CNBC’s Joe Kernen and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D) clashed over the ongoing authorities shutdown on Friday morning.
After Kernen performed a clip of Senator James Lankford (R-OK) declaring that Democrats have beforehand opposed shutting down the federal government as a negotiating tactic over well being care coverage and lamenting the results of the results on air site visitors controllers and SNAP beneficiaries, Kernen prompted Jeffries by musing that “it’s possible, Leader, that Republicans all feel that way, and we’re just going to be stuck here until some really bad things happen.”
“Yeah, we haven’t shut the government down. Donald Trump is the president. Republicans control the House and the Senate. And what we’ve repeatedly made clear is that we would not support a partisan Republican spending bill that continues to gut the health care of the American people in an environment where Republicans already enacted the largest cut to Medicaid in American history,” replied Jeffries.
“Hospitals, nursing homes, and community-based health centers are closing because of Republican policies and their one big ugly bill all across the country. Medicare is facing a $536 billion cut at the end of the year unless Congress acts, again connected to the one big ugly bill, and now Republicans are refusing to even consider extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits when open enrollment starts on November 1. This is a now issue,” he added.
“But Leader Jeffries, you kind of conflated a spending bill with a clean CR. It’s only 24 pages,” shot again Kernen. “It keeps the government open at this point. And the House passed it, it’s ready to go, the Senate has it. I know that the Republicans control everything, but you know how the filibuster works. And God forbid Republicans, you know, fold on the filibuster because it’ll be used, you know, both parties will use it against the other. It’s one of the last safeguards that make the Senate different than the House.”
“And the only reason the senate can’t do it is purely because of Democrats, and you had one of your colleagues in the Senate say this is the only leverage we have. People are going to get hurt, this is the only leverage we have to get what we want on health care. It’s a bad look!” he continued.
“Yeah, this is not about leverage, and by the way, if the votes of Democratic senators are required, then of course there should be a bipartisan discussion about enacting a spending bill that is designed to actually make life better for the American people,” insisted Jeffries.
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The publish ‘It’s a Bad Look!’ CNBC’s Joe Kernen Clashes With Hakeem Jeffries Over Shutdown first appeared on Mediaite.