WATCH: NBC’s Kristen Welker Confronts Top Democrats With Clips of Their Past Anti-Gov Shutdown Comments
Meet the Press host Kristen Welker spent a slice of her Sunday morning confronting top congressional Democrats on their willingness to shutdown the U.S. Government after they had previously criticized Republicans for the same move before Donald Trump became president.
Welker, during an interview with Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA), noted House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) criticized Dems for using the shutdown to “press” for an extension to Obamacare tax subsidies.
“Let me ask you… you actually did make a similar point back in 2013, that’s when Tea Party Republicans pushed to shutdown the government against Obamacare,” Welker told Schiff.
She then played a clip of Schiff saying it was “fair” to negotiate, but not to the point where it led to a shutdown.
“It’s just no way to do business and it can’t be allowed to proceed that way. Not only for this president, but for future presidents,” Schiff said in 2013.
Welker, after playing the clip, asked Schiff: “Senator, why is now different?”
Schiff said his previous comment does not apply to now because of two reasons. First, there is a “crisis” developing that is “far worse” than in 2013, he said, where “millions of Americans are not going to be able to afford healthcare.”
“There’s another difference too — and that is, that was a time when, if we did agree on a continuing resolution, Republicans were promising to honor it. Now they’re promising not to honor it,” Schiff said.
That back-and-forth came a moment after Schiff said President Donald Trump and Republicans were using the shutdown to fire federal workers and “maximize the harm.”
There was a similar moment on Sunday when Welker interviewed House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY).
“You say this is a Republican shutdown, but it’s Democratic Senators who are withholding their votes on what is called a ‘clean resolution,’ that means no strings attached, which is something, quite frankly, Senator, you and other Democrats have advocated for in the past,” Welker said.
She then played a clip of several top Democrats, including Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), and Jeffries, criticizing Republicans for holding back votes in order to get what they wanted.
“You do not use the threat of shutting down government to try and advance your policy agenda,” Pelosi said in 2013.
When the clip finished, Welker asked Jeffries: “Why not fund the government and debate extending Obamacare tax credits after the fact they don’t expire until the end of the year?”
Jeffries said the “fierce urgency” of the healthcare “crisis” demanded a deal be made now. He also blamed Republicans and Trump for inflation continuing to ravage American families.
“Republicans promised to lower costs on Day 1 [of Trump’s second term]. Costs aren’t going down, they’re going up,” Jeffries said. “And if these Affordable Care Act tax credits are allowed to expire, premiums and healthcare costs are going to skyrocket! And America is already too expensive for the American people because of the Trump failed policies, the Trump tariffs, and this will make things worse.”
You can watch Welker and Schiff above, via NBC. And you can watch Welker’s full interview with Jeffries on YouTube by clicking here.
