meet the needs of the American people, both here and abroad, it's going to be incredibly important that we avoid a catastrophic, unnecessary Republican shutdown of government. There is a clear path to avoiding a shutdown. It involves, of course, bipartisanship here in the House as well as in the Senate. Democrats coming together with Republicans to pass a continuing resolution at the fiscal year 2023 levels to make sure there are no right-wing partisan ideological riders that have no place in an appropriations bill, let alone a continuing resolution to avoid a shutdown and to meet the needs of the American people, both in terms of those Americans across the country in places like Hawaii, Florida, California, Vermont or in other states that have been hit hard by extreme weather events and need relief as well as to meet the needs of the American people in terms of our national security by continuing to stand behind Ukraine. That's the path forward.
And the interesting thing is that House Democrats are aligned with Senate Democrats, and we're both aligned with Senate Republicans and all of us, with the exception of the extreme MAGA Republicans, are aligned with President Joe Biden and the administration in terms of keeping the government open so we can meet the needs of the American people. But we need the extreme MAGA Republicans to get their act together in the civil war that's happening on the Republican side of the aisle that's paralyzing Congress. Get your act together so we can handle the business of the American people and solve problems on their behalf.
Full press conference can be watched here.