On Monday’s broadcast of CNN’s “Laura Coates Live,” Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-CT) argued that Democrats aren’t shutting down the government and Republicans “have to direct the negotiations.” But she “voted no to this bill when it came up as a continuing resolution” because it didn’t pass her “hard line” on SNAP.
Host Laura Coates asked, “One of your colleagues, Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME), he says that the party’s position, your own party’s position, on the shutdown is, ‘wrong’. He criticized the decision to make the Obamacare subsidies temporary, adding, ‘I’m just uncomfortable lying about the strategy to win and shutting down the government. We’ve never been the party that does that.’ What do you say to his suggestion that that is the motivation, winning?”
Hayes responded, “We’re still not the party who does it. The Republicans have the White House, the Senate, and the House of Representatives. So, I refuse to accept the notion that Democrats are responsible when we’re in the majority and the minority. When you get leadership positions, when Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) sought the position of leadership, you have to lead at some point, you have to shape the narrative, you have to direct the negotiations. So, you can’t say that Democrats are responsible when we’re in the majority and the minority.”
Hayes added, “I’m willing to negotiate. I’m willing to go back to the table and work on whatever we can. But I have to tell you, Laura, feeding children is a hard line for me. It’s the reason I voted no to this bill when it came up as a continuing resolution. It’s the reason I voted against the debt ceiling because I knew what was on the horizon. They’ve been trying to chip away and cut away at SNAP every single time.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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