March 20, 2025

Chairman Aguilar: House Democrats are focused on protecting the American people and driving down costs

FOSTER CITY, CA — Today, House Democratic Chair Pete Aguilar appeared on CNN’s The Lead with Jake Tapper to talk about the party’s ongoing fight to protect Medicaid.

TAPPER: I want to ask you, first of all, you hear from a lot of Democrats out there, we've been playing their soundbites for the last week or so, do something! Do something! Well, you're in the minority in the House. What can you do that you're not doing? 

CHAIRMAN AGUILAR: Well, we can definitely work to activate the American people and to shine a light on what Donald Trump and Elon Musk are doing to systematically shut down government and raise their prices. And that's what people care about. They care that tariffs are going to increase the costs that they face in the supermarket or at the gas station. They care that Medicaid is under attack by House Republicans and that will make health care more costly and less accessible. And they care that their local schools aren't going to get the funding that they need if the Department of Education is eliminated under Donald Trump's plan. Those are things the American people care about, and what we can do is shine a light on that. 

TAPPER: So, every single House Democrat voted against funding the government, except for one in a Trump district in Maine. Every one of you voted against the Continuing Resolution. And then I thought that Senate Democrats were going to do the same thing, and most of them voted the same way you did, but enough of them voted with Republicans to pass it. What was your reaction? Were you upset with Senate Leader Schumer? Do you agree with some of your colleagues, that we're beginning to hear, that it's time for Senate Democrats to think about a new leader? 

CHAIRMAN AGUILAR: Well, first, I’m a Californian and I appreciate the leadership of Senator Padilla and Senator Schiff who both voted no. And we voted no, collectively, California Democrats and our Senate counterparts voted no because Donald Trump is slow walking a government shutdown already. We felt that giving appropriators more time, four weeks to negotiate spending limits and bills, would have been the appropriate move. The Senate decided to do something else. We're looking forward, though. We're looking forward at the next legislative fight that we're going to have to have because House Republicans continue to insist on raising people's costs and cutting programs that our communities rely on, from the Department of Education and IDEA funding and funding that goes into the classrooms to Medicaid. Those are the battles that are worth fighting for, Jake, and those are things the American people stand squarely with us on. And that's what you're going to see us focus on moving forward. I know it's popular to talk about who said what when last week, but we're focusing our energy on how we protect the American people and how we drive down costs that everyday Americans face. 

TAPPER: Well, just for the record, I think 35 of like 45, or whatever the number is, Senate Democrats voted the same way you did, including Padilla and Schiff, but most of them voted the same way you did. Most Senate Democrats voted the way you did. It was Schumer, and maybe like ten others that voted the other way. You have confidence in Schumer? You're totally cool with him continuing to be the leader of the Senate Democrats? 

CHAIRMAN AGUILAR: I don't get to make that decision. My job is, as a House Member, we are lockstep behind Hakeem Jeffries as the leader of our party and our efforts to retake the House and to get to 218 votes so we can have some sanity back and we can have a reasonable check. I think what happened last week, though, further underscores that it's House Democrats who are going to stand up and speak up, and it's House Democrats who have the best opportunity to provide a check on Donald Trump next year, if not sooner, if we can get to 218 votes. But in the meantime, we're going to keep fighting for the American people and protecting Medicaid and protecting so many of these vital programs from being cut. 

TAPPER: So, I'm going to move on, but just for the record, I've asked you about Senator Schumer twice, and you've praised Padilla, Schiff and Jeffries. Enough said. So, Senator… 

CHAIRMAN AGUILAR: Those are all good elected officials. 

TAPPER: Yeah, it's interesting what you're saying and not saying. So let me ask you, Senator Elissa Slotkin, former House colleague, now a Senator, was at a roundtable discussion yesterday. She was asked why she isn't aggressive like Senator Sanders or Congresswoman Crockett or AOC, who we just heard from. Take a listen to part of what she had to say. 

SENATOR ELISSA SLOTKIN: I can't just chain myself to the White House and become an activist full-time because you and others here are going to call me for things that you need. All of those things require me to be more than just an AOC. I can't do what she does because we live in a purple state and I’m a pragmatist. 

TAPPER: Spoken like somebody who's not going to have reelection for six years. You believe that there's always room to push back more. Can Democrats really do that in purple states, in battleground districts, the way that voters are demanding them to?

CHAIRMAN AGUILAR: You highlighted it before. We are in the minority in the House and in the Senate. We don't control the White House. The levers which we can pull are very limited. What we can do is speak to issues that people care about. We can understand their economic anxiety that they're facing, and that that was part of why they made the decision that they made if they didn't vote the way that we wanted them to last November. And so, we're focused on how we build a coalition, how we reach out in purple districts like in Michigan, like Elissa Slotkin comes from and represents, as well as across this country. in understanding the economic anxiety that people are having and what are our solutions to face that. And oftentimes that isn't going to mean being the loudest voice. It means what is our plan and strategy to how we achieve that. And we think that we're meeting those goals now. 

TAPPER: Good to see you, Congressman Pete Aguilar, the Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. Thanks so much for being with us. 

CHAIRMAN AGUILAR: Thank you, Jake.

Video of the full interview can be viewed here.

###