WASHINGTON, D.C. — Tonight, as Republicans' struggle to advance Trump's big, ugly bill, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (MA-5) joined MSNBC's The Weeknight, where she underscored the harms the bill would inflict on working people and decried the corruption that has taken hold of the GOP. Below are excerpts from her interview: 

On Republicans’ Big, Ugly Billionaire-First Budget:

"They won working class voters by saying, 'We see you. We're going to work for you because we know the cost of living is out of reach.'

"A recent study said a majority of families, 60%, can't afford the basics: housing, groceries, child care.

"But then they turn around and betray their own voters. They betray the people that live in the districts that they represent.

"And what we have is a bill that is almost like it's constructed by cartoon villains, because it is taking away health care for nearly 14 million Americans. It is the biggest cut to food programs we've ever seen — would impact 42 million people. And all for what?

"To have a tax cut that is so large for the very, very wealthiest, making the winner's circle so small in this country. And the added kicker, which you just mentioned, they put trillions on the credit card for future generations to pay."

On the GOP Exploding the Deficit and the Cost of the Budget on Working Families:

"This is part of the problem when you have a bill that is created in a solely partisan manner and is being adopted and changed.

"We don't even know as we are talking right now exactly what we could be voting on tonight, because they still don't have their bill in front of the Rules Committee.

"So we've been meeting since 1 a.m., but we're still operating, waiting for our Republican colleagues to settle their own inner fights and come to us with what their plans are for the American people.

"But what we do know is the President was at the Capitol yesterday — 24 hours ago — and said, 'We will not touch Medicare.' Half $1 trillion later, we are also about to devastate Medicare.

"So, there is nothing that is off limits — nothing off limits — in order to have these tax cuts.

"When you add into it the Moody's rating — because it is families at home that are going to have to bear these interest rates, and then the tariffs that are put on top of that — back to school shopping shopping for young children where the cost of cribs and shoes and clothes and cars and...strollers, they are all just going to go through the roof." 

On Republicans’ Blind Faith in Donald Trump and Commitment To Assaulting Reproductive Care:

"They will do anything in order to reward their donor class with tax cuts.

"Their sole allegiance has become to Donald Trump at the expense of the people they serve.

"And you mentioned a point that so many of these cuts have this outsized impact on women — and women who live in rural areas of this country. And these tend to be areas that are represented by Republicans.

"Why would you devise a tax bill — a budget plan — that goes after the very people that you represent that will likely close rural nursing homes? Rural hospitals that are often the biggest employers in a community, as well as access to medical care.

"Today, I ran an amendment because they're also taking away funding from Planned Parenthood, which means that those 600 clinics — the overwhelming majority [that] are in rural and medically underserved communities — will close.

"That's 2 million patients who are not only getting contraception, not getting cancer screenings, having mammograms, fertility treatments.
And for many of them, there is no other place to go.

"And they know full well that Medicaid does not fund abortion. We all know the Hyde Amendment has been the the rule of law for decades. But they're doing it based on ideology and what it does to women and their access to health care in their country seems to be a forgotten point."

On Trump's Qatari Gift:

"There's just no squaring this.

"And I thought one of the most outrageous comments I've heard — and that's, you know, it's a high bar — was when Speaker Johnson was asked about this plane and said, 'That's not my lane.'

"The Constitution? It's not your lane when you are speaker of the House of Representatives in the U.S. Congress?

"I mean, this is clearly laid out. You cannot accept gifts from foreign governments. There's really nothing to decide here.

"So we're going to continue to push this issue and demand that it comes before Congress, who has the constitutional right. It is our responsibility to approve or disapprove of that."

On Democrats’ Ongoing Fight To Hold Republicans' Accountable:

"We are looking into that for this particular. But it is so clear that it is Congress, and only Congress [that] can approve these gifts — can approve emoluments. So we know this power lies with us.

"But like with tariffs, that also lies with Congress, we have seen our colleagues across the aisle willing to hand away their own power as we have a president who is amassing power for his own personal gain most of the time.

"And this example of a $400 million plane that he plans to just take with him when he leaves office is such an outrageous example that this has even caught the MAGA Right's interests saying, 'it’s going too far.'

"And so, I hope we can use this as an example and try to force a vote to try to bring this before them in Congress and say, 'Are you really going to allow this to happen? Is there any red line that you will not allow this president to pass?'"

On Democratic Support for Congresswoman LaMonica McIver:

"These charges are so politically motivated.

"It is the most transparent, attempt to say to Members of Congress that had the legal, explicit, legal right to be there — they were actually announced, had an appointment, had been waiting an hour and a half to tour this facility, quietly.

"But they're trying to say, 'We got to tell Members of Congress what they can do, what their rights are, what Oversight that they have the right to do. We will tell them what they can do, and we will make an example of LaMonica McIver.'

"And we are going to say that is [an] absolute transparent abuse of power and that we are not going to surrender our obligation and our legal right to go in to conduct oversight. And we are not going to be intimidated. And we will stand with LaMonica every step of the way.

"And we are seeing this also come when we have the AG saying we are no longer going to use the public integrity section of the Department of Justice that is there to de-politicize investigations and charges against political figures so that when they do come, it's because there is allegations that warrant them, not political vendettas that we're seeing here.

"And at the same time, in the bill before us today, they are trying to restrict contempt orders being enforced in federal court because they don't like the fact — to your point, Michael — that we have joined forces with Democratic AGs, with outside groups, and brought over 200 cases standing up for the rule of law. Standing up for our budget. Standing up for the way we are supposed to do our work.

"We come together. We represent different parts of the countries and ideologies. We put things into law and the budgets are a reflection of our values.

"When DOGE and the Trump administration tore all of that up, when we had unbelievable comments from the Chairman of Appropriations saying our Appropriations process isn't law, it's more of an advisory opinion? I mean, all of this is so tied together. And we have to do all these things. We have to bring the cases. We have to stand with our colleagues.

"And as far as Nancy Mace goes, every day that she can make a headline for herself — yesterday, it was posters of herself, apparently naked in a hearing room — is a day that she considers a win. So Nancy Mace will constantly be chasing that story, that headline.

"And we are going to stand with LaMonica. We are going to stand with the rule of law.

"And today on this vote, if we have it tonight, we are going to stand with American families and say, 'we see you.'

"We know this system isn't working for you, and we're going to do everything in our power to prevent losing your health care, losing your veterans’ benefits, your food programs — all for tax cuts for the very wealthy."

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