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tv   House Democratic Leaders Hold News Conference  CSPAN  April 30, 2024 11:11am-11:31am EDT

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donald trump. i don't see how anybody can vote for donald trump with all this garbage he's got going on. i am keeping it real. host: specifically why give president biden another term? why do you think he deserves it? caller: he is for the poor and less fortunate. the people that can't help themselves. but donald trump ain't for nobody but the rich people. i don't see how anybody can vote for him. especially with all this garbage he's got going on. i'm keeping it real, because what i want to say you will cut me off. host: howard in indiana on the democrats line. caller: good morning. i fully support joe biden. i think he has been an outstanding president. i think we lose sight of the
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challenge that was before the biden administration coming out of poorly >> house democrats are proud that we finally broke the republican log jam to deliver critical resources to our allies in ukraine, israel and taiwan. and humanitarian assistance to innocent civilians in gaza. the national security supplemental does not make it over the finish line without the steadfast leadership of democratic leader, hakeem jeffries. mr. aguilar: our caucus is eager to continue efforts that will strengthen our national security and raise the quality of life for everyday americans. we need this moment to come
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together to address issues like the affordability crisis that countless americans face when it comes to housing and childcare. we should also extend the affordability connectivity program and tackle the situation in our southern border in a manner consisting with our values. democrats are ready to reach across the aisle to solve these important challenges ahead. and we cannot go back to partisan gridlock that he it fined the last seven months -- that defined the last seven months. we want to build on the progress we've made together to ensure the people's house continues to function. vice chair ted lieu. mr. lieu: thank you. my prayers are with the family and friends of representative donald payne jr. may he rest in peace. i want to say my thoughts are with the eight law enforcement officers who were shot in north carolina, four of whom have already passed away. i commend these law enforcement
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officers for their bravery and their courage and my thoughts are with them and their families. like chairman aguilar said, want to talk about the supplemental. the importance of passing that supplemental is that it's the best way to achieve peace in ukraine. having served on active duty in the united states military, and then in the reserves, it's very clear to me that the only way to get putin to the negotiating table is to stop him on the battlefield. he will not negotiate if he believes he can continue advancing in ukraine. his goal is to take over ukraine and he's not going to try to negotiate anything until he is stopped and what this supplemental package would do is help the ukrainian military and give them the resources to stop putin on the battlefield and then that's how we get to a lasting peace in ukraine. with that, i yield back. reporter: i want to ask about --
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[indiscernible] -- motion to vacate this morning. you've talked about speaker mike johnson as the chief architect of electric thunderstorm college injections -- electoral college injections -- [indiscernible] -- mr. aguilar: first of all, i would say that none of the discussion that we had in caucus was about saving mike johnson. it's underlying motion to vacate was not discussed. the motion to table was. and there is a distinction there. it's not lost on me, the role that mike johnson played in the lead-up to january 6. we saw that in our work on the january 6 committee. and it has not been forgotten by our members. however, we want to turn the page. we don't want to turn the clock back and let marjorie taylor
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greene dictate the schedule and the calendar of what's ahead. we want to turn the page and focus on the pressing issues that everyday americans care about. and spending time on this just doesn't make sense to us. and so after hearing from our caucus, both today and in the preceding weeks, we felt that that was important to clarify and in the leader's statement, in our joint statement, he said specifically that this was on this motion to vacate. because of the republican rules this they all passed, by the way, that we all voted against, it's possible that this could happen again. with respect to this motion that she could bring up, we want to turn the page and we want to move on. reporter: the distinction you made between -- [indiscernible] -- mr. aguilar: sure. first of all, and the leader said this morning, wear not
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asking individuals to take -- we're not asking individuals to take a position that is opposed to their values. they are each members -- each member is going to vote their district and their conscience, guided by the constitution. there may be a procedural vote that would table her proposal that she could bring forward. on that motion to table, we would be inclined and many members indicated that they would be as well, to table the motion and to put this behind us and move on. there's important he legislative business ahead that should be the focus for the american people. reporter: just to follow up on that, though. congressman greene is suggesting that she will move forward with this motion to vacate, citing the statement that you all put out. she claims that you are endorsing speaker johnson's speakership and the speaker cut a backroom deal with you all. she said, i'm a billing believer in recorded vote because putting
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congress on record allows every american to see the truth and provides transparency to our voters. how do you respond? mr. aguilar: i'm not going to try to get in the head of marjorie taylor greene. i don't know what goes on in there. it's her right to bring that up. the republican rules that she voted for, that we voted against, allow any single member to bring this proposal. she is a legislative arsonist and she's holding the gas tank. and kevin mccarthy allowed that to happen. that's not lost on anybody. what we are saying is we don't need to be a part of that. let's turn the page. let's focus on the issues that the american people care about. there's an f.a.a. bill that was dropped, there's important work that we still have ahead. so i haven't read her full statement but i'm not going to get into a back and forth on what she means. reporter: on that note, she's
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threatened to bring this up over and over again. is it time for democrats to try to change the rules so -- to raise the threshold on the motion to vacate? mr. aguilar: again, this is a republican rule. if they want -- they have the ability to change the rule. we voted against this republican rule that would allow one person to bring it. if they are concerned about the rules that they all voted for, it is completely within their right to revisit that and to bring something to the house floor. if they want to make changes in a bipartisan way, i think they know where to find leader jeffries. reporter: speaker mike johnson has been very outspoken about retaliation is going to take place if the international criminal court brings arrest warrants against israeli top -- top israeli officials, including netanyahu. just want to get the democrats' reaction. mr. aguilar: that's something for the state department to work through. we don't want to get ahead of
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the administration from a foreign policy perspective. the administration speaks for the united states government. it's important for them to have conversations with our allies and friends within the region. the i.c.c. has not taken any action that i'm aware of as of this morning. if they do, the administration is within their right to respond, if they need help and support from members of congress to implement what it is they seek to do, i would expect them to reach out to us and work with us in a collaborative way in a bipartisan way. reporter: do you think congress should get involved in that? mr. aguilar: the i. c.c. hasn't done anything to this point. i think it's completely premature. we have said from the very beginning, our key focus and the importance of the national security supplemental is helping our allies in the region. helping ukraine. helping israel. and unlocking that humanitarian support that was so important within this region for innocent
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palestinians in gaza. that is important. that should be the focus. implementing that piece of legislation should be the focus of the administration. if there are external news worthy items, i would anticipate that we'll have responses but that's what we're focused on. reporter: you support the administration's statement that students should not be taking over a building forcibly and should there be consequences for some of these universities if they don't respond in appropriate form to cut off some of the federal funding? mr. aguilar: i think this is -- i think it's an important moment on college campuses. everyone is entitled a right to protest but everyone is also entitled to feel safe, especially on a college campus. i do not support taking over buildings. that is not appropriate. and that should be addressed.
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but i will say, these universities also have a role in enforcing rules that they have on college campuses in general. but from our perspective, on the leadership side, as members of congress as leaders in communities, our jobs should be to lower the temperature of what we are seeing. we should not be doing anything to inflame these discussions. we should be respecting the right to protest while ensuring the safety of everyone on the campus. and so our responsibility, our charge, our mandate should be to do just that. and to lower the temperature and the discussions. that's what i feel is -- reporter: do you think some of your colleagues haven't been lowering the temperature? some of the criticism of these schools? mr. aguilar: previously there was a question about speaker johnson going to campuses as well. i'm saying all of us as leaders have that responsibility to
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lower the temperature of what's going on and what we're seeing. mr. lieu: i have an absolute right to free speech in america. you can protest. but the first amendment does not give you the right to break windows, to vandalize buildings, to take over private buildings. and to make students who happen to be of jewish descent feel unsafe. those things are not protected by the first amendment. so the folks who are protesting need to understand that line. and when they cross that line, then universities have every right to take action against those students. reporter: on the house floor there's going to be a bill -- [indiscernible] -- to allow these schools -- do you support this bill and what are your thoughts? mr. aguilar: we had ranking member nadler this morning speak
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on the bill, as well as representative kathy manning. if democrats were in control her bill, that is, by the way, bipartisan and bicameral, that addresses anti-semitism, would be our chosen vehicle. so we talked through that a little bit. and she presented her bill. she has in a number of different opportunities presented to the leadership team and to each of us. president biden created an office to stamp out anti-semitism. what her bill would do is ensure that an individual whose charge and mandate is to do that work is based from the white house. that's important work and codifying that, putting that into law, what the president has done is important. and that would be our preference. we heard from representative manning, heard from representative nadler, ranking member nadler, we may have continued conversation about the bill tomorrow morning in the whip meeting. and i trust that members are
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going to do what they feel is in their best interest, guided by their constituents and their values. i would anticipate it's a bipartisan bill, that there will be democrats supportive of the bill. while not perfect, i think some will be supportive of it. reporter: [indiscernible] -- national security supplemental -- [indiscernible] -- when president biden gave his remarks after he signed the bill, he mentioned that the bill -- [indiscernible] -- mr. aguilar: we're interested in solving problems. guided by our values that meet the needs that the american public have and clearly there are some concerns at the
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southern border. we acknowledge that, we addressed that, we want order at the southern border. we want a process to work. and so to the extent that there are conversations, we are happy to engage. but what i want to see right now out of house republicans and honestly senate republicans is do they have a willingness to engage here or will they just, again, bow at the altar of trump trup and do hissed bying? he has said he wants -- do his biding? he said he wants this as a campaign issue, he doesn't want a legislative solution. as you've seen, the national security supplemental, as well as government funding, as well as everything that we have been able to accomplish over the last year, it takes bipartisan consensus to do anything. and so we are waiting for republicans to indicate that they want to be partners to address this in a meaningful way. if they have a willingness to do that, we will.
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because it will meets the needs the american public has. consistent with our values. reporter: [indiscernible] -- mr. aguilar: i've said before, executive action is not a way to solve this alone. these are issues that congress should deal with. i said that under a prior administration, i continue to say that. but we stand willing to work with the administration, as well as with our colleagues across the aisle, if there are meaningful reforms that can be done legislatively or administratively. reporter: thank you, mr. chairman. do you support the idea of stripping public funding, government funding away from some of these colleges and universities if it's proven that they have allowed blatant anti-semitism to occur on campus? mr. aguilar: these colleges and universities have a responsibility. as the vice chair mentioned, to
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ensure that everybody has the ability to protest and to make their voice heard. but they have a responsibility to honor the safety of individuals and for many of jewish descent, they do not feel safe. and that is a real issue. they have a responsibility here. we should allow them to act before we create new rules and regulations. but it is completely appropriate for congress to have discussions. but i have not seen anything to date that i would be willing to support. but right now the important thing, you know, as i mentioned, is, you know, we need to ensure safety on these college campuses. and the schools play such an important role in that. they need to -- they have guidance, they have rules. they need to enforce those -- before congress steps in. reporter: [indiscernible] --
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mr. aguilar: it has been very clear from the very beginning that house republicans want a national abortion ban. they have had individuals in congress who continue to support that. over 100 republicans have supported that life at conception bill that would do away with i.v.f., that would ensure and pave the way for a national abortion ban. reproductive care and women's health and abortion is absolutely an issue that concerns us. it scares us what a future president could do. this has been something that has been twirling around in the prior trump administration for years. and i think we believe them when they say they want a national abortion ban. and how they get there, we don't
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know. but it's clear that that is the focus of house republicans, that is the focus of former president trump and that is what the republican party stands for today, unfortunately. and so we want to ensure abortion care, with he want to ensure women's -- we want to ensure women's reproductive health and abortion as health care. that is what we stand for and we're willing to have that discussion as we make our way to november. mr. lieu: donald trump campaigned on overturning roe v. wade. he then bragged about overturning roe v. wade. and republicans now want to put a national abortion ban. democrats want to codify roe v. wade. the two parties are not the same. mr. aguilar: in the back. reporter: [indiscernible] --

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