In a recent episode of CNN's "The Arena," House Minority Leader Rep.
Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) pointed the finger at Republicans for the ongoing government shutdown.
He accused them of demanding Democratic support for a partisan Republican spending bill that he claims is further eroding the healthcare of American citizens. Jeffries stated, well sit down with Republicans, any time, any place, at the White House or in the Congress, in order to reopen the government and find a bipartisan path forward to a spending agreement.
He also expressed the Democrats' desire to cease using the filibuster, which he referred to as a Jim Crow relic.
According to Breitbart, the show's host, Boris Sanchez, questioned Jeffries on the Democrats' stance. He asked, the counterargument from the administration, Leader Jeffries, is that it is Democrats who, by not voting for a CR almost identical to the one that they voted for just months ago, are holding these SNAP recipients and the beneficiaries of other government programs hostage. And I am curious about where you see all of this ending, because, eventually, that emergency funding will run out again. Its somewhere in the neighborhood of $6 billion, not enough to cover the 9 billion that I understand is required for SNAP benefits in November. Eventually, there will be more agencies and programs that will run out of money. So what is the plan?
Jeffries responded by highlighting the Republican control of the House, Senate, and the presidency. He criticized their approach as being uncompromising and accused them of imposing their extreme right-wing agenda on the American people.
He stated, Well, Donald Trump is the president. Republicans control the House and the Senate, and theyve taken a my way or the highway approach from the very beginning of this year, unleashing their right-wing and extreme agenda and jamming it down the throats of the American people. But all of a sudden, theyre powerless. No one is buying that in America.
He further emphasized the Democrats' willingness to negotiate with Republicans to reopen the government and find a bipartisan spending agreement that would improve the lives of Americans. He also stressed the need to address the healthcare crisis, which he attributes to Republican policies, particularly the impending expiration of the Affordable Care Act tax credits.
Jeffries later pointed out that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) had previously noted that Republicans are choosing to keep the government shut down, despite the general consensus in Washington that it needs to reopen. He said, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) made this point a few weeks ago that Republicans are actually making a choice to keep the government shut down when everybody in Washington understands they have to reopen it.
But theyre asking Democrats to support a partisan Republican spending bill that continues to gut the health care of the American people.
He also criticized Republicans for enacting the largest cut to Medicaid in American history and for refusing to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. He concluded by stating that the decision to continue using the filibuster, which he referred to as a "Jim Crow relic," ultimately lies with the Republicans in the Senate.
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