Chairman Aguilar: House Republicans are threatening our nation's economic progress by doubling down on their hostage-taking tactics
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar and Vice Chair Ted Lieu held a press conference on House Republicans’ illegitimate impeachment effort against President Biden and their demands to shut down the government.
CHAIRMAN AGUILAR: Good morning, pleased to be joined by Vice Chair Ted Lieu after we left our Democratic Caucus meeting this morning. House Democrats start this September period focused on the most pressing concerns of everyday Americans.
We’ve been out in our communities, we've heard directly from our constituents and neighbors and working families. They're concerned about building a stronger economy. They're concerned about bringing down costs, tackling gun violence and restoring reproductive freedom in every state and in every community.
That's why it's so frustrating to come back to Washington to see House Republicans threaten our nation's economic progress by doubling down on their hostage-taking politics. The leaders of the House Republican Conference have made their demands clear: impeach Joe Biden without evidence, or we’ll shut down the government. And we've seen this playbook before. Throughout the spring, Republicans said, ‘Cut Social Security or Medicare, or we’ll lead to an economic default, risking the loss of millions of American jobs.’
House Republicans have done nothing on the economy or public safety. By outright rejecting the President's emergency funding request, they are turning their backs on $800 million to fight fentanyl in our communities. They use it as a talking point, but when it comes to actually delivering, they’re absent. Their only priority is to hurt Joe Biden politically and to help Donald Trump get reelected. This is a Donald Trump revenge tour that Republicans have signed on to, lock, stock and barrel. The American people deserve more than that, and they can trust that House Democrats will continue to put People Over Politics and advance their interests first.
VICE CHAIR LIEU: Thank you. I agree with everything that Chairman Aguilar has just said. We are here to try to prevent the government from shutting down because that would harm our economy. We want to make sure disaster relief goes to communities affected by disasters.
What are Republicans doing? They're trying to impeach Joe Biden with zero evidence. As impeachment manager for the second impeachment, we had mounds of evidence. That's why the article of impeachment passed, and that's why we had a bipartisan vote of U.S. Senators to convict Donald Trump. We could not get to two-thirds, but there was a huge amount of evidence. That's in contrast with this impeachment, where there is no evidence whatsoever.
You don't have to take it just from me – let me just tell you what Republican Members of Congress are saying. Republican Representative Dave Joyce of Ohio recently stated that he is, ‘Not seeing facts or evidence,’ that will merit an impeachment inquiry. Republican Dusty Johnson of South Dakota stated when it comes to impeachment, he has, ‘Not seen that evidence.’ And the Republican Ken Buck of Colorado, he stated, ‘I don't think that evidence has been presented connecting President Biden of wrongdoing,’ and that, ‘I'm not convinced that that evidence exists.’
So, I call on the Republican Caucus to stop following the lead of Marjorie Taylor Greene and instead do the work of the American people, which is to make sure our government does not shut down so that we don't harm American families.
Video of the full press conference and Q&A can be viewed here.
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