00:00We have started a movement here that at a point the baseline expectation that the public should
00:10have is that Congress should be able to compromise as a body and at the very least keep the government
00:17open. And it seems like you as a body are not suited to run the government because you guys
00:26are in loggerheads. So what do you say to that? Well, listen, first of all, let's be clear that
00:35Republicans control the House, the Senate and the presidency. And so that's the baseline that
00:41we're starting from. Now, as Democrats, we've said from the very beginning, we want to sit down and
00:47have a bipartisan discussion about enacting a spending bill that actually makes life better
00:52for the American people, particularly as it relates to driving down the high cost of living,
00:57because the cost of living in America right now is way too high. It's out of control.
01:02Donald Trump promised to lower the cost of living on day one. Nothing has happened.
01:06This is a calamity, 35 days. And the president has been missing in action, unfortunately. He spent
01:12more time over these last 45 days on the golf course than he has in talking to Democrats who
01:18represent half the country on Capitol Hill. And of course, we have to address the Republican
01:25health care crisis. It's crushing the American people. And premiums, co-pays and deductibles are
01:31about to skyrocket for tens of millions of Americans. With all due respect, none of you are doing your jobs
01:38because you keep saying it to the media. You're all doing interviews like this and talking about it.
01:43But nobody in Washington is talking about those pressure points to each other. And that's what
01:50really what started this movement where we said, well, if none of them are going to talk to each
01:54other and figure this out, then they've all got to go. Respectfully, let me say that we are
01:59absolutely doing our jobs. We're here in Washington, D.C. And how is it the case that House Republicans,
02:06my colleagues, Mike Johnson, has actually canceled votes for six consecutive weeks? House Republicans
02:14have been on a taxpayer-funded vacation. We've been showing up here on Capitol Hill because we want to
02:21find a resolution that reopens the government. But literally, these people got out of town six weeks
02:27ago, can't be found, and are spread out throughout the country. They're not even holding town hall meetings
02:33in their district. They're not doing their jobs. Here's what's important to understand.
02:38Donald Trump has said that he's both the president and the Speaker of the House, meaning Donald Trump
02:43apparently holds two different positions. And so until Mike Johnson gets permission from Donald Trump to
02:51actually enter into a bipartisan conversation in good faith, it ain't happening.
02:56Our point is that you guys should be able to do what your predecessors over more than 200 years were
03:04always able to do. And if you can't, the only power we as a people have is to vote all of you out. That we're
03:14watching you blaming the Republicans, Mike Johnson blaming the Democrats, and we're sitting back waiting four hours in
03:21line at airports. There's going to be a mid-air collision at some point if this doesn't break.
03:28And we're just saying we're sick of it. And either figure it out, or we should just vote against every
03:35single member of Congress.
03:38Now, listen, I understand the frustration that you are articulating, and the American people
03:42are understandably frustrated about this government shutdown, about the high cost of living in this
03:49country, about the refusal by people in this Congress, those who are in the majority, I would
03:55point out, to actually do a single damn thing. The problem, I believe, sincerely believe this, is that
04:01my Republican colleagues have adopted a my way or the highway approach. That's the exact opposite,
04:07Harvey, of what you're suggesting we do here, because we do need to sit down, find common ground,
04:14and make a decision to actually reopen the government, to enact a spending bill that makes
04:22life better for the American people, and to address the issues that matter. Now, in terms of,
04:27listen, the threat to primary people all across the Congress, this is a democracy. And at the end of
04:32the day, this wonderful exercise in self-government, it does fall to the people. And our view in the House
04:39is that we don't own any of these seats. In fact, in the House, we're on a two-year employment contract,
04:46which means every two years, the Constitution says you've got to go back to the people and make
04:52your case as to why you should be reelected. I'm going to do the best job that I can to make my case
04:58to the American people. But certainly, it is the right of every single person in this great country
05:06to draw a conclusion that they want to go in a different direction, whatever that means in a given
05:12congressional district, in a governor's race, in a Senate race, or certainly eventually in 2028 in terms
05:18of the presidency.
