ICYMI: Hoyer Urges Republicans to Seek a Bipartisan Path Forward on DC News Now and WUSA9
WASHINGTON, DC – This weekend, Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05) joined Mark Hall on DC News Now's Capitol Review and Adam Longo on WUSA9's News at 5 to discuss how Republicans must choose a bipartisan path forward in order to end their dysfunction and get back to work for the American people. Below are highlights of his remarks and links to the full interviews:
Click here to watch the full DC News Now interview.
Click here to watch the full WUSA9 interview.
DC NEWS NOW
On a Bipartisan Path Forward
“Well, we need to have a Speaker. And it is a shame that the Republican Party is so deeply divided and divisive and it led to their dysfunction. There is an opportunity to move ahead in a bipartisan way forward and they've been able to do that for the last two weeks, very frankly, from time to time, we did do it. In reaching a deal on the debt limit, reaching agreement on the numbers for next year's appropriations, and making sure the government didn't shut down at the end of September. So we've had that ability.
“But unfortunately, the Republicans have been spending all of their time fighting with themselves and being unable to get to an agreement on either a Speaker or many other issues as well.
“But we need a Speaker. We need to move forward. And I'm hopeful that we will do that in the near term. And I think we will be prepared to be part of the solution, even if it's a short term solution.”
On the Need to End Republican Chaos
“...We do need to have a Speaker. We do need to be able to do the people's business. We're at a time of crisis in Israel, a time of crisis in Ukraine.
“Obviously, we need to pass a relief bill for many of the parts of the country that have been assaulted by natural disasters…
“So, there are a lot of things that we need to do and we need to get back to working. We've been out now two weeks because of Republican fighting among themselves and inability to reach a consensus on a Speaker.
“Now they have the more numbers than we do, 221 at this point in time to 213, I think. We had 212 votes that were cast on now 17 ballots for Hakeem Jeffries. He clearly had the majority of votes in the last two votes we've had… So, although we were agreed on our side at a consensus on our side, the Republicans could not forge such a consensus.
“And so we've been leaving America, in many respects, in limbo. That's wrong. We need to get to a bipartisan consensus to move forward as I think is possible. And has been demonstrated from time to time. But I'm hopeful that we can get there again.”
On the War in Israel
“Well, I think right now, of course, under the rules, we are precluded from considering substantive legislation until we elect a Speaker.
“I'm hopeful that we're going to elect a Speaker and in the very near term, and that we will be able to be fully operative because, first of all, we have a resolution on which I'm a co-sponsor, which over 400 of the Members, out of 435 have co-sponsored supporting … articulating our strongest support for Israel, its right to fully defend itself and to make sure that its people are safe from those who initiated the heinous and devastating attacks on civilians, families, children in Israel, and in particular those communities close to the Gaza Strip.
“I've been to one of those on four different occasions. I've been to Sderot on a number of different occasions. So I've been to a number of the communities that were attacked. They were not military installations. They did not have offensive intent in any way to attack anybody. And so we fully support, and I fully support, the President's speech a week ago and then the President's speech the other day in Israel.
“I think he's absolutely correct. We have great empathy. And I want to say, we have great empathy for people on both sides who are not combatants. We don't have empathy for terrorists. We don't have empathy for people who commit wanton killing against civilians, families, children, and the elderly.
“But we certainly have empathy for the people who are essentially trapped in Gaza by Hamas, a terrorist organization. And as a matter of fact, the President talked about that very strongly, about how we need to help those both in Israel and in Gaza who have humanitarian needs.
“And the President's been working on that. And he has, I think, hopefully made a breakthrough so that humanitarian supplies will be able to get through to the Palestinian people in Gaza. The Egyptians apparently have agreed to allow that to happen, and I'm sure that resulted from conversations with President Biden.
“So that's good news. We have empathy for all of those noncombatants, innocent civilians who are being put at risk at any time you have a war, not just this war, but at any time you have a war.”
WUSA9
On House Republicans' Paralysis and Ability to Uphold President Biden's Request for Aid
“Well, I'm very concerned. And I'm not only concerned about the specific, which you ask about, but I'm specifically [concerned] of what the world thinks of the United States of America when it cannot operate its Congress because they can't come to agreement.”