LEADER JEFFRIES: "THE ONLY WAY FORWARD IS FOR HOUSE REPUBLICANS TO PUT THE BIPARTISAN CONTINUING RESOLUTION ON THE HOUSE FLOOR"
Washington, D.C. – Today, Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar held a press conference where he highlighted that while House Democrats are working towards a bipartisan continuing resolution that meets the needs of everyday Americans, extreme MAGA Republicans are driving us toward a reckless government shutdown.
LEADER JEFFRIES: Let me first begin by just expressing our heartfelt condolences to the family and colleagues, friends of Senator Dianne Feinstein, an icon, a giant, a legendary lioness of the United States Senate, a towering public figure, so thankful for her life and her legacy, all that she did to make life better for countless individuals in her beloved state of California, all across the country and as someone who was involved as a force for good across the world. It is my expectation that the House will participate, certainly House Democrats, in any appropriate commemorations of her life and her service that take place here within the Capitol and/or in California as well.
Once again, extreme MAGA Republicans in the House have demonstrated their complete and utter inability to govern. We are in the middle of a Republican civil war that has been ongoing for months and now threatens a catastrophic government shutdown that will hurt everyday americans, hurt children, hurt military men and women, hurt veterans, hurt seniors, hurt women, hurt families, hurt the economy. And there is absolutely no reason that we should be facing a government shutdown at this moment. There is a bipartisan continuing resolution making its way through the Senate that would ensure the government doesn't shut down, that funding is available to meet the needs of the American people that is free of any partisan poison pill ideological amendments and that provides support for everyday Americans who have been hit hard by extreme weather events and for the Ukrainian war effort that is important to freedom and democracy and truth across the world.
The Senate bipartisan continuing resolution will emerge in that institution in the next few days and be sent over to the House of Representatives. The only way forward is for House Republicans to put the bipartisan continuing resolution that emerges from the Senate on the House floor for an up or down vote. And if House Republicans were to do that, we can avoid a catastrophic, extreme MAGA Republican government shutdown. It's not that complicated. And all we're asking House Republicans to do is to keep their word and adhere to the agreement that they themselves reached, voted for and negotiated in May connected to their threat to default on America's debt. Why are we in this situation where extreme MAGA Republicans seem determined to shut the government down? It's because the Republicans and the right-wing ideologues and the extremists in the House of Representatives want to cut Social Security, slash public school funding and criminalize abortion care. That is their ransom demand. And if everybody else in the House and the Senate and within the Biden administration declines to pay it, they've basically made clear we're shutting the government down. And people will be hurt. And it's irresponsible. But it's in their DNA.
House Democrats met earlier today, and we are unified in the position that we support the continuing resolution that is working its way through the Senate and prepared, ready, willing and able to vote for it the moment it crosses over to our side of the Capitol. We just need House Republicans to do the right thing by the American people and put the bipartisan continuing resolution on the floor of the House of Representatives for an up or down vote. What is the alternative? They tried a partisan continuing resolution and they failed. And there is no way out of their Republican Civil War. The only path forward is to partner with House Democrats in a bipartisan way, and we're prepared to do just that. It's now my honor to yield to our distinguished Whip, Katherine Clark.
WHIP CLARK: Thank you so much, Mr. Leader. And I want to join in taking a moment to honor and remember Senator Feinstein. And just wanted to add, her incredible legacy is also one of a role model to women. The first woman mayor of San Francisco, part of the 1992 Year of the Woman and someone who has really smashed ceilings, broken ground for those of us who get to follow and stand on her shoulders. And what a contrast to that legacy of service to what we're witnessing in the House today. Another wasted day on voting on an extreme right-wing bill with zero chance of becoming law. Another day of fighting among the MAGA Republicans, another day wasted talking about deficits while failing to take up the bipartisan agreement we already entered into that would reduce the deficit by one and a half trillion dollars.
So now, weeks after political theater, we are one day from a disastrous Republican government shutdown. So let's take a moment to talk about the people who are truly at the center of this story. It's not Speaker McCarthy. It's not Marjorie Taylor Greene. It's not Matt Gaetz. It's the service members who will work without a paycheck. It's the firefighters who will be furloughed. It's the early educators who will have to leave their classrooms. It's the moms and parents who will be left scrambling for childcare. The MAGA shutdown comes down to this. House Republicans have chosen extremism over everyday people. They've chosen abortion bans over baby formula. They've chosen teacher layoffs over the well-being of our students. They've chosen cuts to Social Security, cuts to Head Start, cuts to the VA over commitment to our continued economic recovery. The House has been hijacked by extremists obsessed with making life harder and more expensive for working people.
It does not have to be this way. This impending disaster can still be averted if just a handful of Republicans would stop listening to Donald Trump. If just a few members would honor their oath of office and say enough is enough. It's not too late to work for our country and not against it. It's not too late to come back from the edge. It is not too late to pass a bipartisan continuing resolution and enact the agreement we reached and voted on back in May. But if House Republicans choose to inflict this needless pain, this needless chaos, if they choose to force the shutdown, I can tell you this, the American people know who's at fault and they are not going to forget that this was brought to us by extremists in the House GOP.
CHAIR AGUILAR: Thank you Whip Clark. Appreciate your words about our senior Senator as well. And to the Leader who echoes the sentiments of the Democratic Caucus. I joined members of the California delegation, Senator Schumer and Leader McConnell on the Senate floor this morning as some of the senators made tributes to Senator Feinstein. And it struck me that my senator, Alex Padilla recounted how Senator Feinstein was one of his first bosses in politics and to have the opportunity to get to serve alongside her. She was one of my earliest supporters, quite honestly, in California politics. The fact that she would help out a young guy from Inland Empire, outside of L.A., outside of San Francisco and support me in what was a crowded primary, means a lot to me. And she talked a lot about holding up young leaders, men and women, to succeed and to follow in her footsteps.
Earlier today, just a few hours ago, the Democratic Caucus met. And Leader Jeffries, Whip Clark are doing an amazing job in keeping our Caucus together, keep the Caucus talking about lowering costs, creating good-paying jobs and building safer communities. Every step of the way, House Democrats have put People Over Politics. And it's been impacted by extreme MAGA Republicans who continue to have the shutdown on their minds. That is their focus, that is who they are and what they believe and as Whip Clark said, this is about women and children who will go without food assistance, servicemembers who will have to work without pay, law enforcement officers and Border Patrol agents being sent a clear message that they are not a priority for House Republicans. The people are losing faith in their government because they look at our own nation's capitol and they see the Republican extremism and the chaos that has driven the other side.
It doesn't have to be like this. In fact, this was all completely avoidable, as Whip Clark mentioned. There's a simple and commonsense solution that the Leader articulated. There is a bipartisan path. House Republicans can work with House Democrats, Senate Democrats and Senate Republicans to do what's right on behalf of the American people. We can live up to the agreements and the discussions that we have had to work together. That is the only path out, is to have a bipartisan solution. Republicans need to work with us to end this MAGA madness. It's our only path forward.
Full press conference can be watched here.