House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar and Vice Chair Ted Lieu held a press conference saying they stand ready to keep the U.S. government open while also attacking Republicans by detailing the consequences of what they called an “extreme MAGA Republican-led government shutdown.”
“We are exactly three days away from an extreme Republican shutdown,” Chairman Aguilar said. “That means seven million women and children would go without food assistance because of this Republican extremism. 1.3 million service members would be forced to work without pay. 10,000 children will lose access to Head Start. These might just be numbers and statistics for MAGA extremists, but to House Democrats, these are real people’s lives.”
Democrats said in the time they have controlled the House of Representatives, Republicans have “done nothing to lower costs, to improve public safety, or invested a single dollar in border security, and they voted to roll back hundreds of thousands of good-paying clean energy jobs.” The Democrats said the Republican majority did not have a record to speak of because they are too busy fighting amongst themselves or fighting to gain favor from former President Donald Trump.
“The extreme Republican chaos is hurting our economic recovery and making Americans less safe,” Chairman Aguilar added. “House Democrats stand ready to keep the government open, to end the chaos and to work on the most pressing concerns of the American people.”
The Democratic minority also attacked and placed blame on Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
“It is going to hurt our economy and endanger our national security,” Vice Chair Lieu said. “And how do we get here? We got here because Speaker Kevin McCarthy went back on his word. He reneged on a deal that he made with President Biden just a few months after he consummated that deal. And this wasn’t just a handshake agreement. This was a deal that was put in writing, shown to the American people and literally voted into law.”
Despite the political attacks, Democrats asked McCarthy to honor “the deal that he made” and end the government shutdown crisis.
“Democrats and Republicans disagree on many issues,” Rep. Lieu added. “We work together on various issues. But in this town, your word still matters. How do we the American people trust Kevin McCarthy if he simply goes back on a deal that was put into law? I ask Kevin McCarthy to simply honor the deal that he made that was voted into law and to start taking steps to rebuild his integrity again.”
Video of the full House Democratic Caucus press conference and Q&A can be viewed here.
