Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees: Interview with Rep. Mikie Sherrill
Interview
Well, you know, I'm not incredibly confident, I'm very hopeful. We see the Senate Republicans and the Senate Democrats working together, we know that House Democrats are ready to avert a shutdown.
I think the concern right now is really just the fact that the Speaker has pretty much determined that he is going to follow the lead of the far-right extremist in his own conference, which is presenting great problems for keeping the government open.
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Well, one would hope he would consider more than simply his job. As the speaker of the House, I hope he is concerned about governing. I hope he's very concerned about keeping our government open. Unfortunately, former President Trump has encouraged members to shut down the government. We see the far right, many of whom have said they don't seem to care about keeping government open. They don't want to compromise.
It's really leading to an untenable situation for the speaker, so hopefully, he will realize that shortly and we can start to work together to keep our government open.
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You know, I think this is -- so it's such a misreading by people in our legislative branch about how important this Ukrainian funding is. It's surprising to me because I sit on the House Armed Services Committee, I sit on the committee for this strategic competition with the Chinese Communist Party. I work with the Intelligence Committee. I work with Foreign Affairs Committee.
So many people in that space understand how important this fight in Ukraine is, not just to the sovereignty and the democracy of Ukraine itself, but as we push back against our longtime adversary Putin, who is continuing to try to undermine the United States, as we know that China is taking a hard look at invading Taiwan and what that might mean vis-a-vis this invasion that Putin has going with Ukraine, and as our NATO allies come together to fend this off.
So it's really critically important that we support the Ukrainians in their fight here.
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No, I'm really focused on running for my seat here in the House. As you can see this week, it is critically important, I think that we have new leadership in the House of Representatives, which I hope we'll see after 2024, and in the meantime, work very hard to figure out pathways forward even in these very partisan times.
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I think there was a lot left to be desired with that explanation. And I think he should resign his seat, focus on his defense and we can move forward with what's best for the people of New Jersey and for the United States.
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Thanks so much.
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