Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California appeared on CNN Wednesday to discuss the GOP’s government shutdown, firing back when host Dana Bash tried to frame Republicans’ calorie-free continuing resolution as a "clean" bill.
"First of all, it isn't a clean CR.” Pelosi said. “Democrats, who created Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act—all of that—are now being asked, ‘reject that so we can give a tax cut to the rich.’ We're not doing it.”
She went on to point out how Republicans are the ones to blame for the shutdown—and that they have the power to reopen it at any time.
“And it isn't a question of, ‘Well, let's come back together so we can discuss it,’” Pelosi continued. “That isn’t going to happen. They had that chance. Now they just have to open government with it as a stipulation."
The GOP’s shutdown has been driven by the massive cuts in President Donald Trump’s “One Big, Beautiful Bill” pile of garbage, which slashes Medicaid to pay for tax breaks for the rich. And the damage to Americans’ health care costs is so damning that even the most loyal MAGA minion is siding with Democrats.
Democrats like Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have been clear and consistent in saying that the current budget crisis is about protecting health care subsidies as a salve for rising costs.
In contrast, House Speaker Mike Johnson and other Republicans have refused not only to negotiate with Democrats, but also to present even the faintest sketch of a solution for the crisis they’ve created.
