Democrat shuts down CNBC host over conservative spin
Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff of California went on CNBC to explain the Republican-driven government shutdown to host Joe Kernen. When the Trump-friendly host tried to push a GOP talking point blaming Democrats, Schiff shut him down with a dose of reality.
“I don’t want to hold up the rest of what [Department of Homeland Security] does,” Schiff said, reminding him that the GOP has refused to pass broadly supported funding. “I think we’ve had 10 votes to fund [Transportation Security Administration].”
“It’s a carve-out,” Kernen interjected. “It’s not a clean DHS funding bill—which has been the business as usual for the way it’s usually done.”
“The business as usual right now is people getting killed in the streets,” Schiff responded. “So I’m not for that ‘business as usual.’”
Negotiations are at a standstill over accountability measures for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol as the result of President Donald Trump’s pigheadedness and Republicans’ withering cowardice. At the same time, funding delays have led to TSA agents quitting their jobs or not showing up for unpaid work, leading to serious delays at airports across the country.
Schiff and other Democrats have proposed a compromise to partially fund the government for weeks now—one that is being rebranded and claimed by Republicans attempting to save face ahead of this year’s midterm elections.
