Hoyer Discusses the Republican Party Policy of Shutting Down the Government on MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell Reports
WASHINGTON, DC —Today, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05) joined Andrea Mitchell Reports on MSNBC to discuss the deeply divided and dysfunctional House Republican conference and their policy of shutting down the government to get what they want. Below is a transcript of his interview and a link to the video:
Click here to watch full interview.
“Well, it's a very great problem dealing with a deeply divided, divisive, and dysfunctional party whose leader cannot count on the Majority following his policy suggestions.
“The American people need to understand, it is a tactic that the Republican Party has used now for 30 years that when it can't get a majority in the Congress or a president to sign things, that they simply pursue a policy of shutting down the government. That is not only a stupid policy, it's a very costly policy. It's a confidence-defeating policy both in our own country where businesses and enterprises and families can't plan on what's going to happen tomorrow.
“That's obviously true in my district with 80,000 federal employees who don't know whether they’re [going to] get paid. It's a policy that undermines the confidence in America, as a leader for freedom and democracy in the world. They look at the greatest country on earth shutting its government down.
“An absurd policy.
“The Republicans have shut it down for 81 days over the last 30 years, trying to get policy objectives that they don't have the majority of support for, so they take the government of the United States hostage. It's a very, very stupid policy, wrong policy, and I’m hopeful that the Senate will prevail.
“We’ve seen in the Senate Republicans and Democrats, over half of the Republican Members of the Senate and Democrats, voting to make sure the government stays operational.
“And, of course, apparently as you mentioned before, there was a deal to not default on our debt. That is something that should’ve been a no-brainer for everybody, and everybody should have voted for that.
“But we had to make a deal and the deal that was made was kept for about two weeks. Then the most right-wing, extremist part of the Republican Party had a tantrum, and they wouldn't vote for [the] rule, for bills that they agreed upon, and McCarthy had to shut down the government for one week — not the government, but the Congress. Congress didn't do anything for a week because they were having this tantrum. It is very unfortunate.
“What we ought to do is the Senate ought to pass its bill, and then we ought to pass that, then we ought to discuss how we go forward.
“Our expectation will be that the deal that was made by Mr. McCarthy and President Biden will be kept. I don't think that's an unreasonable thing to do when the leader of the Republican Party and the leader of the Democratic Party makes an understanding, that we move forward under those conditions. We're not doing that.
“It's going to hurt kids. It’s going to hurt families. It’s going to hurt federal employees. It's going to hurt the confidence domestically. It’s going to hurt our economy. All of those things should be avoided."