Takeaways from Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez’s CNN town hall on the government shutdown

CNN

By Eric Bradner, Sarah Ferris, CNN

Washington (CNN) — As Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez accused Republicans of refusing to work to end the government shutdown and referred to House Speaker Mike Johnson as focusing on “inane and silly” things, the White House’s rapid response account was calling her and fellow progressive Bernie Sanders “not serious people.”

The 90-minute town hall with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins illustrated how far apart how Democrats and Republicans are from resolving their differences.

Sanders, the independent Vermont senator, and Ocasio-Cortez, the Democratic congresswoman from New York, warned Wednesday night that the nation’s health care system could collapse if Republicans don’t agree to their demands in a deal to end the federal government shutdown.

Both lawmakers are among the most progressive members of Congress. But Democrats have broadly united behind the shutdown strategy they support — insisting they won’t vote to fund the government until majority Republicans agree to extend subsidies for health insurance plans sold on the Affordable Care Act’s marketplace that are set to expire at the end of this year.

Republican leaders who need Democratic support to clear the Senate’s 60-vote threshold say they want to see the government reopened before they’ll negotiate on health care policy.

Ocasio-Cortez began her work in politics as an organizer for Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign. Since arriving on Capitol Hill in 2019, the 36-year-old Ocasio-Cortez has widely been seen as the heir apparent to the political movement the 84-year-old Sanders built.

The two played off each other Wednesday night, interjecting and echoing each other as they bounced back and forth with their answers, no matter which of them was asked the question.

Here are takeaways from CNN’s town hall.

What the progressives want

Before she’ll support a measure to reopen and fund the government, Ocasio-Cortez says she wants to see “ink on paper” on a long-term extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies: votes in the House and the Senate and President Donald Trump signing an extension into law.

“I don’t accept IOUs. I don’t accept pinky promises. That’s not the business that I’m in,” she said.

Sanders agreed, saying that a Trump pledge to support such an extension wouldn’t be enough.

“Oh yeah, no doubt, because the president is a very honest man,” the Vermont senator mockingly said.

She said Democrats won’t accept a short-term extension of those subsidies, including for one year, a proposal she described as an effort to delay the political blow of skyrocketing health insurance premiums until after next year’s midterm elections.

“I think we know what we will not accept, and what we will not accept is for the ACA premiums to skyrocket on the American people. What we will not accept is the doubling of these premiums. And what we will not accept is allowing the teetering of this system to collapse right before everyone’s eyes,” she said.

That demand, however, has been met with scoffs from GOP leaders. There is very little interest within House and Senate GOP leadership to address the Affordable Care Act subsidies before November 21 – and certainly not without major changes to the underlying program.

A request for comment sent to the White House returned an automatic reply: “Due to staff shortages resulting from the Democrat Shutdown, the typical 24/7 monitoring of this press inbox may experience delays. We ask for your patience as our staff work to field your requests in a timely manner. As you await a response, please remember this could have been avoided if the Democrats voted for the clean Continuing Resolution to keep the government open.”

Face-to-face with the shutdown pain

Democrats insist they aren’t willing to budge unless the GOP agrees to a major deal on Obamacare subsidies. But that position means painful conversations with the people most affected: Federal workers who have already missed paychecks.

Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez were in the difficult position of having to justify Democrats’ decision not to accept a GOP funding plan — which would keep those paychecks flowing — and instead use the funding fight as leverage for their health care fight.

In response to one question, Ocasio-Cortez stressed that she and Democrats don’t want the government shuttered and want to negotiate with Republicans: “We have to make sure this is as swift and as short as possible.”

A federal worker with four children asked how he’s supposed to feed his family and another woman said her housing situation is in jeopardy because the shutdown has prevented her from securing a government-backed loan.

Ocasio-Cortez reiterated: “My hope is that we’re ready to resolve this as quickly as possible.”

Ocasio-Cortez doesn’t rule out challenging Schumer in 2028

Day after day, Republicans have suggested that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is digging in on the Democratic shutdown strategy because he is trying to forestall a 2028 primary challenge from Ocasio-Cortez in his home state of New York.

Asked if that’s what she thinks is driving Schumer’s actions, Ocasio-Cortez said, “No, absolutely not.”

“It’s such an insane suggestion and in fact is speaks to how desperate they are,” she said. “They are saying this because they are refusing to do their job, they are grasping for straws, they’re trying to make this about political tabloids and political intrigue and horse races — exactly the kind of thing that people are sick of in this country.”

She added: “It is honestly astonishing to me that the speaker of the House would waste his time on something so inane and silly instead of actually worrying about his own constituents who are suffering at the hands of his leadership.”

But at no point did Ocasio-Cortez rule out a primary run against Schumer. Asked if her answer means Schumer shouldn’t worry about such a challenge, an exasperated Ocasio-Cortez said: “This is what we’re talking about.”

“Nobody cares,” Sanders said, turning the conversation toward income inequality, homelessness, climate change and more progressive priorities. “Let’s talk about that issue, not her own political future,” he said. “She’ll decide that.”

Making Mike Johnson the face of the shutdown

Both Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders skewered House GOP leadership — specifically Speaker Mike Johnson — for keeping the House out of session for the last four weeks.

“I’ve never seen people who hate working so much in my life,” a visibly frustrated Ocasio-Cortez said.

Ocasio-Cortez and other Democrats have argued that Johnson is refusing to bring the House back to DC because doing so would trigger a vote on an entirely different legislative measure: A bill to force the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. (As soon as Republicans swear in a newly elected Democrat from Arizona, that member has said she would formally sign onto an Epstein petition that would soon guarantee a House vote.)

GOP leaders argue their decision has nothing to do with Epstein; instead, they argue the House already passed a seven-week funding bill. They believe coming to DC would only lessen the pressure on Senate Democrats to accept the current offer on the table.

Sanders, like Ocasio-Cortez, argued the House GOP needs to be here so they can find a way to resolve the Obamacare standoff.

“Republicans aren’t in town,” Sanders said. “How do you negotiate with people who refuse to even show up and do their job?”

Working with Marjorie Taylor Greene: ‘On what?’

Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is a die-hard member of Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement. But she is also a rare Republican who has publicly expressed concerns about the expiration of Affordable Care Act subsidies.

“Is she someone that you could see yourself working with?” Collins asked during the town hall.

“On what?” Ocasio-Cortez responded, laughing.

She cast doubt on the Georgia congresswoman’s commitment. “I think people can talk a good game,” she said, “but until they actually support policy that helps people … I’m not particularly interested.”

She added: “If she actually wants to support legislation, and expanding health care, I’ve worked with plenty of Republicans as well on health care,” she noted, referring to a bill she introduced with GOP Rep. Nicole Malliotakis on expanding maternal health. “And so in terms of bipartisan legislation on health care, I’m more than open to doing that. But it’s not just about talking the talk. We got to walk the walk.”

Direct criticism of Democratic leaders on Mamdani

Sanders was visibly angry at Congress’s top two Democrats — both New Yorkers — for failing to unite behind their party’s nominee in the New York City mayoral race, Zohran Mamdani.

For a party that’s “in the doldrums,” Sanders criticized Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries for failing to back a candidate who has rallied the support of so many voters — including first-time voters — within the city. (Earlier Wednesday, Schumer once again refused to endorse Mamdani when asked by reporters.)

“What’s not to like?” Sanders said. “He is a great candidate.” And at the end of his testy response: “Hakeem, you watching this?”

Ocasio-Cortez offered a more measured response and did not call out her party’s leaders by name. But she said she was concerned that Democratic leaders have so far chosen not to endorse the party’s nominee.

“I believe in endorsing the nominee of a party after a primary has resolved itself,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

And finally, she added: “I have made myself very clear about that, but my hope is that it’s never too late to do the right thing.”

This story has been updated with additional details.

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