Meeks: Fight on DHS Shutdown Not ‘Won’ Until Everyone’s Paid

On Monday’s broadcast of “CNN News Central,” Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY) argued that, on the DHS shutdown, “Nothing is won until each and every one of those workers [is] getting their money, caught up on their bills, including those with FEMA and the Coast Guard.”

Co-host Kate Bolduan asked, “So, would you say Democrats have won this political fight?”

Meeks responded, “Nothing is won until each and every one of those workers [is] getting their money, caught up on their bills, including those with FEMA and the Coast Guard. These are hardworking, everyday Americans. And so, my heart feels for them. And when I think of the situation, well, it’s clear that the de facto speaker of the United States Congress is the president of the United States. We saw the Senate step up, Democrats and Republicans, in a unanimous way, a compromise, which is how government is supposed to work. Then, Johnson called the president to say, should we agree to this or not agree to it? The president, obviously, told him not to. And so, as opposed to wiping this out and making sure that the government does function the way it does, it seems as though Donald Trump and a number of the MAGA — super-MAGA Republicans, they are the ones that continue to do this. So, and — but as far as I’m concerned, this is not about a Democrat or a Republican win. This is about standing up for the hardworking American workers. In this case, TSA, as well as those that are in FEMA, those who are in the Coast Guard. We should and need to do — and they do deserve better. And I would hope that my colleagues would come and let’s work in a bipartisan way, as what did take place in the Senate.”

Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett