https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6g7d9NrVMDw
Transcript
Morning
everyone. Honored to be joined today by whip Katherine Clark and caucus chair Pete
Aguilar as we prepare to depart for the
August district work period. The Trump administration and House Republicans have been a
complete and total failure. These MAGA extremists promised that they
were going to lower costs in the United States of America. In fact, they promised the American
people that cost would go down on day one. But costs haven't gone down. They are on
the way up. Inflation is up. It's the quality of life of everyday
Americans that is deteriorating.
And Donald Trump and House Republicans are making things worse. The one big
ugly bill will rip away health care from millions of Americans.
Hospitals will close. Nursing homes will shut down. Community-based health clinics will be unable to operate.
And as a result of the inability of everyday Americans to get the medical
care that they need, people will die.
This is a direct result of action taken by Donald Trump and House Republicans
connected to the one big ugly bill. It's extraordinary
that as we prepare to leave for the August district work period, what House Republicans can point to
is a toxic and extreme Republican budget that will cause millions of Americans to
be broke, sick, and hungry. That's the legislative accomplishment
of House Republicans. And all of this was done
to reward billionaires with massive tax breaks.
The one big ugly bill is deeply unpopular. Donald Trump is deeply unpopular
and House Republicans haven't done a damn thing to make life more affordable for the American people.
During the August district work period, House Democrats will hold events all across the country
talking about our efforts to build an affordable
economy that lowers the high cost of living in the United States of America.
to protect the health care of the American people and to combat the culture of corruption
that exists in this town that undermines the ability
to have a government of the people, by the people, and for the people.
We're looking forward to holding town hall meetings across the country
at the same time that Republicans will continue to run away from town hall meetings.
But we will fill the void that they are leaving and engage aggressively with the
American people all in service of building a country where everyone can
experience the American dream. It's now my honor to yield to our whip, the
Honorable Katherryn Clark. Thank you, Mr. Leader. I am deeply
grateful for your leadership over these last six chaotic months. Um, and what a
fitting end to these six months of Republican control in Washington.
instead of doing their jobs, instead of standing up for kids, for families,
instead of standing on the side of transparency and accountability,
Republicans are running away. All to avoid the release of the Ebstein client
list. All to cover up for pedophiles. In this hollowedout version of the
Republican party, they knock down people who work hard for a living. Their
signature bill, the big ugly bill, kicked 15 million Americans off their
health insurance, takes food from 16 million kids, raises energy bills, shuts
down hospitals, denies veterans their benefits. They run up the debt to give tax breaks
to billionaires and they run out of town to hide sex crimes for the rich and
famous. Well, Americans are sick of a system that looks at people who follow
the rules and actually work for a living and puts them last. Right now, 60% of
American households say they can't afford the basics.
Most parents, 54% say they will have to skip on groceries
to afford school supplies this fall. You deserve better. Your family deserves
better. And over the next six weeks, House Democrats will fan out across the
country listening to our neighbors, listening to our constituents, and we
are going to make sure that Americans know it does not have to be this way. We
can fight corruption. We can lower the cost of child care. We can make health
care and housing more affordable. We can build an economy that rewards the people
who make it run, not the corporations who exploit them. We can have a Congress
that prioritizes kids and families. This is the wealthiest nation in the
history of the world. There is enough for everybody, not just to get by, but
get ahead. If we give the American people the fair shot at success that
they deserve, and there is no one who we'd rather be in this fight with giving
people the fair shot making an affordable economy in this country than
our chairman Pete Aguular. Thank you, Whip Clark, Leader Jeff, for
your friendship, but for your leadership of this Democratic caucus as well. Uh
this Republican majority is nothing short of a disgrace. They've spent the
last six months lining the pockets of billionaires and wealthy corporations
who are already raking in record profits. They've prevented Democrats from rolling back reckless tariffs that
are driving the price increases that we see under Donald Trump's watch.
They're closing nursing homes, forcing grandma and grandpa to fend for themselves while making the purchase of
a new private jet fully taxdeductible. It's just cartoonish levels of
corruption. Rural hospitals are already closing down because Republicans pushed through the largest cut to Medicaid in
the history of the country. They've completely broken the bipartisan
appropriations process and are leading us toward a government shutdown that will hurt hardworking Americans. We were
elected by our constituents to solve problems and to get things done. But at every turn, the Republicans are choosing
partisanship and division and chaos. Now, they're fighting amongst themselves
about how they should hide President Trump's involvement in the Epstein files. Over the next few weeks, House
Democrats are going everywhere to talk about the devastating impacts of the
Republican cuts to Medicaid and their inability to focus on the most pressing challenges that the American people
face. Republicans are too scared to face their own voters and will probably spend
the August recess on the run. Turn over to Leader Jeff. Thank you, Pete. Questions?
Good morning. Senate Republicans seem to be torn about staying in session about new nominees and also going back to sell
the big beautiful bill from their perspective. Would it help Democrats if they were to stay in session so they
couldn't sell and market that piece of leg piece of legislation? That's a decision uh for the Senate
Republicans to make. As Chair Aguilar just indicated, as Katherryn Clark has indicated, Republicans are on the run.
They have nothing good to sell to the American people.
The one big ugly bill hurts everyday Americans to reward billionaires and
wealthy corporations with massive tax breaks. It is deeply unpopular
and that is why it's our expectation that during the August district work period, you're going to see House
Republicans and Senate Republicans running away from the American people because they are running scared.
That's um when you come back in September, you're going to have the the shutdown fight that'll consume most of
the oxygen here. You said earlier in the week that if it's a partisan Republican bill, House Democrats will be united
against it. Um, you didn't mention the Senate. Do you have faith that uh that Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats will
hold the line given that they did not do so in March? We had a very productive meeting with Senate Democrats yesterday
and I'm confident that the only path forward is for Republicans to work with
Democrats to pass an appropriations bill that meets the needs of the American
people in terms of their health, their safety, and their economic well-being. A
partisan spending bill is dead on arrival.
These are all too appropriate.
Listen, the House Republicans and and the Senate Republicans have a choice to
make. Uh it doesn't matter whether they in the Senate stay in session or go
home. They cannot hide from the destruction that they have caused. We
are looking at with this largest cut to Medicaid in our country's history, not
only will it have an impact on people who get their insurance through Medicaid, which is 40% of the children
in this country. But there are now estimates that it will cause a almost
70% rise in insurance premiums for a family
of four that makes $90,000. 70% increase in insurance.
As the leader said, this was an administration that promised to lower costs on day one. and they cannot get
away from the fact that they have made a terrible deal that goes against families
in this country. And so we are going to be out there over the next six weeks not
only putting forth the high contrast of the disaster they are bringing down on
family budgets across this country. But what we can do together to change the
system so that it isn't rigged against families who work for a living. the
99.9% of us who don't benefit under the big
ugly bill. Mike, I think the question for Republicans uh here in Washington DC is
what's your plan? You control everything uh the House, the Senate, uh and the
presidency. Uh what's your strategy right now? They can't even agree amongst themselves. Senate is marking up to one
set of numbers different than the president's budget request. the House is completely, you know, out in right field
doing their own thing um with marking up bills that have no basis will be no
basis for law. Uh just, you know, twiddling thumbs wasting time. Uh Tom
Cole and Speaker Johnson uh have no path and no plan to meaningfully pass bills
with bipartisan support. So, if that continues to be their posture, um then we're in for a long September. Uh our
hope uh is that Republicans work with us in a bipartisan way as we have always
done to fund government. Uh unless and until that happens, uh we're going to be in the in the same spot. We hope that uh
that they don't listen to Rusbot and uh and tune out bipartisanship. We think
that there should be more bipartisanship. uh there haven't been any House Republicans to my knowledge
who have disavowed those statements that the appropriations process should be more partisan which was his comment. So
uh until that changes uh we're going to be in a position where uh where they own everything that is is happening in
September if we lead toward a shutdown. Thank you, Mr. Leader. It's clear that you all will be talking about how
unpopular the reconciliation bill is, how vast the provisions are, but do you also think that it's important for you
all to prevent to present u a vision of what a Democratic majority would look
like? Are there any policy proposals? Are there any um agenda items that you will also pair with the criticisms of
the bill to offer a contrast to the American people of what it would look like if they gave you all the gables
back? We plan to spend a lot of time talking about our affirmative vision for
making life more affordable for the American people, for building an economy that actually works for everyday
Americans. We believe in this country that when you work hard and play by the rules, you
should be able to live the good life. Good paying job, good housing, good
health care, a good education for your children, and a good retirement.
That means that Republicans need to keep their hands off of Social Security and Medicare.
That's not too much to ask. This is the wealthiest country in the history of the world. That when you work hard and you
play by the rules, you can live the good life and experience the American dream. That's our vision for the type of
country that we should be fighting hard to bring about. America is too expensive
and we need to make our country more affordable for hardworking American taxpayers.
Mr. Leader, what concern do you have that the conversation about Jeffrey Epste, which has really dominated the
Hill
for the last two weeks, might overtake the messaging that you all are
attempting to bring about the effects this bill would happen would have
on the
American
people. I mean, already we saw today you were all talking about going
out and talking to the American public, but at the same time,
Congresswoman
Clark made sure to start her remarks with conversation about Jeffrey Epste. How do you balance that messaging? Well,
I'll yield to Whip Clark and Chair Aguilar, but the reality is that it's
all connected from the standpoint of Donald Trump, his administration, and
House Republicans have delivered nothing more than a government of the
billionaires, by the billionaires, and for the billionaires. They've passed massive tax breaks for
their billionaire donors. And in the context of this Jeffrey
Epstein scandal and their refusal to share
information to the American people despite promising to do so, one must
ponder the question, what are they hiding from the American people? And
what billionaires, what well-connected donors, what elite people are they
trying to protect? Why haven't Republicans released the
Epstein files to the American people? It's reasonable to conclude that Republicans
are continuing to protect the lifestyles of the rich and shameless, even if that
includes pedophiles. That's a conclusion
that if this continues, one may necessarily be compelled to reach. So, it's all
connected. Democrats are fighting to make life more affordable for the American people, to
improve the quality of life for working families, middle class folks, all those who aspire to be part of the middle
class. Hardworking American families, older Americans, our veterans, our
families, the men and women of organized labor. This is what drives Democrats.
But Republicans are focused on their billionaire donors.
That was the centerpiece of the one big ugly bill and it's what explains
Republican refusal to release the Epstein files. Yeah.
Yeah. I started my comments with that today because that is why they're running home today because they don't
want to answer a fundamental question that their own base is asking them. You
promised us transparency around these files. Now you are hiding them. And it
all relates back to the same thing. Everything that House Republicans have
done, everything this administration has done since Donald Trump took office is
in defense of the elites. And who is paying the price for it? Whether it's
with soaring debt, soaring insurance costs, denial of veterans benefits,
taking away food, school lunch programs, food, meals on wheels for our seniors.
It's the American people. So the jig is up here and this case, the
Epstein case has helped their own base see what's going on. that this is a conj
job that they were never the center of the work that they are going to do here.
If you don't already have a lot of wealth and power, you are not getting uh
any attention from this Republican party and they will sacrifice
the working people of this country for the benefit of the billionaire class.
They've done it in their big ugly bill and now they're doing it by running and hiding from their own campaign process a
promise to reveal these files. That's why we are in the situation that we are
in today. They are literally running away from the needs of the American
people in order to protect the very wealthy.
If I can get two things here. one, your reaction to Mike Lawler deciding to stay in Congress as opposed to the governor's
race. Does that complicate New York 17? And as I looked back at your 100 day marks remarks, you promised a blueprint
over the next 100 days as to what your agenda is. Is that going to be a single
document? Have we seen that yet? What what what's that look like? We look forward to sharing those ideas with the
American people, consistent with what I've talked about in terms of our focus on making life
more affordable for everyday Americans and driving down the high cost of living, protecting their health care and
social security and the things that matter and strengthening those things as
we move forward. And we'll have a lot more to say about the actions that we would take as soon
as we have the opportunity to govern in the majority around
healthc care. We have a Medicaid and Medicare matters day of action.
On July 30th, the 60th birthday of Medicare and Medicaid, we have a Social
Security Day of action on a on August 14th. the 90th birthday
of Social Security and we'll have a lot to say about our efforts to protect and strengthen Social Security.
And then the following week, we have a cost of living week of action where we'll focus on what we as Democrats
would do to make life more affordable for the American people and the fact that Republicans are actually making
life more expensive. Health care will be more expensive
for everyday Americans. If you are able to have health care, millions of people will be without
health care. Tens of millions more are going to pay
higher health care premiums, co-pays, and deductibles because of steps that
the Republicans have taken in connection with the one big ugly bill. Utility
costs are going up for the American people
all across America because of steps taken that are toxic
and extreme in nature by Republicans in connection with the one big ugly
bill. The cost of groceries and goods is going up because of Donald Trump's
reckless and random tariff policy that is imposing thousands
of dollars of additional costs on the American people and that will continue.
So there is a lot to talk about during the August district work period. And
we will draw a clear contrast between our vision related to building an affordable
economy and the Republican efforts to hurt
everyday Americans while rewarding billionaires and wealthy corporations.
Can I cler? Yeah. What? And I'll let uh
Democrats in New York and California flipped seven seats
in the last cycle. Four of those were in New York. We plan on flipping the fifth
in 2026 and the 17th Congressional District will be a high priority whether the current
incumbent seeks reelection or chooses not to do so.
over the next few months. I I'll just say real briefly, I just I can't let the opportunity go. I feel bad
for Mike Lawler and Zack Nun. They made a critical mistake when they thought
about their future aspirations. They asked Donald Trump what he thought and he told them, "Sorry, you got to run."
Um John James, Andy Bar declared for higher office and just went. Um the
other two said, "Hey boss, what do you think?" And time and time again, that's the motto of House Republicans, which is
if Donald Trump says jump, they say, "How high?" Uh that's the fundamental
difference. As the leader mentioned, in New York and California, the last election, we picked up seats. We look
forward to playing offense around the country. Um because the American people
know exactly who House Republicans are protecting and who they are fighting
for. They know that healthc care is on the ballot. Healthc care is at stake.
The rich and powerful are protected. Uh that's what's going to be the fundamental difference next November.
Thanks. Second, I want to ask about yesterday's appropriations meeting. Coming out of
there, was there any sense that Democrats don't want to set red lines on appropriations yet like there were in
March? We've made very clear uh that a partisan spending bill
that comes out of the House of Representatives will do so without Democratic support. and Senate Democrats
have made clear that the only path forward to reaching an enlightened spending agreement uh is one that is
arrived at in a bipartisan way because that is the path that Democrats are
committed to in terms of meeting the needs of the American people related to their health, their safety, national
security, and the economic well-being of everyday Americans. a partisan spending
bill is dead on arrival in terms of securing
significant Democratic support or any Democratic support
in the House and I believe that that is the case in the Senate as well.
Thank you, Mr. Leader. past comments from Mam Dani uh resurfaced in which he
implies that you were Islamophobic uh towards him and he compared your words
to those of segregationist George Wallace. What is your response to these
comments and will they be a topic of discussion when you guys meet at the end of this month?
Uh we responded uh in the article that you're making reference to. Uh and that
response speaks for itself.
Thank you, Mr. Leader. Um, just as you guys prepared to recess, the Committee on House Administration announced some
new
upgrades to member security, including an increase member allows, which
I know is something you and the ranking member called for, do you feel
these changes are sufficient? And because this is kind of a pilot program,
do you believe they should be implemented long term? We arrived at an agreement that was bipartisan in nature
uh that involved the highest levels of House Republican and Democratic leadership uh as well as the top leaders
on the House administration's committee led by Joe Morelli on the Democratic side. Uh that is a substantial step in
the right direction but will be in effect of course for the balance of this fiscal year.
Conversations are ongoing in part based on the experiences that members on both
sides of the aisle have when they're back home in their districts throughout the August district work period. Uh as
to what work, what helped uh and what other areas perhaps are right for
enhancement. Third row. Um, so I wanted to ask six
months into Donald Trump's presidency, a lot of Democratic voters were upset with Democrats because they weren't fighting
back enough. You know, at six months now, do you think Democrats are fighting back enough or do you think there's more
for
you guys to do? We continue to be in a more is more environment. That's
more town hall meetings, more speeches, more rallies,
more demonstrations, more sitins, more press conferences, speeches on the House floor, speeches on the Senate floor,
site visits all across the country, steering and policy committee, hearings
which have been taking place here at the capital and across the country. We're going to be in a more environment until
we can end this national nightmare on behalf of the American people. Go back to this side. Is every member of the
Democratic caucus fit mentally and physically to serve another term in Congress? And what role do you see
yourself
in playing in having conversations with members about retirement or
their future here? uh that's not a discussion that we have had
at the moment with individual members who are going to make decisions about their future and it's my expectation
that those decisions will be based on what members conclude is in the best
interests of the communities that they have been privileged to represent
as well as themselves, their families uh and the values that they hold dear that
we are in the middle of defending on behalf of the American people. What is
interesting to me, as Chair Aguilar indicated, is that Republicans clearly are running
scared and notwithstanding
the desire of a member in New York or a member in Iowa to seek other office
because they know that their prospects for reelection are grim
given how disastrous things have been as a result of the Trump administration
and the failures of House Republicans, they have been ordered by Donald Trump
to seek re-election. In other words, Donald Trump has signed their political death sentence.
And as has always been the case, they simply choose to bend the knee
even when it's not in the best interest of their own political
future. Republicans are running scared.
Every single data point illustrates that reality, including the fact that
Republicans are trying to gerrymander in the middle of the decade the Texas congressional map to try to undermine
the ability for the nation to have free and fair elections. It's all because
Republicans are running scared. They have been a complete and total disaster.
and the American people will hold them accountable next November.
Speaker Johnson today said he was disenchanted with Fed Chair Powell. Um, I wonder what you make of these comments
and
are you worried about President Trump setting a precedent if he does
fire Fed Chair Powell? To the extent Donald Trump chooses to fire
Chairman
Powell, who has done a good job on behalf of the American people and
function independently, which is what the Federal Reserve is
designed to do in terms of monetary policy, Donald Trump will continue his
efforts were he to fire Chairman Powell to crash the American economy.
Leader Jeff, thank you. Uh, Fox News is reporting that Tulsi Gabbard declassified a House report that they
say shows that uh, the Obama administration knew that there was no evidence that Putin was pressuring uh,
that or he wanted to help elect Trump during the 2016 election, but pushed out that report anyway. What is your
response to this? I I want to yield to Captain Pete on this, but is this what we're doing? Like
millions of Americans have lost their health care as a result
of actions taken by the Trump administration and House Republicans.
Children, veterans, and seniors will go hungry as a result of actions taken by
House Republicans and the Trump administration. Everyday Americans are being hurt.
Republicans have passed this one big ugly bill that will cause everyday Americans to be broke, sick, or hungry.
Republicans are on the run. They can't even get their act together as it relates to releasing the Epstein files
that every single one of the top leaders of the Trump Justice Department and the
Trump FBI and the Vice President and the president himself promised to release.
Republicans are on the run. They have done grave damage to the American people.
And so when you have nothing to present that's affirmative to the American people,
Republicans blame Barack Obama.
It's laughable. and a spokesperson for President Obama
released a statement that makes that clear.
This is It's pathetic. It is pathetic. We have the head of
intelligence just trying to worm her way back into the good graces of the White
House. And why it is not just pathetic but so dangerous and wrongheaded is that
the American people are waving their arms and saying we aren't making it in
this country and everything that the GOP is doing is making it worse. It is
stretching family budgets that are already stretched to the breaking point.
They don't want to talk about how can we cap the cost of child care so people can
afford to work and find child care so they can get to their jobs knowing their
kids are in a quality program. How come we're not talking about ways to help people put that down payment together
for a house? how we can build housing in a way that is productive and creates
American jobs and drives down the costs. How come they're not talking about helping our veterans who we know rely on
our food programs and rely on the VA? You cannot cut tens of thousands of
people from the Veterans Administration and look veterans in the eye and say,
"Thank you for your service." We owe them better. And this this incessant
obsession with getting back in and staying in the good graces of the
president has an incredible dangerous toll for American families. They are the
ones that pay the price for these lies and for this fidelity not to the people
of the United States but to one person which is Donald Trump.
I'm confident that the American people see through this. If a judge rules
in a position that Donald Trump disagrees with, they are corrupt. They are terrible.
If they rule in a way that he likes, then it is the best decision ever. And
his default is blame President Obama, blame Secretary Clinton, blame President
Biden. It's been n and a half years since Barack Obama was in the White House. And
is only as a distraction to more Jeffrey Epstein questions does Tulsi Gabbard
throw a bone to Donald Trump. That's all this is about. It's a distraction to get
back in his good graces after she was prevented from presenting
um national security information to Capitol Hill and kept out of some of the
most important rooms where decisions occur. And it's an effort by Donald Trump to distract from the issues of the
day, which is what are House Republicans, what are Republicans in
Congress doing going on an August recess, having to face their
constituents, not having town halls, cutting health care, cutting food security,
threatening nursing homes. That's what this is about. and every other effort is
just a distraction by by Donald Trump to blame someone else. Trump administration is a malignant
clown show. It's a malignant clown show and every single day
they prove that point. Last question. Number of Democrat
members uh met with Mahmud Khalil yesterday. Are you on board with them having those meetings? And are you
concerned
at all that Republicans going to weaponize this issue against Democrats
in the midterms? I have not spoken to any of the members
who've had that uh discussion with respect to the immigration issue.
More broadly, we believe that we must continue to
secure the border. We believe that we have a broken
immigration system and it must be fixed in a comprehensive and bipartisan way.
We also believe that this is a nation of immigrants. And as Democrats, we will continue to
defend dreamers, farm workers, and hardworking immigrant families
and push back against the aggressive overreach by the Trump administration
that has been unleashed on the American people. Thank you. Thank you.
