CNN’s Poppy Harlow Grills Dem Congressman on Stimulus Stalemate: ‘Are Most Members of Congress So Rich That They Don’t Really Get’ It?

CNN’s Poppy Harlow grilled Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) over the stalled House coronavirus stimulus talks, asking the congressman whether most members are “so rich that they don’t really get what it’s like.”

After House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) shot down Khanna’s call for Democrats to make a deal with the Republicans for a $1.8 trillion coronavirus stimulus for the American people, claiming he has “no idea of the particulars,” Khanna said on CNN, “Look, I have great admiration for Speaker Pelosi and her skills as a negotiator. I’m just talking about people I hear in my district.”

“I represent Silicon Valley and Cupertino, where you have Apple computers. We have food banks, lines of thousands of people who don’t have enough food to feed their kids. We have working families who can’t pay their rent,” Khanna declared. “We have people who are struggling with small businesses, immigrants who have restaurants, and they’re concerned twenty, thirty years of work is gonna go down the drain.”

“I’m speaking for them. That’s my job as a member of Congress to say we’ve got to help them and get something done,” he explained.

Harlow replied, “Well that’s exactly your job, to represent the people in your district. You’ve called it a moral obligation to do something and your message was really clear: ‘Speaker Pelosi, take this deal.’ And she’s not going to take this deal.”

“I wonder how many other members of your caucus have told you they agree with you but maybe they’re just too scared to say it?” she questioned.

Khanna responded, “Poppy, a lot of members want a deal, and look the speaker is right that there has to be some things that need to be amended,” before listing of several things that in his opinion need to be added.

Harlow then expressed confusion as to why Khanna said Pelosi should take a deal when he also agrees things need to be added, before noting that it has been argued the stimulus could be raised if more time passes.

“Is it wrong to wait?” she asked. “Is it, like, people in your district need this now?”

Khanna answered, “Yeah, look, if the speaker has a way of saying in one week we’re gonna get a $2.2 trillion deal, then I’m not ruling that out, great. I’m just saying we’ve got to do something. We can’t not do anything and just have back and forth partisan politics. We’ve got to help people who are in need.”

“If she believes that waiting a few days is going to get us $2.2 trillion, more power to her and I support that, but what I’m trying to say and a lot of members believe is what is unacceptable is for us to go away with no deal,” he explained, prompting Harlow to say, “Well yeah, I think it’s a complete abdication of responsibility… It is your job to make a deal on something that actually both sides agree needs to happen and you guys need to be able to agree on something for the American people.”

Harlow then asked, “I wonder if you think part of the problem here is that so many members… most of the members of Congress are actually millionaires?”

“The median income for people in Congress who filled out the financial disclosure forms is a million dollars. So, are most members of Congress so rich that they don’t really get what it’s like?” she questioned.

Khanna, however, disagreed with that notion.

“I don’t think that. Look, I came from a middle class family but I’ve done very well. My district is one of the most affluent districts in the nation, in Silicon Valley, and yet the point of being in Congress is you have to represent everyone,” he argued. “And if you listen to people in my district, one of the most affluent places, people are basically in tears that they’re going to lose their restaurant, that they’re going to lose their small business, that they can’t make rent.”

“FDR was wealthy but he heard people, and I just don’t think this is rocket science,” the congressman declared.

Harlow shot back, “You don’t think it’s at all a problem? And I’m not speaking to you specifically, but I’m just saying the fact there is such wealth in Congress. You know, many have reported over the years that that contributes to the disconnect.”

“If your point is should there be more working class Americans in Congress, absolutely, and we should talk about campaign finance reform, we should talk about problems of incumbency, we should talk about why those roadblocks are there,” Khanna said, before pointing out, “People are hurting out there, they’re suffering out there.”

“We have a contested election and people are going to get to vote for that. Let’s just, on this one thing, in helping the American people, take that out of politics, get something done, and do our duty at a time of crisis,” he concluded.

Watch above via CNN.