James McGovern Gives Blunt Message To Republicans About Possible Government Shutdown, Blasts CR

2 days ago

At last night's House Rules Committee hearing, Rep. James McGovern (D-MA) flamed Republicans about a possible government shutdown and the CR.

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Transcript

00:00Thank you, Madam Chair.

00:02You know, we stand just four days away from a government shutdown.

00:06So let's be crystal clear about who's running the show here,

00:10because some of my Republican colleagues seem confused.

00:13Republicans run the House.

00:15Republicans run the Senate.

00:17And the White House is a Republican-run circus led by Elon Musk and Donald Trump.

00:22You guys talk about winning by a landslide.

00:25You talk about having a mandate.

00:27Well, that makes this very simple.

00:30If the government shuts down, there is no mystery about who's to blame.

00:33No excuses. No spin.

00:36It will be because Republican dysfunction and Republican extremism got in the way.

00:42And if we are being really honest here,

00:45Republicans have been trying to shut the government down since Trump took over.

00:49Trump's Office of Management and Budget tried to do that last month

00:53by unilaterally freezing all federal spending

00:56When the American people pushed back,

00:59Republicans realized they had to shut it down more covertly.

01:07That's when Trump gave Elon Musk and Doge unprecedented power to sabotage the federal government,

01:12letting them hack into agencies and dismiss thousands of critical federal workers.

01:18And now it seems like you all just want to shut the government down the old-fashioned way,

01:23by not doing your job and failing to fully fund it.

01:27The continuing resolution in front of us today is just more of the same.

01:31You're trying to gut programs people rely on so you can give more handouts to billionaires.

01:37I mean, this CR goes after support for our veterans.

01:41We know veterans have been fired through Doge's purges.

01:46And we know that Republicans want to fire some 80,000 people who helped take care of veterans.

01:51Now Republicans are using this CR to gut funds for veterans exposed to burn pits,

01:56Agent Orange, and other toxic substances.

01:59Another big middle finger to veterans.

02:02Republicans have already fired Social Security Administration workers.

02:06This CR would make it easier to fire more of them,

02:09meaning that when seniors call for help with their Social Security check,

02:12they're going to have to wait even longer to get a real person on the other end to help them out.

02:18And I can't believe it, but this bill defunds police.

02:21This bill takes away from law enforcement, firefighters, and EMTs in D.C.,

02:28wild coming from the party that couldn't resist meddling in D.C.'s local laws last Congress

02:34under the guise of concern for public safety and homelessness in the city.

02:38You know, the way Republicans treat the district is not only disrespectful,

02:45it's just plain rotten, and we'll be talking more about that later on.

02:50Some of the things in this bill are just so stupid and irresponsible.

02:54Giving Trump the tools to dismantle NOAA right before we head into another hurricane season.

03:00I mean, that's really smart.

03:02There are at least 22 instances where this bill sets program funding to zero.

03:08So please don't insult people's intelligence by calling this a clean CR.

03:13There's nothing clean about this.

03:15It's 99 pages, for God's sake.

03:18This is a sham, and it's the same sham Republicans have been pulling from day one.

03:24Stealing from America to enrich themselves and their billionaire donors.

03:28Looting from hardworking people to pad the pockets of ultra-rich 1% weirdos like Elon Musk.

03:35Again, this CR is not a clean CR.

03:38It is a hurtful bill that will impact everyday Americans.

03:43But that is a Republican's choice to make.

03:46You run the House, you run the Senate, you run the Executive.

03:51Republicans are in charge, and this is their CR.

03:55And if they shut down the government, it will be crystal clear for all to see who is to blame.

04:00No doubt in anyone's mind.

04:02If we shut down, it will be a Republican shutdown.

04:06I yield back.

James McGovern Gives Blunt Message To Republicans About Possible Government Shutdown, Blasts CR

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