Chairman Aguilar: Democracy and American leadership are on the line
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar and Vice Chair Ted Lieu held a press conference on Extreme MAGA Republicans wasting time with political games while failing to stand up to Putin's illegal invasion of Ukraine.
CHAIRMAN AGUILAR: Good morning. Pleased to be joined with Vice Chair Lieu this morning.
George Santos might be gone but—make no mistake—the Extreme MAGA Republicans are still running the House of Representatives. Some, like Marjorie Taylor Greene, are even taking credit for getting Speaker Johnson to flip flop on impeachment. Because of her, we will spend more floor time on baseless accusations and political gamesmanship, instead of voting to lower costs or fund vital services that everyday Americans rely on.
And some, within the Pro-Putin Caucus on the House Republican side, are sabotaging America's efforts to fund Ukraine's war effort, as it defends its country against Putin's illegal invasion. Democracy and American leadership are on the line, but these Republicans would rather weaken President Biden for short term political gain than ensure that our nation remains the leader in the free world.
As the economy continues to grow stronger, MAGA Republicans want to undermine that progress by slashing Social Security and Medicare, rewarding billionaires who cheat on their taxes and ending clean energy jobs.
With another government funding deadline looming in six weeks, the chaos that the American people had been subjected to isn't going to let up. After watching House Republicans drag our country to the brink of default, nearly shut down the government twice and oust their own Speaker, we've seen that this is just who Republicans are. They can't be trusted to lead.
With that, I'll turn it over to Vice Chair Ted Lieu.
VICE CHAIR LIEU: Thank you, Chairman Aguilar.
At the end of next week, Congress is scheduled to adjourn for a holiday recess. When we come back in January, we’ll be facing a government shutdown. So, what are Republicans doing this week about that? Nothing. No appropriations bills scheduled for this week. No evidence that they have scheduled any appropriations bills for next week. Republicans seem to have just largely given up on passing appropriations bills, and then we’re going to face a government shutdown.
What are they focused on instead? Impeachment with no evidence. The White House has provided over 35,000 pages of financial documents, over 2000 pages of treasury reports, 36 hours of testimony and Republicans still cannot point to a single policy decision or action that Joe Biden has taken that has violated any law.
And don't just trust me, just hear what they themselves have said.
Republican Representative Mike McCaul admitted, “We don't have the evidence.”
Speaker Johnson reportedly told his own colleagues, “There was insufficient evidence to initiate formal impeachment proceedings.”
And Republican Representative Dusty Johnson said, “There is a constitutional legal test that you have to meet with evidence,” and when it comes to impeachment, he has “Not seen that evidence.”
Democrats are focused on people over politics, and we ask Republicans to do the same and help move the American family forward instead of baseless impeachment proceedings.
Video of the full press conference and Q&A can be viewed here.
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