Hoyer Discusses the Trump Shutdown on MSNBC, CNN, and Fox News
Press Types
Press Release
For Immediate Release:
December 22, 2018
Contact Info:
Mariel Saez 202-225-3130
WASHINGTON, DC - House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) joined MSNBC’s UP and AM Joy, CNN’S Newsroom, and Fox News’ Live with Neil Cavuto to discuss the Trump shutdown and need for Republicans to work with Democrats to reopen the government. Below are excerpts from the interviews and a link to the videos:
On MSNBC's UP:
“This shutdown strategy that has been pursued, frankly, by our Republican friends… is simply the wrong way to go. Senator Alexander said that last night. He's absolutely right. This is no way to run a government or to run an appropriations process.”
"[J]ust three days ago, the President agreed to a bill that the Senate then passed unanimously and sent to the House... All Democrats were prepared to vote for it. and notwithstanding that, the House Republicans and the President said 'oh, no, it doesn't have the wall' and the President changed his mind within 24 hours. It's very difficult to make agreements under these circumstances. But the fact of the matter is, [Democrats] want border security... We don't believe the wall is the best way to do it."
On CNN’s Newsroom:
“I am very hopeful that the President will come to grips with the fact that they don't have the votes for the wall, but they do have the votes for heightened security at the border. We're all concerned about security at the border... What there's not agreement on is that we think the wall is not very effective. We think the wall is a waste of money. As a matter of fact, [White House acting Chief of Staff Mick] Mulvaney, interestingly, enough said he thought the President's thoughts about the wall were, and I quote, ‘absurd and childish.’ That's pretty tough language for now the acting Chief of Staff to have said about this proposal. So we ought to get that behind us.”
On Fox News’ Live with Neil Cavuto:
"What was passed by the Senate last Wednesday was a result of the discussions, and was a bill [Democrats] would have supported... Democrats overwhelmingly went along [with the clean Continuing Resolution] not because it was our choice but because it was a compromise. Let me point out to you… all of these bills we are considering are Republican bills. Some things we like, and some things we didn't like, but they were compromises and we are prepared to vote for them… We all want to get to compromise."
On MSNBC's AM Joy:
"This is a strategy [Republicans] have used to, in effect, take hostage of the federal government and say if you don't agree with what I want – whether it’s eliminating the Affordable Care Act or, in this case, building the wall that we don't think makes sense – then we won't play. We’ll throw the sand out of the sandbox, in effect. The Republican Senate passed a bill that they thought had the agreement of the President of the United States because [Vice President Mike] Pence told them that. The Vice President told them that. They passed it over to us. Democrats were united in preparing to vote for that bill, but unfortunately, the Republican leadership of the House would not put it on the Floor. The reason is, in my opinion, because the President had a tantrum about his wall 24 hours after agreeing to the legislation and withdrew his support and the Republicans in the House, led by Mark Meadows, said we won't agree to anything.”
"…It’s just unfair to the federal employees to leave them dangling in the wind. It is unfair to all of the other people that deal with the federal government on a daily basis to keep them dangling in the wind, wondering whether the government will be open... The responsible thing to do is to act as quickly as possible [to reopen government]."
 Click here to watch the interview. |  Click here to watch the interview. |
 Click here to watch the interview. |  Click here to watch the interview. |
On MSNBC's UP:
“This shutdown strategy that has been pursued, frankly, by our Republican friends… is simply the wrong way to go. Senator Alexander said that last night. He's absolutely right. This is no way to run a government or to run an appropriations process.”
"[J]ust three days ago, the President agreed to a bill that the Senate then passed unanimously and sent to the House... All Democrats were prepared to vote for it. and notwithstanding that, the House Republicans and the President said 'oh, no, it doesn't have the wall' and the President changed his mind within 24 hours. It's very difficult to make agreements under these circumstances. But the fact of the matter is, [Democrats] want border security... We don't believe the wall is the best way to do it."
On CNN’s Newsroom:
“I am very hopeful that the President will come to grips with the fact that they don't have the votes for the wall, but they do have the votes for heightened security at the border. We're all concerned about security at the border... What there's not agreement on is that we think the wall is not very effective. We think the wall is a waste of money. As a matter of fact, [White House acting Chief of Staff Mick] Mulvaney, interestingly, enough said he thought the President's thoughts about the wall were, and I quote, ‘absurd and childish.’ That's pretty tough language for now the acting Chief of Staff to have said about this proposal. So we ought to get that behind us.”
On Fox News’ Live with Neil Cavuto:
"What was passed by the Senate last Wednesday was a result of the discussions, and was a bill [Democrats] would have supported... Democrats overwhelmingly went along [with the clean Continuing Resolution] not because it was our choice but because it was a compromise. Let me point out to you… all of these bills we are considering are Republican bills. Some things we like, and some things we didn't like, but they were compromises and we are prepared to vote for them… We all want to get to compromise."
On MSNBC's AM Joy:
"This is a strategy [Republicans] have used to, in effect, take hostage of the federal government and say if you don't agree with what I want – whether it’s eliminating the Affordable Care Act or, in this case, building the wall that we don't think makes sense – then we won't play. We’ll throw the sand out of the sandbox, in effect. The Republican Senate passed a bill that they thought had the agreement of the President of the United States because [Vice President Mike] Pence told them that. The Vice President told them that. They passed it over to us. Democrats were united in preparing to vote for that bill, but unfortunately, the Republican leadership of the House would not put it on the Floor. The reason is, in my opinion, because the President had a tantrum about his wall 24 hours after agreeing to the legislation and withdrew his support and the Republicans in the House, led by Mark Meadows, said we won't agree to anything.”
"…It’s just unfair to the federal employees to leave them dangling in the wind. It is unfair to all of the other people that deal with the federal government on a daily basis to keep them dangling in the wind, wondering whether the government will be open... The responsible thing to do is to act as quickly as possible [to reopen government]."