MIL USHOR-2b Engine

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Mike Johnson (LA-04)

WASHINGTON — On Day 30 of the Democrat Shutdown, Speaker Johnson held a press conference alongside the House Republican delegation from New York and House GOP Leadership to discuss America’s largest city preparing to hand the reins of power to a Marxist mayor. Speaker Johnson also addressed how Democrats have wholly capitulated to the Far-Left base of their party.

“Chuck Schumer is desperately trying to cling to power. Unfortunately, when you make decisions out of fear and political desperation, you have already lost control,” Speaker Johnson said. “And the new power center in the Democrat Party is one that should frighten every commonsense American. The radical socialist wing is rising, and it is led by people like AOC and Bernie Sanders.”

Watch Speaker Johnson’s full remarks here.

On Democrats embracing their radical, Far-Left base:

Right now, they’ve got a 34-year-old unproven, untested socialist who looks to be the next mayor. He may well be elected. Mamdani winning New York City would be the biggest win for the Marxists and the socialists in the history of this country. We have, to this point in nearly 250 years, been able to hold off those kinds of ideas. We’ve been clinging to the foundational principles of America, the ideas of individual freedom and limited government, and the rule of law and peace through strength and fiscal responsibility and free markets and human dignity. All those things are in jeopardy when the Marxists take over. And it’s the clearest sign yet that the Democrats’ radical Marxist wing is winning the battle for control of their party.

Look at where the energy is. This should be alarming to everyone around the country. Mamdani has of course called to defund the police, to abolish all prisons, to legalize prostitution. He lambasted the New York Police Department as a racist system. And you might have seen if you in the media are covering this, but there was a new video uncovered from 2023, just two years ago, and he said, quote, “We have to be clear, when the boot of the NYPD is on your neck, it’s been laced by the IDF.” Look, it’s a unique talent to merge one’s loathing for American law enforcement with their loathing for the Jewish people. But he’s managed to do it. New York is just the tip of the iceberg. It’s not isolated to America’s largest city. It’s other cities as well. Look at Seattle, where the leading candidate for mayor is an open socialist. Look at Minneapolis, where the sitting socialist mayor is facing a challenge from his Left flank. And look here in Congress where we have our own wing of Marxist acolytes serving here.

On the harmful consequences of the shutdown crossing into November:

Let me give you a list of things that this means for the American people. It means that tens of millions of American families will struggle to keep food on the table because the SNAP program benefits will run dry. It means that WIC assistance, that’s women, infants, and children nutrition programs, will be at risk of running dry. It means that Head Start centers, which serve 60,000 children nationwide, will be at risk of closure. Millions of federal workers, and we’ve listed them here every day, you’re talking about air traffic controllers and TSA agents and park rangers and Border Patrol agents, law enforcement around the country, the stewards of our nuclear arsenal will miss their paychecks. Thousands of flights by result will be canceled or delayed while our borders and national security will be directly jeopardized at a very dangerous moment in world history. And our country will lose tens of billions in gross domestic product. With each passing day, the pain gets more real.

On Democrats owning the consequences of the Marxist Mamdani agenda:

Obviously, Mamdani is a big issue here in the halls of Congress. Why? Because the second highest ranked Democrat in the country, Leader Jeffries, endorsed him. They’re making Mamdani a mainstream Democrat now. And this party has left the people. Of course, the press wants us to ignore Mamdani here. It’s an embarrassment because most of the press is on the side of the Democrats. They don’t want us to talk about that, but we have to because by endorsing Mamdani, Hakeem Jeffries has endorsed and co-owned his positions, his past statements, his Marxist playbook and everything else that that guy espouses. And so too does every single House Democrat who will be inviting their leader, Jeffries, to their campaigns and to their districts.

Next year, every single one of them at every campaign stop should be asked, what do you think about Mamdani? What do you think about his positions? While House Democrats court Marxists in New York, Senate Democrats have chosen to shut down the government over a totally clean, nonpartisan CR, it’s the first time in history, in the history of this country, that any party has done that: has had the audacity to shut the government down over a totally clean, nonpartisan funding measure bowing to the demands of their Far-Left base.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Mike Johnson (LA-04)

WASHINGTON — Today’s editorial from the Washington Post Editorial Board echoes what House and Senate Republicans have been saying for weeks: Democrats in Congress are holding the government hostage, and it must end immediately.

“The right answer is to reopen the government with a clean funding bill, ideally for a full year, to get food stamps flowing and federal workers back in the office, and then have a debate about ACA subsidies,” the Editorial Board wrote. “Democrats openly acknowledge that they refuse to do this because it would mean giving up their leverage. If they persist, it could mean families start to go hungry.”

Read the full editorial here or below:

One reason the partial government shutdown has dragged on for nearly a month is because most Americans have felt no discernable impact on their daily life. That’s starting to change. This weekend, federal food stamps are scheduled to stop going out. Around 42 million people, or 1 in 8 Americans, receive benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

This pain point, combined with three other dynamics, should help hasten an end to the shutdown as early as next week by making Democrats blink.

First, the open enrollment period for purchasing health insurance starts on Saturday. Many people will experience sticker shock when they see how much their premiums are about to go up. Democrats will be able to claim they got their point across about the need to rescue Obamacare by extending subsidies that are set to expire.

Second, Democrats are favored to win most of next Tuesday’s off-year elections. If they prevail in the New Jersey and Virginia governor’s races, as well as the New York mayor’s race, Democratic leaders could save face by claiming that the people sent a loud message to President Donald Trump. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries are both New Yorkers who fear the Mamdani wing of the party.

Schumer has allowed the shutdown to drag on because he’s worried about fending off a primary challenger in 2028, and he’s still smarting from blowback he got from angry liberals after he agreed to fund the government this spring. Electoral wins can offer a pretext to claim vindication, or at least quietly give permission for a few of his members to break ranks.

Third, federal public employee unions, a core Democratic constituency, are losing patience. The American Federation of Government Employees, which represents more than 800,000 federal and D.C. government workers, said in a statement Monday that the shutdown is unacceptably hurting its members: “It’s time to pass a clean continuing resolution and end this shutdown today,” said AFGE National President Everett Kelley. “No half measures, and no gamesmanship.”

Kelley’s message shows why it’s untenable for Democrats to insist on a piecemeal approach to fund certain programs, such as food stamps, while keeping federal workers furloughed. Air traffic controllers, for instance, just missed their first full paycheck of the shutdown, even though they’re required to keep working.

Senate Democrats mostly stuck together last Thursday to block a bill that would have ensured the troops and other categories of essential employees keep getting paid, but now they’re insisting on a standalone bill to keep SNAP funded. They’re also accusing Trump of not tapping into emergency funds to keep the payments going, even as they’ve criticized him for diverting funds toward programs they care less about.

A variety of mitigating factors could prevent SNAP cuts from ratcheting up the pressure to reach a deal. More than two dozen blue states and D.C. sued on Tuesday in a bid to force the Trump administration to keep sending payments. They drew a sympathetic liberal judge in Boston, who has scheduled a hearing for Thursday. Other states are moving to limit the fallout: Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) declared a state of emergency and said he’ll use surplus funds to cover food stamps through November.

Save the debate for another day about whether too many people qualify for food stamps, which have become significantly more generous over the years. Keeping the government open should be separated from policy disputes about how to spend taxpayer money. It is wrong that Democrats have held the government hostage for a month in hopes of extending costly Obamacare subsidies, just as it was for Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) to shut down the government in 2013 for 16 days in a bid to defund the Affordable Care Act altogether.

Negotiations can always fall apart, but the calendar could help: Both chambers are supposed to be out on recess the week after next for Veterans Day, which might help induce a deal by next Friday.

The right answer is to reopen the government with a clean funding bill, ideally for a full year, to get food stamps flowing and federal workers back in the office, and then have a debate about ACA subsidies. Democrats openly acknowledge that they refuse to do this because it would mean giving up their leverage. If they persist, it could mean families start to go hungry.

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Dan Newhouse (4th District of Washington)

Headline: Newhouse Statement on Firing of Jon Wyss from FSA

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Rep. Dan Newhouse (WA-04) released the following statement on the firing of Jon Wyss, State Executive Director, Washington State Farm Service Agency (FSA).

“Jon Wyss has dedicated his career to helping farmers in Washington state, and he has been an asset in making sure we are a leader in the U.S. agriculture industry,” said Rep. Newhouse. “His experience, relationships with producers, and firsthand understanding of the challenges in farm country give producers an ally in the federal government. Jon’s firing is a mistake and a disservice to farmers who need a strong leader at the Farm Service Agency, especially now, when times are tough. I have expressed my concerns with this decision to the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the White House, because Jon was a true advocate for farmers in Washington state.” 

Wyss was reappointed to serve as the State Executive Director of the FSA in May of 2025. He was first appointed in 2019 during the first Trump Administration and was re-appointed in 2022 during the Biden Administration.  

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Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Salud Carbajal (CA-24)

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Salud Carbajal (D-CA-24) joined a bicameral letter led by U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) to demand President Trump and Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum immediately cease any plans to open new offshore oil and gas leases in U.S. federal waters off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, in the Arctic Ocean and northern Bering Sea off of Alaska, and in the Eastern Gulf. The lawmakers warned that opening these untouched coastlines to new offshore drilling would devastate coastal economies, jeopardize our national security, ravage coastal ecosystems, and put millions of Americans’ health and safety at risk, hurting people across the political spectrum.

Oil spills not only cause irreparable environmental damage, but also suppress the value of coastal homes, harm tourism economies, and weaken coastal infrastructure. Already, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is forced to respond to over 150 oil and chemical spills each year. One disastrous spill can cost taxpayers billions in lost revenue, cleanup costs, and ecosystem restoration.

These threats of expanded oil drilling come as the Administration has already dismantled NOAA’s oil spill prevention and response programs, as almost 30 percent of the team in charge of addressing oil spills has been laid off or taken early retirement. The Emergency Response Division team and the oil spill program are slated to lose half their funding from the Administration’s proposed FY 2026 budget.

“This is a matter of national consequence for coastal communities across the country, regardless of political affiliation. It puts our economies, national security, and our most vulnerable ecosystems at severe risk,” wrote the lawmakers. “… Expanded oil and gas leasing poses risks to the health and livelihoods of our constituents, jeopardizes our tourism, fishing, and recreation economies, and threatens the marine life that inhabits our coastlines.”

“The United States already leads the world in oil and gas production. The industry currently holds more than 2,000 offshore leases covering over 12 million acres of federal waters —yet fewer than 500 of those leases are actively producing oil and gas,” continued the lawmakers. “There is no justification for opening vast swaths of our oceans to leasing when existing leases remain largely unused, while imposing mounting environmental and economic costs on coastal communities.”

Additionally, the Department of Defense (DOD) previously warned that oil and gas leases in portions of the Eastern Gulf would impact areas critical to our military readiness, including for military training and testing opportunities and assets. DOD has also signaled that parts of the Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic Planning Areas are “not compatible with oil and gas activities and infrastructure.”

The lawmakers condemned the potential expansion of offshore drilling while the Administration simultaneously curtails offshore wind and clean energy development. This year, the Trump Administration has withdrawn all outer continental offshore wind leases, rescinded all designated Wind Energy Areas, and eliminated $679 million in offshore-wind-related port infrastructure funding, including over $426 million for Humboldt Bay offshore wind infrastructure.

Specifically, the lawmakers demanded that President Trump and Secretary Burgum:

• Halt any steps toward new offshore oil and gas leasing in the Atlantic, Pacific, off the coast the Arctic and Bering Sea coasts of Alaska, and the Eastern Gulf;
• Limit offshore drilling, consistent with previous statutory and agency protections;
• Prioritize coastal resilience, including expanded storm-surge and flood protection, restoration of wetlands and sand dunes, and early-warning systems, so that communities in Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, New Jersey, Alaska, and beyond are better protected; and
• Restore a credible pathway for offshore wind and other clean-energy projects by rescinding the OCS wind-leasing withdrawal and rescinded WEAs, enabling science-based projects that support jobs and coastal economies.

“Our coastal communities, fishermen, small business owners, Tribal Nations, tourism operators, and families cannot be sacrificed in the name of short-term drilling booms,” concluded the lawmakers. “Opening new offshore lease areas while cancelling clean energy progress is potentially illegal, a failure of leadership, and a dereliction of the public trust.”

Full text of the letter is available here and below:

Dear Mr. President and Secretary Burgum:

We write to express our strongest opposition to any effort to open new offshore oil and gas leasing in federal waters off the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, in the Arctic Ocean and northern Bering Sea off of Alaska, and in the Eastern Gulf. This is a matter of national consequence for coastal communities across the country, regardless of political affiliation. It puts our economies, national security, and our most vulnerable ecosystems at severe risk. These reported proposals would reverse long-standing protections that shield sensitive coastal waters from new drilling, including withdrawals under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, statutory moratoria, and agency restrictions.

Expanded oil and gas leasing poses risks to the health and livelihoods of our constituents, jeopardizes our tourism, fishing, and recreation economies, and threatens the marine life that inhabits our coastlines. Many of these communities are already reeling from compounded disasters: hurricanes, sea-level rise, storm surge, and the lingering legacy of oil-spill disasters. Since 1980, hurricanes alone have generated well over $1.5 trillion in damage in the United States. Expanding offshore leasing increases the likelihood that future storms, oil spills, or other disasters will impose even greater burdens on front-line coastal communities.

In addition to storms, the threat of oil spills remains real and costly. For example, the U.S. Coast Guard reported a spill of more than 30,000 gallons of “oily-watery mixture” off Louisiana’s coast earlier this year. Oil spill damage threatens not just the environment, but the value of coastal homes, the health of tourism economies, and the resilience of coastal infrastructure. A single catastrophic spill could cost taxpayers, states, and local communities tens of billions of dollars in cleanup costs, lost revenue, and degraded ecosystems. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) already responds to over 150 oil and chemical spills in U.S. waters every year. Under the administration’s proposed plan, every part of the United States’ coastline would be at risk of disaster.

These risks are magnified by the administration’s dismantling of NOAA and its oil spill prevention and response programs. Nearly 30 percent of NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration Emergency Response Division staff—the team that addresses oil spills—were already laid off or took early retirement as part of the administration’s ongoing reductions in force. The administration’s proposed fiscal year 2026 budget would cut in half funding for the oil spill program and the Emergency Response Division.

Under the administration’s reported plans, harmful seismic testing could take place across every coast. NOAA Fisheries recently concluded that oil and gas activities like seismic exploration in the Gulf of Mexico could drive the endangered Rice’s whale—of which only a few dozen individuals remain—to extinction. Seismic testing for oil and gas disrupts communication, navigation, and breeding among whales, fish, and other marine species, inflicting irreversible harm on ocean ecosystems.

The administration’s reported plans would also open up oil and gas leasing in areas the Department of Defense (DOD) has previously stated would be problematic for military readiness. Leaked documents report that the administration will conduct leasing in parts of the Eastern Gulf, which includes irreplaceable military training and testing opportunities and assets. The DOD has similarly labeled portions of the Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic Planning Areas “not compatible with oil and gas activities and infrastructure.”

The United States already leads the world in oil and gas production. The industry currently holds more than 2,000 offshore leases covering over 12 million acres of federal waters —yet fewer than 500 of those leases are actively producing oil and gas. There is no justification for opening vast swaths of our oceans to leasing when existing leases remain largely unused, while imposing mounting environmental and economic costs on coastal communities.

While the administration prepares to expand offshore drilling, it is simultaneously undermining offshore wind and clean energy development, thereby reducing our ability to expand energy supplies and build resilient coastal economies. On January 20, 2025, the President issued a memorandum withdrawing all areas of the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) from offshore wind leasing, pending review. On July 30, 2025, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) rescinded all designated Wind Energy Areas (WEAs). The Department of the Interior has issued directives curbing so-called “preferential treatment” for wind and solar, and the U.S. Department of Transportation withdrew $679 million in offshore-wind-related port infrastructure funding. These actions raise electricity costs for families, make our coastlines less safe, and our communities more vulnerable.

We therefore urge your administration to take the following actions to reverse course immediately: 

1. Halt any steps toward new offshore oil and gas leasing in the Atlantic, Pacific, off the coast the Arctic and Bering Sea coasts of Alaska, and the Eastern Gulf;

2. Limit offshore drilling, consistent with previous statutory and agency protections; 

3. Prioritize coastal resilience, including expanded storm-surge and flood protection, restoration of wetlands and sand dunes, and early-warning systems, so that communities in Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas, New Jersey, Alaska, and beyond are better protected; and 

4. Restore a credible pathway for offshore wind and other clean-energy projects by rescinding the OCS wind-leasing withdrawal and rescinded WEAs, enabling science-based projects that support jobs and coastal economies.

Protecting our waters from offshore drilling is broadly supported by the American public. Nearly two-thirds of registered voters oppose new offshore drilling, and hundreds of municipalities along the Atlantic, Pacific, the eastern Gulf, and these regions of Alaska have passed formal resolutions against its expansion. These communities have made clear that safeguarding their coastal economies, fisheries, and way of life must take precedence over short-term fossil fuel interests. Our coastal communities, fishermen, small business owners, Tribal Nations, tourism operators, and families cannot be sacrificed in the name of short-term drilling booms. Opening new offshore lease areas while cancelling clean energy progress is potentially illegal, a failure of leadership, and a dereliction of the public trust.

We look forward to your prompt response detailing what specific steps the Administration will take to halt this course of action and recommit to safeguarding our nation’s shores, economy, and shared future. 

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Paul Tonko (Capital Region New York)

WASHINGTON, DC — Following recent sports betting scandals that have resulted from the explosion of legal sports betting across the nation, Congressman Paul D. Tonko (NY-20) sent letters to several major professional sports leagues demanding they support implementing federal gambling safety standards included in his SAFE Bet Act. The letters were sent to the commissioners of the NBA, WNBA, NFL, NHL, MLB, MSL, and NWSL.

“Claims of prioritizing integrity ring hollow when leagues have sold credibility to gambling operators, integrated betting content into broadcasts, normalized wagering for teenagers, glorified it in advertising, and then failed to prevent criminal conduct from taking hold within the sport,” the letters read.

The letters continue, “The stakes go far beyond the integrity of the sport; they encompass the very real human harm occurring across communities nationwide. The reliance on voluntary self-policing has failed. If the integrity of professional sports depends on federal law enforcement alone, the current system is already broken.

“The choice before you is now explicit. Either engage directly with Congress to establish mandatory federal guardrails that restore integrity and protect the public or stand in opposition and accept responsibility when the next scandal breaks and more families and lives are destroyed.”

Tonko’s Supporting Affordability and Fairness with Every Bet (SAFE Bet) Act, reintroduced earlier this year, would establish minimum federal standards to create a safer, less addictive product, protect consumers, and restore needed trust in the integrity of sports. Specifically the bill addresses:

• Marketing
  • No sportsbook marketing during live sporting events, and no programing designed to induce gambling with “bonus”, “no sweat,” “bonus bets,” or odds boosts
• Affordability
  • Prohibits operators from accepting more than 5 deposits from a customer in a 24-hour period
  • Requires operators to conduct ‘affordability checks’ on customers before accepting wagers and prohibits operators from accepting deposits via credit card
• Artificial Intelligence
  • Prohibits the use of AI to track player’s gambling habits and offer individualized promotions
  • Prohibits the use of AI to create gambling products, such as microbets
• The SAFE Bet Act would also: Ban prop bets on all college and amateur athletes; authorize SAMHSA to collect data on the impact of sports betting nationwide; require a Surgeon General’s report on the public health challenges to sports betting; and create a national self-exclusion list.

The full letter to Major League Baseball Commissioner Robert Manfred can be read HERE.

The full letter to Major Soccer League Commissioner Donald Garber can be read HERE.

The full letter to National Basketball Association Commissioner Adam Silver can be read HERE.

The full letter to National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell can be read HERE.

The full letter to National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman can be read HERE.

The full letter to National Women’s Soccer League Commissioner Jessica Berman can be read HERE.

The full letter to Women’s National Basketball Association Commissioner Cathy Englebert can be read HERE.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congresswoman Lois Frankel (FL-21)

Today, Representative Lois Frankel, joined by all Florida House Democrats, sent a letter to Governor Ron DeSantis and Attorney General James Uthmeier urging them to join 26 states in a lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s refusal to release $6 billion in contingency funds for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) during the ongoing government shutdown. The lawsuit also calls on the U.S. Department of Agriculture to reimburse states that cover SNAP benefits with their own funds once the government reopens.

Without immediate action, the Trump Administration’s refusal to use these emergency funds could leave approximately 3 million Floridians, including 160,000 Palm Beach County residents, at immediate risk of going hungry when SNAP benefits run out on November 1. If Governor DeSantis and Attorney General Uthmeier do not join the lawsuit, Florida will be unable to access any of the funds awarded should the case prevail.

“The impact of a suspension of benefits would be immediate and severe, forcing Florida’s children, seniors, Veterans, and working families to turn to already-strained food banks and local charities for help,” the Members wrote. “Florida’s most vulnerable residents should not pay the price for the Trump Administration’s refusal to use funds Congress has already made available.”

“We urge you to put Florida’s interests first by joining Commonwealth of Massachusetts et al. v. U.S. Department of Agriculture et al. and demanding that USDA release the funds needed to keep food assistance flowing to those who depend on it.”

For full text of the letter, click here.

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Joaquin Castro (20th District of Texas)

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Hakeem Jeffries (8th District of New York)

Today, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries appeared on CNN’s The Source, where he emphasized that while Republicans remain on vacation, Democrats will continue fighting to find a bipartisan spending agreement to end the shutdown, protect the healthcare of the American people and restore the nutritional assistance that Republicans are ripping away.

KAITLAN COLLINS: My lead source tonight is one of those Democrats that the Speaker just mentioned, the House Minority Leader, Hakeem Jeffries of New York. And thank you, sir, for being here. What’s your response to Speaker Johnson saying that he has given up on Democratic leadership, i.e. you?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, Mike Johnson hasn’t even tried to sit down and negotiate with Democrats during the 29 days that Donald Trump and Republicans have actually shut the government down. And of course, they are completely and totally uninterested in solving or addressing decisively the Republican healthcare crisis that they’ve created, including their continued refusal to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, notwithstanding the fact that on November 1st, when open enrollment begins, it’s going to be crystal clear to tens of millions of Americans across the country that their premiums, co-pays and deductibles are about to dramatically increase.

KAITLAN COLLINS: Would you say that Zohran Mamdani has anything to do with reopening the government for Democrats?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Of course not. It’s a silly, unhinged conspiracy theory. The thing that we know to be true about Mike Johnson and House Republicans is that they haven’t been given permission by their puppet master, that would be Donald J. Trump, to sit down and have a conversation with Democrats. We’ve said from the very beginning that we want to reopen the government, that we want to enter into a bipartisan spending agreement that actually meets the needs of the American people, while, at the same time, addresses the healthcare crisis that they’ve created and are visiting on the American people, which includes, but is not limited to, the largest cut to Medicaid in American history. The fact that hospitals, nursing homes and community-based health centers are closing all across America, including dozens potentially in Louisiana, the home state of Mike Johnson. And now they’re refusing to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits, which is going to adversely impact the ability of working-class Americans, everyday Americans and middle-class Americans to receive their healthcare or go see a doctor when they need to.

KAITLAN COLLINS: You’ve said that Mike Johnson’s not willing to sit down and have a conversation. Y’all did have a phone conversation, I believe you said earlier today. Who initiated that call? Was that you or was that Speaker Johnson?

LEADER JEFFRIES: It was a call from Mike Johnson. It was very brief. And it wasn’t a substantive discussion in terms of finding a path forward.

KAITLAN COLLINS: But was he calling to talk about the government shutdown?

LEADER JEFFRIES: I mean, you can say that that was in the ballpark, but, you know, it was a private conversation that will remain private. However, nothing meaningful came out of it, again, because Donald Trump has not given Mike Johnson permission to enter into a bipartisan negotiation. Kaitlan, I mean House Republicans have been literally on vacation for the last five weeks. They’ve canceled votes five consecutive weeks in a row. They are uninterested in doing anything other than jamming their partisan Republican spending bill down the throats of the American people. And as Democrats, we’ve made clear we will not support a partisan Republican spending bill that continues to gut the healthcare of the American people. Period, full stop.

KAITLAN COLLINS: I asked about y’all’s conversation because it sounds like based on the reporting here at CNN and other outlets that cover you closely on the Hill, that it’s a lot of the rank and file members who are trying to have these conversations on next steps here, whether that’s in the Senate or even in the House tonight. And some people might look at that and say, the leaders—should the leaders not be leading on these negotiations and these talks to find some kind of common ground?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, from the standpoint of what may emerge from the Senate, as House Democrats, we’ve consistently said that we will consider anything in good faith that emerges from the Senate as long as it’s, of course, bipartisan in nature and decisively addresses the Republican healthcare crisis. But we’re not going to, you know, continue to go down this road that Republicans have been taking the country since January 20th, which is my-way-or-the-highway because they just want to jam their right-wing ideology down the throat of the American people. We’ve seen the damage that they’ve already done in their One Big Ugly Bill, which, by the way, also includes the largest cut to SNAP in American history. They cut $186 billion in nutritional assistance. Literally, these people ripped food from the mouths of hungry children, seniors, veterans, women and families so they could reward their billionaire donors with massive tax breaks and make those tax breaks permanent. And now they’re threatening to take those benefits away from 42 million Americans on November 1st.

KAITLAN COLLINS: Well, can I ask you on that, because that’s what Leader Thune was shouting about on the floor today because a Democrat over in the Senate tried to introduce a bill basically that would just fund SNAP during the government shutdown. We’ve seen some Republicans who support doing that. And yes, you’re right, the Republicans just cut $186 million from SNAP in the One Big Beautiful Bill. We’ve talked about that at length with Republicans on this show. But I wonder, does that comfort the 42 million people, though, who are about to go without SNAP starting in November, who are being denied those benefits, while you’re fighting for these Obamacare subsidies? The question is, you know, which pain point, you know, is the worst, I guess.

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, none of this pain that Republicans have inflicted on the American people is acceptable. It’s also important to note that the money currently exists within the Trump administration, including $5 billion in a contingency fund specifically for this kind of circumstance, to continue providing SNAP benefits to the American people, including 16 million children who might otherwise go hungry if Donald Trump successfully withholds these SNAP benefits. The Trump administration doesn’t need Congress to act in order to continue providing nutritional and food assistance to everyday Americans. They’re trying to weaponize this issue and cause people to go hungry in the most callous and cruel manner possible.

KAITLAN COLLINS: Yeah, but on that front, as you know, what basically they have in their contingency funds is about 5 to 6 billion dollars. It costs about $9 billion for SNAP benefits. So what happens if they do dip into that? I mean, that’s still not enough to cover all the benefits.

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, there’s certainly other funding that they have the ability to move around, as we’ve seen them do throughout the entirety of Donald Trump’s presidency. And by the way, this is the same group of people who somehow found $40 billion in order to bail out their right-wing, wannabe dictator friend in Argentina. But they can’t find a dime in order to make sure that more than 42 million Americans, including more than a million veterans and eight million seniors, don’t go hungry because of their callousness? Of course they can find that funding. They are unwilling to because they want to weaponize hunger as part of their continuing effort to hurt the American people.

KAITLAN COLLINS: Leader Thune’s argument today was if Democrats want to fund SNAP, they’ve had 13 opportunities to do so by just funding the government. That would keep SNAP funded. For Democrats, is there a point, though, where the pain of the shutdown outweighs the fight for the extended Obamacare subsidies in your view?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, we’re going to continue to fight on all of the things. And we’ve said from the very beginning that we want to find a bipartisan path forward to enacting a spending agreement that actually meets the needs of the American people. And we set out three criteria—their health, public safety and their economic well-being, particularly as it relates to driving down the high cost of living in an environment where Donald Trump promised to lower costs on day one. Costs haven’t gone down in America. Costs have gone up. Inflation moving in the wrong direction. Trump tariffs creating thousands of dollars in additional expense on everyday Americans. Electricity bills through the roof. Housing costs out of control. Child care costs out of control. And now they want to create this healthcare crisis because of their refusal to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. So we’re fighting on all of the things, but anchored in a premise that we have to make life better for working-class Americans, everyday Americans and middle-class Americans.

KAITLAN COLLINS: Yeah, it’s just obviously going to be really tough for those millions of people who rely on SNAP and are about to not get it. You said today that there are zero cracks when it comes to your group, to the Democratic side. I want you to listen, though, to what your colleague from New Jersey had to say.

RECORDING OF REP. GOTTHEIMER: I think what’s a very fair deal is open the government and let’s just vote on extending these premiums for a year or more. I don’t understand what’s so hard about that. And by the way, Senator Thune has offered that, I believe. He said we’ll—he offered up a vote that we can actually have a vote on extending these premium.

KAITLAN COLLINS: Obviously Josh Gottheimer is a Democrat. What’s your reaction to his argument there?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Yeah, well, I speak to Josh five or six times a week. And, you know, we all are in this fight to make sure that we protect the healthcare of everyday Americans. And of course, that includes but is not limited to dealing with extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits. These Republicans can’t necessarily be trusted by simply offering a wing and a prayer. Understand, this is the same group of people who have tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act more than 70 different times over the last 15 years. They have zero healthcare plan that is credible. Don’t take my word for it. That’s what Marjorie Taylor Greene has made clear. She can’t find their healthcare plan. None of us can because it’s non-existent. And so we just want to make sure on behalf of the American people that there’s a credible path toward addressing the Republican healthcare crisis.

KAITLAN COLLINS: Congresswoman AOC told me that she believes—that she needs to see ink on paper before she would vote to reopen the government. Is that your standard as well when it comes to those subsidies and what’s going to happen with them?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, I think we just need a credible path forward so that beyond—

KAITLAN COLLINS: Right, but what does a credible path forward look like? I think a lot of people want to know.

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well a credible path forward to me means something legislative, and we’ve made that point from the very beginning. And we believe that it exists because there are Republicans—both traditional conservative Republicans who are in swing districts who are pleading with Mike Johnson to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits and then some people on the right like Marjorie Taylor Greene—who also recognizes that premiums, co-pays and deductibles absent congressional action are about to skyrocket for her constituents and people all across rural America, urban America, small town America, the heartland of America and, of course, Black and brown neighborhoods and communities throughout America, in some cases by a thousand or two thousand dollars per month. This is all unsustainable, and it’s why it requires dramatic, decisive action.

KAITLAN COLLINS: Before you were the House Minority Leader, there was a government shutdown back in 2013. It was Republicans who would not vote to fund the government at that time. I want to listen to something you had to say then.

RECORDING OF REP. JEFFRIES: We’re in the midst of a government shutdown right now that is unnecessarily forcing pain on the American people. It’s a shutdown that was manufactured by the House GOP that has resulted in a situation where Americans all across this country have now been put in jeopardy. That’s a tragedy of epic proportions.

KAITLAN COLLINS: I wonder what Hakeem Jeffries of today would say to the Hakeem Jeffries of 2013 who had that message in terms of wanting to pass a clean CR so Congress could get back to work.

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, the Hakeem Jeffries of today definitively agrees with the Hakeem Jeffries of yesterday from the standpoint of, listen, we’ve said to Republicans, get to the negotiating table. We want to find a bipartisan path forward. We want to reopen the government. We are standing by hardworking federal employees, but we need a partner in that effort. But we don’t have a partner. Literally, Donald Trump over the last 29 days has spent more time talking to Hamas and to the Chinese Communist Party than to Democrats on Capitol Hill who represent half the country. And that’s extraordinary in and of itself. And we’ve said we will pass a spending bill that’s bipartisan, that makes life better for the American people. What we will not do is support continued Republican efforts to rip healthcare away from everyday Americans.

KAITLAN COLLINS: You were asked today if you will defer your paycheck during the shutdown. Obviously a lot of federal workers, TSA agents are going without paychecks. Have you made a decision on that yet, sir?

LEADER JEFFRIES: I’ll be commenting on that shortly, but I understand the sacrifice that people are making, including Capitol Police officers here, and I’m going to conduct myself accordingly given that sacrifice.

KAITLAN COLLINS: So that sounds like a yes, that you will defer your pay check?

LEADER JEFFRIES: Well, I’ll have more to say about that shortly, but I think consistent with the values that I just articulated.

KAITLAN COLLINS: Leader Hakeem Jeffries, thank you for joining us tonight. Really appreciate your time.

LEADER JEFFRIES: Thank you.

Full interview can be watched here.

###

Source: United States House of Representatives – Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (FL-23)

“Trump’s presidency has been an unending nightmare for Venezuelan Americans here and around the country. He has ripped away temporary protected status from law-abiding Venezuelans and thrown countless families into terror through raids conducted by agents in masks. He has characterized all Venezuelans as criminal dirtbags and alien enemies. And he has killed at least 57 people, most of whom were Venezuelan, with airstrikes on boats, with no evidence, due process, or Congressional authorization,” said Wasserman Schultz. “Anyone who believes that Trump will promote democracy in Venezuela should look at what he’s done to democracy here.”

Source: United States House of Representatives – Congressman Rick Larsen (2nd Congressional District Washington)

Larsen Releases Statement on Senate Vote on Canadian Tariffs