Breaking Trump News [12PM] 10_1_2023 _ Latest Trump News Oct 1, 2023
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00:00 Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will join me.
00:02 Plus, upping the ante.
00:04 Former President Trump ramps up his violent rhetoric.
00:07 - If you rob a store, you can fully expect to be shot
00:11 as you are leaving that store.
00:13 - But as more former aides warn he's unfit for office,
00:16 does he have the GOP nomination all sewn up?
00:19 Our political panel will discuss.
00:21 And trailblazer, an outpouring of affection
00:24 for the late Senator Dianne Feinstein.
00:26 - She left on her own terms.
00:28 - What you might not have known about her
00:30 when her friend, House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi
00:33 joins me ahead.
00:34 Hello, I'm Jake Tapper in Washington
00:44 where the State of Our Union is open
00:47 for at least 45 more days.
00:49 Today, our servicemen and women do not have to worry
00:52 about missing any paychecks.
00:54 TSA agents too, national parks remain open.
00:57 After House Speaker Kevin McCarthy
00:58 caught almost everyone off guard Saturday
01:00 with a plan to work with House Democrats
01:03 to keep the US government open
01:05 without demanding any of the spending cuts,
01:07 hardline House Republicans had been demanding
01:09 just one day earlier as Republicans
01:11 are trying to collect themselves
01:13 after stepping on rake after rake this week.
01:17 And Democrats are taking a victory lap
01:18 after what was by any objective measure
01:22 an embarrassing week for the House GOP.
01:24 The end result buys McCarthy a little more time
01:26 to settle a raging disagreement
01:28 within his conference over spending
01:30 and more to the point over his leadership.
01:32 But his gambit could also put his job on the line
01:36 as a handful of hardliners consider whether to follow through
01:38 on their threat to oust McCarthy from the speakership
01:42 for working with Democrats to pass a clean spending bill.
01:45 And joining me now is the man leading that charge
01:48 against Speaker McCarthy,
01:49 Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz of Florida.
01:51 Thanks so much for joining us, really appreciate it.
01:53 So you have been threatening to topple McCarthy,
01:56 issue a motion to vacate the speakership
01:59 if he worked with Democrats to fund the government
02:01 with a clean CR, a clean government spending bill,
02:03 which is exactly what he did on Friday and Saturday.
02:07 The House gavels back in tomorrow at noon.
02:12 Are you gonna make a motion to vacate?
02:14 - Speaker McCarthy made an agreement
02:16 with House conservatives in January.
02:18 And since then, he has been in brazen,
02:21 repeated material breach of that agreement.
02:23 This agreement that he made with Democrats
02:26 to really blow past a lot of the spending guardrails
02:30 we'd set up is a last straw.
02:32 And then overnight, I learned that Kevin McCarthy
02:34 had a secret deal with Democrats on Ukraine.
02:37 So as he was baiting Republicans to vote
02:40 for a continuing resolution without Ukraine money,
02:43 saying that we were gonna jam the Senate on Ukraine,
02:46 he then turns around and makes a secret deal.
02:48 Now I know you and I probably have different views
02:50 on US involvement in Ukraine,
02:51 but however you think about that question,
02:54 it should be subject to open review analysis
02:57 and not some backroom deal.
02:58 So I do intend-- - So a motion
02:59 to vacate tomorrow?
03:00 - I do intend to file a motion to vacate
03:02 against Speaker McCarthy this week.
03:04 I think we need to rip off the Band-Aid.
03:06 I think we need to move on with new leadership
03:09 that can be trustworthy.
03:10 Look, the one thing everybody has in common
03:13 is that nobody trusts Kevin McCarthy.
03:15 He lied to Biden.
03:16 He lied to House conservatives.
03:18 He had appropriators marking
03:20 to a different number altogether.
03:22 And the reason we were backed up
03:24 against this shutdown politics is not a bug of the system.
03:27 It's a feature.
03:28 Kevin McCarthy's goal was to make
03:29 multiple contradictory promises,
03:31 to delay everything, back us up against shutdown politics,
03:35 and at the end of the day,
03:36 blow past the spending guardrails he'd agreed.
03:37 - So how many Republicans do you think will be with you
03:40 in your motion to vacate?
03:42 'Cause obviously for people at home who don't know,
03:44 you need 218 votes to get 'em out of the speakership.
03:47 You don't have 218 Republican votes.
03:49 You're gonna need Democrats.
03:50 Let's start with the Republicans.
03:51 How many Republicans do you have?
03:52 - Well, enough so that when you host this show next week,
03:56 if Kevin McCarthy is still the Speaker of the House,
03:59 he will be serving at the pleasure of the Democrats.
04:02 He will be working for the Democrats.
04:03 The only way Kevin McCarthy is Speaker of the House
04:06 at the end of this coming week
04:08 is if Democrats bail him out.
04:10 Now, they probably will.
04:11 I actually think that when you believe in nothing,
04:13 as Kevin McCarthy does, everything's negotiable,
04:16 and I think it'll come to deal with the Democrats.
04:18 - Let's be honest here, though,
04:19 because if you succeed in vacating him,
04:22 you also will have to make a deal with the Democrats.
04:25 You also will have to get Democratic votes to kick him out.
04:28 - Absolutely, I will make no deal with Democrats
04:31 and concede no terms to them.
04:33 I actually think Democrats should vote
04:35 against Speaker McCarthy for free.
04:37 I don't think I should have to deal them anything.
04:38 - Oh, so you're not gonna cut any deals with them?
04:39 - Absolutely not, and I don't think that any Republicans
04:44 that share my view on Speaker McCarthy
04:46 would cut deals with Democrats.
04:47 But here's the thing, I'm done owning Kevin McCarthy.
04:50 We made a deal in January
04:53 to allow him to assume the speakership,
04:54 and I'm not owning him anymore
04:56 because he doesn't tell the truth.
04:58 And so if Democrats wanna own Kevin McCarthy
05:00 by bailing him out, I can't stop him,
05:02 but then he'll be their speaker, not mine.
05:05 - So let's talk about what's just happened this last week,
05:07 the government shutdown, because obviously, as you know,
05:10 you've made a lot of enemies this last week.
05:13 A lot of people, I'm talking about House Republicans.
05:15 I'm not talking about Democrats or the media.
05:16 I'm talking about House Republicans.
05:18 They're pretty angry, take a listen.
05:20 - Unfortunately, a handful of people,
05:23 and in particular, a party of one, Matt Gaetz,
05:27 have chosen to put his own agenda,
05:31 his own personal agenda, above all else.
05:34 He's not a conservative Republican, he's a charlatan.
05:36 - They killed the most conservative position we could take
05:39 and then called themselves the real conservatives,
05:41 which is like, make that make sense.
05:43 - Now, the conservative Wall Street Journal editorial board
05:46 wrote an editorial about what you're doing
05:47 called "A Government Shutdown for Dummies,"
05:49 and among the criticisms, they said, quote,
05:51 "The real goal of the malcontent
05:53 "seems to be to topple Mr. McCarthy for personal spite.
05:55 "It's also pointlessly stupid, with failure foreordained,
05:58 "their constituents wanted conservative policies,
06:01 "but the Gaetz Republicans are playing personal games."
06:04 What do you say to these conservatives, these Republicans?
06:07 - Well, I think what's really stupid
06:09 is sitting atop a $33 trillion debt
06:12 facing $2.2 trillion annual deficits
06:14 while the world is de-dollarizing.
06:16 Just in August, you saw the BRIC system
06:19 that is moving away from the dollar
06:21 add six new countries, including Gulf monarchies,
06:24 including even some of the G20 economies
06:26 in our own hemisphere. - So people at home,
06:27 that's, BRIC is Brazil, Russia, India, China, go ahead.
06:30 - Yeah, yeah, and they are moving away from the dollar.
06:31 You're seeing the African Union move away from the dollar.
06:33 U.S. News, just last month, said that de-dollarization
06:36 was the economic trend of our day.
06:39 And so some people try to make policy disagreements
06:43 personal because their own policy failures
06:47 are so personally embarrassing.
06:48 But this isn't personal, Jake.
06:50 This is about spending.
06:51 This is about the deal Kevin McCarthy made.
06:53 If Kevin McCarthy didn't wanna keep the deal
06:56 to return to pre-COVID spending,
06:58 if he didn't wanna keep the deal
06:59 to have single subject spending bills,
07:01 not vote for government spending all up or down at once,
07:05 then he shouldn't have made that deal.
07:06 So this is about keeping Kevin McCarthy to his word.
07:09 It's not about any personal animus or decision.
07:11 - But let's talk about this
07:12 because Speaker McCarthy argues that he had a bill
07:16 on Friday that would have put forward less spending
07:21 than what actually has now become the law
07:23 for the next 45 days.
07:25 That would have gone to the Senate.
07:26 The Senate would have voted for their own bill.
07:28 And then in a conference committee,
07:29 there would have been a negotiation.
07:31 And what would have become the law of the land
07:33 for the next 45 days would have been less spending
07:36 than what actually is now the bill.
07:38 Take a listen to Speaker McCarthy.
07:40 - And look, I welcome those 21 back in
07:44 and we would get a better and more conservative bill
07:47 if they would simply vote with us.
07:49 - Their argument is your point
07:51 about debt and deficit spending,
07:54 which is not an inaccurate point,
07:56 was actually harmed by the stunt,
07:59 by the temper tantrum of the government shutdown.
08:02 - That argument presupposes
08:04 that the Senate was going to take up or conference
08:07 that bill that McCarthy wanted.
08:08 You already had Schumer speaking on the floor
08:11 saying that they weren't even going to take that up.
08:13 - But there would have been a conference committee
08:14 and there would have been a negotiation.
08:16 - So what you're saying is that something would have occurred
08:19 that has never occurred
08:20 to negotiate a continuing resolution.
08:22 I have never seen a conference committee
08:24 in my seven years in Congress.
08:25 And I don't think one has occurred since the mid 90s
08:27 where a continuing resolution has ever been conferenced.
08:30 So you're asking your viewers to believe something
08:32 that has never once happened.
08:33 What has happened when the House has passed
08:35 a continuing resolution is the Senate merely negotiates
08:38 the feature of that continuing resolution
08:40 by sending back what they want to send back,
08:42 which is what they did.
08:43 So we were always ending up here.
08:44 Here's what I want to,
08:45 here's where I want to break the fever.
08:47 Since the mid 90s, this country has been governed
08:49 by either continuing resolution or omnibus spending.
08:52 - And you have voted for continuing resolution in the past.
08:54 - Well, I'm five years sober
08:56 voting for continuing resolutions.
08:57 And I should note that during those years,
09:00 President Trump was growing the economy,
09:03 but January marked a difference.
09:04 - And the deficit.
09:05 - Yeah, and you know what?
09:06 - Growing the deficits as well.
09:07 - I regret.
09:08 - Growing the deficits as well.
09:09 - But we were growing the economy.
09:10 And look, you're talking about the national debt.
09:12 You were growing, what did he add?
09:13 $7 trillion, $8 trillion to the national debt?
09:16 - And by the way, I voted against
09:18 10 continuing resolutions under Donald Trump.
09:20 I did not stand with Donald Trump
09:22 on all of his spending priorities.
09:23 I voted against way more than I voted for.
09:26 - I don't know what this shutdown did to help the cause.
09:28 - What shutdown?
09:29 - The shutdown that almost happened.
09:31 - Okay, so there wasn't a shutdown.
09:32 So the shutdown didn't do anything.
09:33 - The threat of shutdown that you created.
09:35 - We have to break the fever.
09:36 We have to move to single subject spending bills.
09:38 - So you broke a fever?
09:39 - No, we didn't, unfortunately.
09:40 That's why we have to now move to vacate
09:43 because we have to get a system
09:44 where the House and Senate will negotiate
09:46 over each of these agencies of government independently.
09:48 And I understand that in divided government,
09:51 that means that you have to take into account
09:53 the views of Senate Democrats,
09:54 the views of the White House.
09:55 But what I want to--
09:56 - You do?
09:57 - Of course.
09:58 - Do you understand that?
09:59 - Of course.
10:00 - Because you're on the floor of the House
10:00 talking about what Kevin McCarthy needs to do
10:02 is to allow line item vetoes by people like you.
10:06 - That's not true.
10:07 - Line item votes against the salaries
10:10 of people who are investigating Donald Trump.
10:13 The salaries of individuals who are offering
10:15 sweetheart deals to Hunter Biden.
10:17 That to me is not the language of somebody
10:19 who understands the balance of power
10:22 in House and the Senate
10:23 and how all legislation actually functions.
10:26 - Well, I think I do.
10:27 - That to me is the language of somebody
10:28 who is looking for clicks and likes and Fox hits,
10:33 not somebody who actually is trying to reduce the debt.
10:35 - Well, you might want to check Fox.
10:37 I haven't been hitting there as much recently.
10:39 What I can tell you is that the way
10:41 the legislative process works as a 12-year lawmaker
10:43 in the state and federal level,
10:45 the House passes legislation,
10:46 the Senate passes legislation,
10:48 and then you work to iron out those differences.
10:50 I believe the best way to advance the interests
10:52 of the American people is for the House
10:54 to take the most conservative position
10:55 and then engage that negotiation.
10:57 Where that negotiation has failed all Americans
11:00 of all stripes is when it centers around
11:03 what ornament you're gonna hang on
11:05 a continuing resolution or an omnibus bill.
11:07 The responsible, sober, adult way to handle this
11:11 is with individual spending bills open to amendment.
11:13 And by the way, if people don't want to vote
11:15 for the amendments that reduce salaries
11:17 or cut spending or engage in programmatic analysis,
11:19 they can vote no.
11:20 And then the voters can hold people accountable.
11:22 But the reason we sit atop a $33 trillion debt
11:26 is because a system has been designed in Washington, D.C.
11:28 where no one is responsible for the spending.
11:30 - But where are you--
11:31 - I want to force the votes.
11:32 And here's what you're missing.
11:33 McCarthy agreed to this.
11:34 So you may not like this deal.
11:36 You may think that it's too many votes
11:37 and too much governing.
11:39 But McCarthy agreed to it in January
11:40 and his breach of that agreement is a problem.
11:41 - I don't have an opinion on it one way or the other.
11:43 And I actually agree with your position
11:46 on the fact that we--
11:47 - Welcome aboard.
11:48 - I've been here long before you were born, my friend.
11:50 But we spend way too much money and we don't take in.
11:53 100%, I agree.
11:54 - We spend $7 trillion and take in five.
11:56 - But where are you when it comes to Senate Democrats
11:58 who actually control the Senate and the President
12:01 and you could force the President's hand
12:03 if you actually worked with Senate Democrats
12:05 and got some sort of bill in front of him.
12:07 That's how you force it.
12:08 - In the time I've been here,
12:09 we have not been able to cleave Senate Democrats
12:12 away from President Biden.
12:13 - How many Senate Democrats do you know?
12:15 How many do you talk to?
12:16 - Well, I've talked to several of them.
12:17 I go over to the Senate as much as many House members.
12:19 I've talked to Senator Manchin, talked to Senator Sinema.
12:22 She and I served together in the House.
12:24 We've had a number of folks go from the House
12:26 to the Senate and I've done bills with them.
12:27 - One last question because the reason I know--
12:28 - But by the way, it's really important you get this point.
12:31 I'm okay with bipartisan negotiation.
12:33 I just want it to be on single subject spending bills,
12:36 not on a global deal that funds the whole government
12:39 or doesn't.
12:39 - And the appropriations bills are going through the process
12:42 as--
12:43 - At a snail's pace until I held a political gun
12:45 to McCarthy's head and forced the Congress
12:48 to stay until midnight to take these votes
12:49 and move these bills.
12:50 - You should talk to the Appropriations Committee.
12:51 There are four members of the Freedom to Focus on it.
12:52 - Well, by the way, the Appropriations Chairman
12:54 left the meeting we were having to iron these things out
12:57 to go to a lobbyist fundraiser.
12:59 A lobbyist fundraiser, Jay.
13:00 - Last question for you because the reason you talked
13:02 about this being about the issue and not animus
13:05 is 'cause there are a lot of people,
13:06 a lot of House Republicans who think
13:08 that there is this personal animus between you
13:10 and Speaker McCarthy and I just have to ask you,
13:13 how much do you blame Speaker McCarthy for the fact
13:16 that you are under investigation
13:17 by the House Ethics Committee?
13:18 How much is that part of what's going on here?
13:21 - Not at all.
13:22 Jake, I am the most investigated man
13:24 in the United States Congress.
13:25 I've been cleared by the DOJ, the FEC by a five zero vote
13:29 and the people who spread criminal lies about me
13:32 are sitting in federal prison right now.
13:34 So I'm fine being investigated by anyone and everyone.
13:36 - I have seen personal communications between you
13:38 and other people in which you blame McCarthy
13:42 for your ethics investigation.
13:43 - When Kevin McCarthy went out publicly and said,
13:46 "This isn't about me breaking my word,
13:47 "it's 'cause Gates has ethics problems."
13:49 Certainly that was him gaslighting the Ethics Committee
13:52 but here's the thing, Jake, I'm not alone.
13:54 People can say this is a party of one.
13:57 I have tens of millions of Americans
13:58 who stand with me on this
13:59 and I have a requisite number of House Republicans,
14:02 a sufficient number to ensure
14:04 that we don't own Kevin McCarthy anymore.
14:05 By week's end, he will either not be speaker
14:08 or he will be speaker
14:09 serving at the pleasure of House Democrats.
14:11 - To be continued, we'll see what happens.
14:12 Congressman Matt Gaetz, thanks so much for being here.
14:14 - Thanks for having me.
14:15 - Will House Democrats help Kevin McCarthy keep his job?
14:20 Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will be here ahead
14:23 but first, we're gonna take a moment
14:25 to remember one barrier-breaking lawmaker,
14:27 Senator Dianne Feinstein, who passed away this week
14:30 when we talked to another barrier-breaking member of Congress.
14:34 - Needs to become a little more familiar with firearms
14:37 and their deadly characteristics.
14:39 - I am quite familiar with firearms.
14:41 I became mayor as a product of assassination.
14:44 - I'm aware of that.
14:45 - I found my assassinated colleague
14:47 and put a finger through a bullet hole trying to get,
14:51 I proposed gun control legislation in San Francisco.
14:55 I went through a recall on the basis of it.
14:58 - The late Senator Dianne Feinstein
15:02 putting fellow Senator Larry Craig in his place.
15:05 Yesterday, Feinstein made her final journey home
15:07 to California on a military plane
15:10 accompanied by her dear friend
15:11 and fellow California lawmaker.
15:13 That friend joins us now,
15:15 House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi.
15:18 Madam Speaker, thank you so much for joining us.
15:21 I wanna focus this interview
15:23 on your fellow San Francisco Democrat, Senator Feinstein,
15:27 but I do have to ask you,
15:28 House Democrats are going to seek your advice
15:30 regarding this news made moments ago on the show
15:32 about this pending motion
15:34 to vacate Kevin McCarthy's speakership.
15:36 How will you vote?
15:38 And what advice would you give your fellow Democrats
15:40 on whether they can trust Kevin McCarthy
15:42 if he makes Democrats an offer so he can stay in power?
15:45 - My advice to my fellow Democrats is simple.
15:50 Follow the leader.
15:51 Hakeem Jeffries has done a great job.
15:53 Yesterday, we had a victory in the continuing resolution.
15:57 It was a victory for Democrats, a defeat for the Magas.
16:01 And I will say this one thing,
16:02 listening to your conversation,
16:04 if that's a conversation you're back and forth there,
16:08 it's such a fraud when they start,
16:11 the basis of this is about spending.
16:14 These are people who gave a tax cut
16:16 to the richest people in America
16:18 to the cost of $2 trillion to our national debt
16:22 when what's his name, was President of the United States.
16:25 $2 trillion to the national debt.
16:27 And that was to give 83% of the benefits to the top 1%.
16:32 They're on the prowl for Medicare, Medicaid.
16:35 They, in their bill, they would cut a huge amount,
16:39 almost a third of the administration of social security
16:42 to help meet the needs of beneficiaries
16:45 who have questions and the rest.
16:46 So they are, and huge cuts in nutrition for WIC,
16:51 women, infant and children.
16:53 It's just not about the budget.
16:56 It's about a values debate.
16:59 And you're wasting your time on that guy
17:01 because he has no sway in the House of Representatives,
17:05 except to get on TV and to raise money on the internet.
17:10 But anyway, forgetting that,
17:13 I'm talking about a serious legislature here.
17:15 - Let's talk about that.
17:16 - My advice, follow the leader.
17:18 - Let's talk, okay, let's talk about her
17:19 because yesterday you accompanied Senator Dianne Feinstein
17:22 on her final journey home to San Francisco
17:24 aboard the military plane.
17:25 It must have been a difficult journey.
17:27 What was going through your mind during the flight?
17:30 - Well, I was with her daughter and see,
17:35 with Dianne, it's obviously official,
17:38 it's political and it's very personal.
17:41 This is a woman who she left on her own terms.
17:45 You saw how she answered Larry Craig,
17:47 but she did that any number of times
17:50 when colleagues or others tried to minimize
17:53 her standing on an issue.
17:55 She and I were not always on the same place
17:59 on the spectrum of politics,
18:01 but we all cared about our country.
18:03 And she, again, reached across the aisle all the time,
18:07 would negotiate with anyone
18:10 for our great state of California,
18:12 brought home the bacon, respected our natural resources,
18:16 the forest, the deserts, the ocean, the lakes,
18:20 and the beautiful diversity of our people.
18:24 She was an icon.
18:25 She almost is more than an icon
18:28 because that's become almost a cliche.
18:31 She came into office under such, to the mayorship,
18:36 such awful circumstances and she unified the city.
18:40 She gave comfort and then right then we go into HIV/AIDS.
18:45 So whether it's LGBTQ, women's rights, whatever it is,
18:50 she has been a thoughtful, constructive,
18:53 effective, productive leader of national status.
18:58 But still for me, I can hardly talk about her
19:02 without, because she was my neighbor, my friend,
19:05 my family loves her, personally, politically in every way.
19:09 We used to always say, if Diane and I ran against each other
19:13 my daughter, Nancy, would probably vote for Diane.
19:16 That was the love that existed.
19:18 But love is a good word for her because she loved people.
19:21 She loved California.
19:22 She loved America.
19:24 And to bring her home in the grand way that we did,
19:28 thank you, President Biden, draped in the flag,
19:31 she was such a patriot,
19:33 be welcomed by men and women in uniform
19:37 as she came off the plane.
19:40 Her daughter, Catherine, and granddaughter, Eileen,
19:44 and son-in-law were there to welcome her personally.
19:48 But officially the city welcomed her.
19:50 And of course, everyone personally did as well.
19:53 - We heard so many wonderful stories, personal stories.
19:56 Senator Gillibrand has this very moving story
19:58 about how Senator Feinstein
20:01 was just a very personal mentor to her,
20:04 took cake and butter under her wing
20:05 when she arrived in the Senate.
20:06 And then creating this very giant memo
20:09 about how to be a Senator
20:11 that she really took time to make.
20:14 Is there any personal story that you think back on
20:18 when you think of her and your relationship with her?
20:22 - Oh, so many, so many.
20:26 But as I say, in that case, it's personal neighbors
20:30 and as then political and official.
20:34 But I do think one story, it's not about me,
20:39 it's more about my daughter, Christine.
20:40 And that is, Christine was chair of the Women's Caucus
20:43 of the California Democratic Party,
20:45 which is my political home.
20:47 And there are probably 2,000, what, 1,500 women
20:51 in the Women's Caucus.
20:52 And Diane came when she was passing legislation,
20:56 she was writing legislation to protect young amateurs.
21:00 The young athletes, the gymnasts and all came to her.
21:04 She listened to them, she respected them,
21:06 she wrote legislation.
21:08 And why I bring up the Women's Caucus
21:10 is she went to the Women's Caucus to talk about
21:13 creating this, writing this bill,
21:15 listening to these young girls
21:18 who had been sexually abused or harassed and the rest.
21:23 And she told them that this was about
21:26 the safety of these girls.
21:28 It was about the freedom of these girls
21:31 to be who they wanted to be.
21:32 And it was about the choice of them to, again,
21:37 be the master mistresses of their fate
21:39 in terms of their reproductive freedom.
21:42 But the point was it was a masterclass
21:44 because she showed them freedom, safety, choice,
21:49 it's all connected, it's all connected.
21:53 It was a masterclass.
21:54 Now, the Women's Caucus of the California Democratic Party
21:57 is not the most moderate group.
22:00 It's more my, shall we say, place on the spectrum.
22:05 And they still quote Diane.
22:09 And Christine was very proud of that because she taught.
22:14 She respected views, she taught,
22:17 she always felt a responsibility to mentor.
22:20 This is a national figure, a stateswoman.
22:24 Someone, and I could tell many personal stories,
22:28 but they don't have as much application to other people.
22:33 I will tell one more.
22:34 When we were moving for the Democratic Convention
22:38 in San Francisco, I was chair
22:40 of the California Democratic Party.
22:41 We were trying to get the convention in San Francisco.
22:44 So we went to see her, Willie Brown, Walter Shorenstein,
22:46 and I went to see Diane to say, "What about this?"
22:50 And she said, "Well, will it cost money?"
22:53 And we said, "Well, we have to raise money."
22:54 And she said, "Well, my first concern
22:57 "are the people at Laguna Honda Hospital in San Francisco.
23:00 "This is where many lower income people,
23:04 "not all lower, but lower income people
23:06 "who need medical care and all go in San Francisco,
23:09 "hundreds of them go in San Francisco."
23:11 So she was always about people
23:15 and meeting their needs with her responsibility.
23:19 I could go on and on about some of those
23:21 that people might not think of her as,
23:25 my first responsibility is to the poorest of the poor
23:29 and under my responsibility in my city.
23:32 Again, another time, we'll have some more stories about her.
23:37 Everybody's talking about the great legislation
23:40 and she was a great legislator.
23:42 The gun violence, she saved lives.
23:44 She saved people's lives.
23:47 It was past, imagine, she was in Congress one year.
23:51 She came 93, in 94, she passed the assault weapon ban
23:56 and then it was reinstated and then it went away.
23:59 But while it was there, it saved lives.
24:02 How many people can make that claim?
24:05 - Yeah.
24:06 Madam Speaker, thank you so much.
24:08 And condolences to you and to Senator Dianne Feinstein's
24:12 loved ones and friends.
24:14 Thank you so much.
24:14 - Let me just say that some of the senators,
24:17 some of the senators said that maybe her departure
24:21 and the sadness that went with us focused people more on,
24:24 let's get the job done to keep government open
24:28 for the people.
24:29 - Well, may her memory be a blessing.
24:31 Thanks for joining us today.
24:32 I appreciate it.
24:33 - May she rest in peace.
24:35 Thank you.
24:37 - Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
24:38 Could Democrats help Kevin McCarthy again?
24:41 Congress won the government to shut down,
24:42 but by the end of the day, it was still open
24:45 and they had made no concessions to the Republican majority
24:48 to keep it that way.
24:50 Joining us now, New York Democratic Congresswoman
24:52 Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
24:54 So first of all, you just heard Congressman Matt Gaetz
24:58 say he's gonna move to oust McCarthy as Speaker this week.
25:03 If a motion to vacate the chair comes to the floor,
25:05 how would you vote?
25:07 - Well, my vote beginning this term for Speaker of the House
25:11 was for Hakeem Jeffries.
25:12 And I do not intend on voting for a Republican Speaker
25:15 of the House, but I believe that it's up
25:17 to the Republican conference to determine
25:19 their own leadership and deal with their own problems.
25:22 But it's not up to Democrats to save Republicans
25:24 from themselves, especially.
25:26 - So do you think that there will be any Democrats
25:29 that might vote to save McCarthy?
25:31 - I mean, I certainly don't think that we would expect
25:35 to see that unless there's a real conversation
25:38 between the Republican and Democratic caucuses
25:40 and Republican and Democratic leadership
25:42 about what that would mean.
25:43 But I don't think we give up votes for free.
25:46 - And do you, but would you vote to vacate?
25:48 Would you vote to get rid of McCarthy as Speaker?
25:50 - Would I cast that vote?
25:50 Absolutely, absolutely.
25:52 I think Kevin McCarthy is a very weak speaker.
25:55 He clearly has lost control of his caucus.
25:57 He has brought the United States and millions of Americans
26:01 to the brink, waiting until the final hour
26:03 to keep the government open.
26:06 And even then only issuing a 45 day extension.
26:09 So we're gonna be right back in this place in November.
26:13 And I think that our main priority
26:16 has to be the American people
26:18 and what's gonna keep our governance
26:21 in a cohesive and strong place.
26:24 But unless Kevin McCarthy asks for a vote,
26:26 again, I don't think we give something away for free.
26:29 - Yeah, I mean, I've heard your fellow squad member,
26:30 Congresswoman Ilhan Omar say Democrats should only support
26:34 McCarthy in exchange for a 50/50 power sharing agreement.
26:39 - Well, I mean, I think when it comes to power sharing,
26:43 we will discuss that as a caucus
26:45 and what we would finally accept or not.
26:48 But again, it comes at a price.
26:50 You don't just vote for a Republican speaker for nothing.
26:53 That's not what we're elected here to do.
26:54 We're elected here to make sure
26:56 that we raise the minimum wage to a living wage,
26:59 to make sure that we cap the prices of prescription drugs,
27:02 and to make sure that we work for working class Americans.
27:05 - What's your take on what just happened
27:07 on the threat of a government shutdown
27:10 and just the whole experience?
27:13 - Well, I think the Republican Party right now
27:15 is completely out of step with the American people.
27:20 And what we saw today and what we saw this week
27:22 leading up to this final hour, you know, compromise,
27:27 not even a compromise, but really capitulation
27:29 by the Republican Party,
27:30 we saw them go through every single possible iteration
27:35 of cutting benefits.
27:38 They tried to cut across the board 30% of the budgets
27:43 of critical agencies like the Social Security Administration.
27:48 They voted some of the most moderate members,
27:52 quote unquote, moderate members of the Republican Party,
27:55 casted votes for things like 80% cuts
27:58 under the Department of Education to low-income schools.
28:01 This is not a moderate party period.
28:04 There are not moderates in the Republican Party.
28:07 There are just different degrees of fealty to Donald Trump,
28:11 but it starts with a lot of fealty,
28:14 and then it goes to extreme fealty.
28:16 And so we saw them go through every single iteration,
28:19 walk through into every single wall,
28:22 kind of run around the House like a Roomba,
28:25 and until they found a door that House Democrats opened,
28:30 they finally realized that we should not shut down
28:33 the government in order to deny trans service members
28:36 the ability to get healthcare,
28:37 in order to deny female service members
28:40 the ability to get an abortion.
28:41 And they filed an extension for 45 days
28:45 until we're back in here.
28:46 - So let me just ask you about the larger issue.
28:50 I'm not gonna disagree with your description
28:51 of them walking into walls,
28:53 but the issue of federal spending,
28:56 because just as a factual matter,
28:58 the US government spends more money than we take in.
29:01 Now, whether you think we should cut spending,
29:03 or whether you think we should take in more
29:04 through higher taxes,
29:06 just the books are not balanced, right?
29:08 And the national debt is 33 trillion.
29:11 Matt Gaetz said that, that was correct.
29:13 The US spent 475 billion last year
29:16 just on interest payments on the debt, 475 billion.
29:20 That's more money than went to food stamps.
29:22 That is obviously money that could be better spent
29:25 than on interest payments.
29:27 It's, I'm sorry, it's more money than went to food stamps
29:29 and temporary assistance for needy families
29:32 and federal disability benefits
29:34 and the earned income tax credit
29:36 and the Children's Health Insurance Program,
29:39 combined, all of that combined.
29:41 So it's a colossal waste of money.
29:43 And it would be better if we got our fiscal house in order.
29:47 Don't you agree with that?
29:48 And isn't there a progressive case to be made
29:51 about trying to balance the budget?
29:54 - Absolutely.
29:55 And I vociferously disagree with any assertion
29:59 that progressivism is somehow incompatible
30:02 with fiscal responsibility.
30:04 Progressivism believes in making investments
30:07 that actually have returns.
30:09 It means investing in education
30:11 so that people are actually able to participate
30:13 in an economy that will pay higher wages,
30:16 which also in turn yields to higher revenues.
30:19 It also means taxing the rich.
30:21 We have billionaires out here
30:23 that are also in turn lobbying
30:28 in order to increase the amount
30:29 of income inequality in this country.
30:32 And when you have the degree of people
30:34 who are not paying taxes
30:36 and in the excess of wealth that we're seeing,
30:39 of course we're going to end up in a place
30:42 of deficit and debt.
30:45 Additionally, when you see what Republicans did
30:48 earlier this year by taking and playing games
30:51 with our national debt ceiling and debt limit,
30:54 you're also playing games with the credit rating
30:56 of the United States of America,
30:58 which could also yield much different terms
31:01 in terms of repayment, interest, et cetera,
31:03 increasing the layouts and payments
31:05 that you just described.
31:06 - Yeah, the reason I ask is 'cause I don't hear Democrats
31:10 or progressives talk about the need
31:13 to reduce the deficit, reduce the debt
31:16 as often as a vote, me as a voter,
31:19 as an independent voter, as much as I would like.
31:20 - And it's an interesting point,
31:22 and I think that we can draw those dots for sure.
31:25 But really, when we talk about taxing the rich,
31:28 we're talking about getting our house in order
31:30 and our fiscal and our financial house in order as well.
31:33 Because there's a lot of people out there
31:35 who are not paying the bill,
31:36 and instead of paying that bill,
31:38 what they're doing is that they're taking folks
31:39 like Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas on private jets
31:43 in order to help facilitate additional rulings
31:45 that only aggregate to their wealth.
31:47 So we absolutely have an oligarchy problem in this country,
31:52 and that's where you're really gonna find the line item
31:54 to balance the books so that kids can go to school
31:56 and so that we can make sure that we make progress
31:59 on things like guaranteed healthcare
32:01 in the United States of America.
32:02 - There was an interesting moment over the weekend
32:05 when your New York colleague, Congressman Jamal Bowman,
32:07 and he's under investigation for this now
32:09 after Capitol Police say he pulled a fire alarm
32:11 in one of the House office buildings.
32:13 Democrats were trying to delay a vote,
32:15 a final vote on the bill.
32:17 There he is pulling the fire alarm.
32:19 He says it was an accident.
32:20 He thought pulling the alarm would open a door
32:23 based on the fact that the doors to his right there
32:26 were locked and there was a sign that he said he was,
32:28 I think someone said it was confusing.
32:30 I'll be honest, it doesn't really make sense to me,
32:33 his explanation.
32:34 Have you talked to him?
32:36 What's going on there? - Yeah, I mean, listen,
32:38 I think if you actually do see some--