WASHINGTON — Longtime Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) acknowledged that her party forced the government into a shutdown on Wednesday in order to secure “health care for everybody” — including illegal immigrants.
Waters, 87, was questioned outside the US Capitol Tuesday about Democrats’ opposition to a stopgap funding bill in both chambers of Congress that would have kept the government’s lights on until Nov. 21.
“Are Democrats demanding health care for illegal aliens?” asked LindellTV reporter Alison Steinburg.
“Democrats are demanding health care for everybody,” Waters responded, hours before her Senate colleagues blocked the spending measure.
“We want to save lives,” she added. “We want to make sure that health care is available to those who would die not having the help of their government.”
“So you’re good with a government shutdown, even if it means giving health care to people who aren’t American citizens?” Steinburg followed up.
“That’s what you’re pushing on,” Waters shot back. “You’re standing here and you’re trying to make me say that somehow we’re going to put non-citizens over Americans.
“Quit it! Stop it!” she fumed. “This is the kind of journalism we don’t need. You’re divisive.”
Only three Democrats — Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada as well as Rep. Jared Golden of Maine — and independent Sen. Angus King, also of Maine, voted for the so-called “clean” continuing resolution.
A Republican majority was able to pass the legislation in the House, but it failed to clear the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster.
