‘This Is a Choice!’ The View Crew Throws Down Over Government Shutdown
The View co-hosts grappled Thursday with how to end the month-long government shutdown now that it’s affecting the most vulnerable Americans’ ability to obtain much-needed food assistance.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has kept the House out of session for the past five weeks, demanding that Senate Democrats vote for the continuing resolution to reopen the government. Democrats, meanwhile, have said they won’t budge until Republicans negotiate on health care subsidies.
“Here’s where I think this should go,” Alyssa Farah Griffin began. “So, these Obamacare subsidies — basically, if they’re not extended, a lot of Americans’ premiums are going to shoot up. I personally support extending them for one year and then deciding to actually fix our healthcare system. I don’t believe in indefinitely extending them — actually fix the problem…have the vote but open the government, vote to extend those Obamacare subsidies, and SNAP recipients will be able to afford their holiday meals and provide for their families.”
Sara Haines said she thinks it would behoove Democrats to sign the CR bill because “when Republicans either come forward with a plan and we fix healthcare or Democrats call them on their bluff, that will fall solely on the shoulders of Republicans… If people don’t get their healthcare and it spikes 114 percent, we’re looking at about five to seven million people that will lose it altogether because they can’t afford it in this country. That will be a game-changing moment and it will be clear who’s at fault on that.”
“I don’t think that it’s close as to who’s to blame for this,” Sunny Hostin said. “The Republicans run the Senate, the House. They also run the White House. Arguably, they run the Supreme Court. They are in charge.”
Hostin continued:
This is a choice by the Republican Party. This is a choice. They don’t care that much that premiums will go up 114 percent. They do not care that 40 million people will lose their benefits. They just do not care. This is a choice, because Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer sent a letter to the agriculture secretary because by the way, there are, there’s $5 billion worth of money in an emergency funding plan to cover the SNAP benefits and the agriculture secretary decided not to do it. During the shutdown. There is a plan for it. Again, this is is a choice by the Republican Party and the Democratic Party has to be the opposition party at this point. Someone has to stand up for the American people.
Watch the clip above via ABC’s The View.
