Latest / The Ben Ferguson Podcast / Michigan Church Shooting-What we know so Far

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Michigan Church Shooting-What we know so Far · The Ben Ferguson Podcast

0:01
Speaker 1: A Michigan church shooting is one of the big stories
0:04
Speaker 1: we're going to be talking about today. One fatality, ten wounded,
0:09
Speaker 1: and it was a shocking video as the building was
0:12
Speaker 1: a blaze. The man rammed his truck into a wall
0:17
Speaker 1: and then, thank Goodness, was shot dead by police. During
0:22
Speaker 1: a sunny afternoon press conference, police said the Michigan church
0:25
Speaker 1: attacker drove a vehicle into the church building, open fired,
0:29
Speaker 1: and then was shot by police officers. The reporting is
0:32
Speaker 1: that the shooter is down and that the church, the
0:36
Speaker 1: Church of Jici Christ the Latter day Saints in Grand Blank,
0:39
Speaker 1: was obviously on fire. During the press conference, the township
0:44
Speaker 1: police indicated the attacker ram the vehicle through the front
0:47
Speaker 1: door of the church, then got out of the vehicle
0:50
Speaker 1: and began shooting. A church service was taking place. There
0:53
Speaker 1: were hundreds of people in the church at the time
0:55
Speaker 1: of the attack, and the Mormon church in Michigan was
0:59
Speaker 1: then on fire. Ten people were injured in the shooting,
1:02
Speaker 1: and one of the injured persons is now deceased. We've
1:05
Speaker 1: been told the fire has been put out. Police believe
1:08
Speaker 1: they will find other victims in the area where the
1:12
Speaker 1: fire was most concentrated. Police made it clear they fear
1:15
Speaker 1: people were trapped by the flames and unable to exit
1:18
Speaker 1: the church. The FBI director posting on X earlier saying,
1:23
Speaker 1: we are tracking reports to the horrific shooting and fire
1:26
Speaker 1: at the LDS Church in Grand Blank, Michigan. FBI agents
1:30
Speaker 1: are at the saint to assist local authorities. Violence in
1:33
Speaker 1: a place of worship is a cowardly and criminal act.
1:36
Speaker 1: Our prayers are with the victims and their families. Cashpartel
1:41
Speaker 1: making it clear that the FBI is going to be
1:44
Speaker 1: with the families during this terrible tragedy, as he ended
1:47
Speaker 1: his comments on X, and the big question people are
1:51
Speaker 1: asking right now, why does this keep happening? Why is
1:55
Speaker 1: it that over and over again what we are witnessing
1:58
Speaker 1: now is this type of violence against people of faith,
2:03
Speaker 1: And why is the left not coming out condemning more
2:07
Speaker 1: of the violence instead of actually ratcheting it up. It
2:10
Speaker 1: is a fair question. There is a lot to be
2:13
Speaker 1: asked about this. I do want you to hear what
2:17
Speaker 1: they had to say at the press conference. This was
2:20
Speaker 1: a shorter press conference, but they did cover a lot.
2:23
Speaker 1: It was very important what they had to say there.
2:26
Speaker 1: And here is what the police chief said is they
2:29
Speaker 1: walked out there to the microphone, take a listen.
2:33
Speaker 2: And working to identify each victim as quickly and accurately
2:36
Speaker 2: as possible. The Family Assistance Center will be open from
2:39
Speaker 2: eight am till eight pm Monday and Tuesday at the
2:42
Speaker 2: Genesis Conference and Banquet Center at eight o five Health
2:46
Speaker 2: Park Boulevard and Grand Blanc. If you are still looking
2:49
Speaker 2: for missing family members related to this incident, you may
2:52
Speaker 2: call two four eight seven zero five seven three five
2:56
Speaker 2: to two for assistance. The fac is available to everyone
3:00
Speaker 2: in the community, victims, family members of victims, and community
3:03
Speaker 2: members seeking support who just want to talk. Trained counselors
3:07
Speaker 2: and victim services will be on site. We do not
3:10
Speaker 2: need volunteer counselors at this time, and we are not
3:14
Speaker 2: accepting donations of goods at this time. Please continue to
3:18
Speaker 2: monitor the Grand Blake Township Facebook page for the latest updates.
3:22
Speaker 2: Once verified donation centers are made public, we will put
3:27
Speaker 2: those on the facebook page. Also, the next update will
3:32
Speaker 2: be provided. Update time will be provided on that Facebook
3:36
Speaker 2: page and we'll open up to questions this time.
3:40
Speaker 3: She has a term being clear of audies to drinks
3:44
Speaker 3: until you good answers quote.
3:46
Speaker 4: So as I said, we're working around the clock now,
3:49
Speaker 4: so we're working tirelessly to find additional bodies. So to
3:55
Speaker 4: answer your question, the entire church has not been cleared
3:58
Speaker 4: because it's.
3:59
Speaker 5: A total lie due to the fire.
4:01
Speaker 4: So these first responders right now they're in recovery mode.
4:04
Speaker 4: They're trying to fight throughout the debris, uh, from the fire.
4:08
Speaker 4: So no, we have not cleared the entire church just yet.
4:15
Speaker 2: The victims the four did can you say how many
4:18
Speaker 2: were shot home before?
4:19
Speaker 5: How many died as a result of the fire.
4:22
Speaker 4: I could say this, two have been shot as a result,
4:26
Speaker 4: have been shot two of the deceased.
4:28
Speaker 3: Do you know how many people are unaccounted for?
4:32
Speaker 6: Uh?
4:32
Speaker 4: No, I don't know how many people are unaccounted for
4:36
Speaker 4: at this time. We do know that there are some
4:38
Speaker 4: that are unaccounted for.
4:40
Speaker 2: Do you explain about how the fire started at the church.
4:46
Speaker 5: I will leave that up to the AHTF agent. Dear
4:50
Speaker 5: the question.
4:51
Speaker 7: Again start for this incident. The fire started? Uh?
4:56
Speaker 5: Basically, the suspect all.
4:58
Speaker 7: Indications on this investigation, this aspect used in accelerant of
5:02
Speaker 7: some sort, we believe gasoline and lit the church on fire.
5:06
Speaker 3: Was it an ided you may have used there?
5:10
Speaker 7: There are at this point. I'm not gonna comment on
5:12
Speaker 7: I d's there were. I will confirm that there were
5:15
Speaker 7: some suspected explosive devices that were located, but as far
5:19
Speaker 7: as using them to initiate the blaze, I can't say
5:22
Speaker 7: that this. This scene is actively being investigated by ATF.
5:25
Speaker 7: Most people don't know that ATF is the Federal Arson Police. Uh.
5:30
Speaker 7: And we have a team from across the country coming
5:33
Speaker 7: in our National Response Team. It is a cadre of
5:36
Speaker 7: expert fire investigators that are coming here from across the
5:39
Speaker 7: country to investigate this scene and get to the cause
5:42
Speaker 7: or the origin and cause of the spire.
5:45
Speaker 2: We saw that there was talk of the bomb broad
5:48
Speaker 2: at the meer Athorton in Centery yesterday is connected to
5:52
Speaker 2: this and.
5:52
Speaker 3: As a home not we saw being searched over there
5:54
Speaker 3: at the.
5:54
Speaker 5: Home of the suspect.
5:56
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's all still part of the investigation. Sorry, This
6:00
Speaker 2: still all part of the investigation. We're still working to
6:02
Speaker 2: determine if any of that is related. It makes things
6:05
Speaker 2: to the motives we're hearing the speculations that it might
6:08
Speaker 2: have anything to do with the charge artssassination you use.
6:11
Speaker 2: That's exactly what it is. A speculation, and we won't
6:14
Speaker 2: come to those types of conclusions for some time.
6:16
Speaker 5: Do you know if there's any connection between the suspect
6:18
Speaker 5: and the church or its members, any prior prediction.
6:21
Speaker 2: Again, part of the investigation. We're not going to speculate
6:23
Speaker 2: at this time. Right now, we are working tirelessly to
6:25
Speaker 2: recover the victims of this incident and reunite families. Please
6:29
Speaker 2: be patient as we work through that process.
6:32
Speaker 3: The waw Horse officers, they are close to see and
6:35
Speaker 3: how they respond so quickly with it.
6:37
Speaker 8: In just second, thankfully.
6:38
Speaker 2: Yes, you should know the bombers are there anywhere that
6:43
Speaker 2: the areas or the community should remain vigilant and anytime
6:48
Speaker 2: they see something suspicious they should report it immediately.
6:51
Speaker 3: There's at least one other report at.
6:54
Speaker 2: Local church with search with we've searched multiple churches this
6:58
Speaker 2: evening for a bomb threat for a call.
7:00
Speaker 8: Yes, actual threat.
7:02
Speaker 2: Yes, Okay, we've received time on one calls about bomb
7:05
Speaker 2: threats or uh other indications that there was a bomb
7:08
Speaker 2: at a different location. Some of them were churches, and
7:11
Speaker 2: we've responded and cleared those locations. Did those threats come
7:14
Speaker 2: after the suspect was killed at at the church.
7:18
Speaker 8: Yes, there you an afturned already.
7:23
Speaker 2: I think that's part of the investigation.
7:25
Speaker 5: Do you have a comment on.
7:26
Speaker 9: It where those help they as churches where bon threats
7:29
Speaker 9: were or were there are others innominations?
7:32
Speaker 2: I can't. Yeah, I can't answer that, locate that at
7:35
Speaker 2: this time. But what else can we say about this
7:37
Speaker 2: stuff that you know?
7:38
Speaker 6: You don't?
7:38
Speaker 7: You don't you're not going to talk on motive, yes,
7:40
Speaker 7: So what else can you say anything.
7:42
Speaker 10: About it at all?
7:43
Speaker 2: Right now? What we'd like to do is talk about
7:45
Speaker 2: the heroism that we saw today, the people who responded
7:48
Speaker 2: in such a a valiant way to protect the others.
7:51
Speaker 2: Both law enforcement, fire department ems, everybody did an excellent
7:56
Speaker 2: job working together to keep people as safe as they
7:59
Speaker 2: possibly could.
8:00
Speaker 9: But sure there was any police presence?
8:02
Speaker 3: There is this at all connected to one of those
8:04
Speaker 3: bomb breads that you're mentioning?
8:05
Speaker 2: Is it potentially connected to the exist today at the
8:08
Speaker 2: LAS church? I don't have knowledge of that exact location.
8:12
Speaker 8: I think correct.
8:13
Speaker 2: That's gonna be all for questions. I thank you for
8:15
Speaker 2: coming and UH appreciate the UH assistance. Sure yep. Did
8:20
Speaker 2: you say how many were shot at home or how
8:23
Speaker 2: many died as a result of the fire.
8:26
Speaker 4: I could say this two have been shot as a result,
8:30
Speaker 4: or have been shot two of the deceased.
8:32
Speaker 2: Do do you know how many people are unaccounted for?
8:36
Speaker 4: Uh No, I don't know how many people are unaccounted
8:39
Speaker 4: for at this time.
8:40
Speaker 5: We do know that there are some that are unaccounted for.
8:44
Speaker 2: Do you explain about how the fires started at the church?
8:49
Speaker 5: I will leave that up to dhf uh agent dear.
8:56
Speaker 7: The question again, how did the fire start? Answer at
8:59
Speaker 7: the A for thisstance, then the fire started basically as
9:02
Speaker 7: a suspect. All indications on this investigation are the suspect
9:06
Speaker 7: used an accelerant of some sort we believe gasoline and
9:09
Speaker 7: lit the church on fire.
9:11
Speaker 10: Was it an IID?
9:12
Speaker 1: You may use?
9:14
Speaker 7: There are at this point, I'm not going to comment
9:17
Speaker 7: on IDs there were. I will confirm that there were
9:20
Speaker 7: some suspected explosive devices that were located, but as far
9:24
Speaker 7: as using them to initiate the blaze, I can't say that.
9:28
Speaker 1: You can hear there the question that important question about
9:31
Speaker 1: the fire or how would it start? Was an accelerant?
9:34
Speaker 1: Was an ied? There's a lot of information obviously out there,
9:37
Speaker 1: and some of it, unfortunately has been described as misinformation.
9:41
Speaker 1: There are certain things that are not accurate about what
9:44
Speaker 1: you just heard them talk about there, So I want
9:47
Speaker 1: to make sure you know all this again. This is
9:49
Speaker 1: a major event because there's a lot of questions on obviously,
9:53
Speaker 1: now the motive. What is the motive? What was the motive?
9:57
Speaker 1: I want to take you back to the very beginning.
10:00
Speaker 1: This is from WNEM News five. They're in Michigan. Here's
10:05
Speaker 1: how they described it from the beginning.
10:12
Speaker 5: Breaking news.
10:12
Speaker 2: Police are about to give an update on this morning's
10:15
Speaker 2: mass shooting at the Mormon church in Grand Blink Township.
10:18
Speaker 5: Let's listen.
10:18
Speaker 2: In answer those questions, I'd like to introduce Chief William
10:22
Speaker 2: Today from the Grand I'm sorry, the Grand Blake Township
10:26
Speaker 2: Police Department.
10:27
Speaker 5: Thank you, thank you for joining us.
10:33
Speaker 4: As Lieutenant Vetter said, we will take a couple questions
10:36
Speaker 4: upon the conclusion of this press conference.
10:39
Speaker 5: With me.
10:39
Speaker 4: Here on the stage is Supervisor Scott Bennett, Fire Department
10:44
Speaker 4: in Chief of Grandblink Township, Jamie gent D, n R.
10:48
Speaker 4: Chief Jason Haynes, FBI, Acting Special Agent and Charge Ruben Coleman,
10:56
Speaker 4: and the ATF James Dear, who is the Specialation in
11:01
Speaker 4: charge for this area in Michigan. They have a couple
11:05
Speaker 4: updates for you. There is a couple additional bodies that
11:08
Speaker 4: we've discovered in the church, so that makes our total
11:13
Speaker 4: victim count up to four victims. As I said before,
11:18
Speaker 4: there has already been the suspect to his deceased as well,
11:22
Speaker 4: so we have five deceased persons from this tragic incident. Again,
11:29
Speaker 4: our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims of
11:33
Speaker 4: this incident that could have been completely avoided and it's
11:37
Speaker 4: very tragic and that's not what our community is. I'm
11:41
Speaker 4: confident that we're going to overcome this, as Graham Blink
11:45
Speaker 4: always overcomes these type of incidents, and also like to
11:50
Speaker 4: acknowledge the heroism of not only the first responders, but
11:57
Speaker 4: the people who were inside that church at the time.
12:01
Speaker 4: They were shielding the children who were also present within
12:06
Speaker 4: the church, moving them to safety. Just hundreds of people
12:11
Speaker 4: just practicing their faith. Just extreme courage, brave, and that's
12:18
Speaker 4: the type of community that we are. Law enforcement. Again,
12:23
Speaker 4: we were onseen within thirty seconds from that original nine
12:27
Speaker 4: to one one call. Within eight minutes, that suspect was
12:31
Speaker 4: neutralized in the back parking lot of the church by
12:35
Speaker 4: a d n R officer and a Grambling Township officer.
12:40
Speaker 4: So where we're at right now, we're working tirelessly. We're
12:43
Speaker 4: working all night on this particular incident. I know that
12:47
Speaker 4: you guys have questions, and it's not only this community,
12:51
Speaker 4: but it's nationwide, you know, all throughout the United States.
12:55
Speaker 4: So we're working hand in hand with our federal partners.
12:58
Speaker 4: So i'd like to introduce FBI Agent Rubert Coleman to you,
13:05
Speaker 4: who he will give you an update on where he's
13:08
Speaker 4: at within the federal investigation.
13:11
Speaker 3: My name is Reuben Coleman, and I am the acting
13:13
Speaker 3: Special Agent in charge of FBI Detroit Field Office, which
13:16
Speaker 3: covers the entire state of Michigan. First, I want to
13:20
Speaker 3: sincerely express our condolences to the victims of the shooting,
13:23
Speaker 3: their families, and this entire community. I would like to
13:27
Speaker 3: also thank Chief Renning, the Grambling Township Police Department, in
13:31
Speaker 3: all of our federal, state and local law enforcement partners,
13:34
Speaker 3: other first responders, and the community members for their immediate
13:38
Speaker 3: actions in this situation. This act of violence has no
13:42
Speaker 3: place in our state or anywhere else in our country.
13:46
Speaker 3: The FBI is committed to continue finding out the facts, circumstances,
13:51
Speaker 3: and motives behind this tragedy. I can confirm at this
13:55
Speaker 3: time that the FBI is now leading the investigation and
13:58
Speaker 3: is investigating this is an act of targeted violence. FBI
14:03
Speaker 3: crisis response teams, such as our Evidence Response Teams, SWAT,
14:08
Speaker 3: special Agent, bomb technicians, victims specialists were deployed to the scene.
14:14
Speaker 3: We also have special agents who are continuing to conduct
14:17
Speaker 3: interviews and intelligence and professional staff personnel providing research and analysis.
14:23
Speaker 3: I would like to thank them for their work on
14:25
Speaker 3: this case. We asked that members of the public share
14:29
Speaker 3: any information that would assist us in this investigation, and
14:33
Speaker 3: we encourage them to please report to the FBI at
14:36
Speaker 3: one eight hundred call FBI or tips dot FBI dot gov.
14:43
Speaker 3: Any piece of information could be crucial. We ask that
14:47
Speaker 3: you keep the victims of this tragedy, their families, and
14:50
Speaker 3: the entire community in your prayers.
14:53
Speaker 5: Thank you.
14:55
Speaker 1: That is the full press conference. There in what we
14:58
Speaker 1: missed earlier as we can on the air in this
15:00
Speaker 1: second hour, I wanted you to be able to hear
15:03
Speaker 1: all of that about the deadly mass shooting. So I'm
15:05
Speaker 1: going to give you a very quick recap of where
15:08
Speaker 1: we stand right now with this This attack occurred at
15:12
Speaker 1: the Church of Jesus Christ the Latter day Saints LDS,
15:16
Speaker 1: also called the Mormon Church in Grand Blanc Township, Michigan.
15:19
Speaker 1: The shooting began at ten to twenty five am Eastern.
15:23
Speaker 1: It lasted, unfortunately, about eight minutes, ending at around ten
15:26
Speaker 1: thirty three am. The attacker ran the vehicle a truck,
15:30
Speaker 1: into the church before opening fire, or during the shooting,
15:34
Speaker 1: the attacker set the church on fire. At least two
15:37
Speaker 1: people were killed and eight others wounded by gunfire. Unfortunately,
15:41
Speaker 1: that number has just ratchet up from what we learned
15:44
Speaker 1: from that press conference there. One person died at the scene,
15:47
Speaker 1: another died at the hospital. Among the injured, there's also
15:50
Speaker 1: another in critical condition. Actually several others that are in
15:53
Speaker 1: critical or stable condition. And the attacker was identified as
15:57
Speaker 1: a forty year old from Burton, Michigan. I already say
16:00
Speaker 1: the shooter was killed in a shootout with responding police officers.
16:04
Speaker 1: The motive is not yet clear and still under investigations.
16:07
Speaker 1: You heard there. Investigators are searching the suspects, residents, and
16:11
Speaker 1: digital records including cell phone and this home for clues.
16:15
Speaker 1: The church buildings sustaining severe damage, partially collapsed, and fire
16:21
Speaker 1: crews working to control and contain the blaze. Hundreds of
16:24
Speaker 1: congregants were reportedly present during the service, and the incident
16:27
Speaker 1: has drawn condemnation from the state and national leaders. The
16:30
Speaker 1: Michigan Governor, Donald Trump suggests it may have been a
16:35
Speaker 1: target attack against Christians. The FBI is assisting the investigations.
16:40
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Speaker 6: Well, LEADERSHIOM and I initially requested a meeting last Saturday.
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Speaker 10: All cost So, did the White House call you all
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Speaker 10: You're around him during inauguration of obviously met him. What
20:47
Speaker 10: are your expectations from this meeting and can you compromise.
20:52
Speaker 6: Well, Donald Trump has taken a go at a loan
20:53
Speaker 6: approach from the very beginning of this Congress, and unfortunately,
20:57
Speaker 6: my colleagues on the Republican side of the isle have
21:00
Speaker 6: behave not as a separate and coequal branch of government
21:02
Speaker 6: and a checking balance on an out of control executive branch,
21:05
Speaker 6: but as a consistent rubber stant for Donald Trump's extreme agenda.
21:09
Speaker 6: Our view going into the meeting is that we want
21:12
Speaker 6: to find bipartisan common ground, to find a spending agreement
21:16
Speaker 6: that avoids the government shutdown and actually meets the needs
21:19
Speaker 6: of the American people in terms of their health, their safety,
21:22
Speaker 6: and their economic wellbeing.
21:24
Speaker 10: If I had to mark this day, do you believe
21:28
Speaker 10: that there will be a government shutdown?
21:31
Speaker 8: They need Democratic votes, Well.
21:33
Speaker 6: It's my hope that we'll avoid one.
21:34
Speaker 8: At the end of the day.
21:36
Speaker 6: Republicans do control the House, the Senate, and the Presidency,
21:39
Speaker 6: and what we've seen consistently, including.
21:41
Speaker 8: With the past, any democratic votes.
21:42
Speaker 6: Well, certainly any enlightened agreement at the end of the day,
21:46
Speaker 6: any sustainable agreement should always be bipartisan in nature, and
21:49
Speaker 6: that's been our position. It's also been our position quite
21:53
Speaker 6: clearly that we've got to address this Republican healthcare crisis.
21:56
Speaker 6: Think about this, the largest cut to medicaid in American history,
22:00
Speaker 6: a potential five hundred and thirty six billion dollar cut
22:02
Speaker 6: to Medicare. If Congress doesn't act by the end of
22:05
Speaker 6: the year, and if we don't extend the Affordable Care
22:08
Speaker 6: Act tax credits, more than twenty million Americans are going
22:11
Speaker 6: to experience dramatically increase premiums, copays, and deductibles in an
22:15
Speaker 6: environment where the cost of living in America is already
22:18
Speaker 6: too high.
22:19
Speaker 10: You just said they don't expire to the end of
22:21
Speaker 10: the year. We know they don't expire to the end
22:23
Speaker 10: of the year, So why not approve this and just
22:26
Speaker 10: get seven more weeks to negotiate?
22:28
Speaker 6: Well, because notices are going to go out in a
22:31
Speaker 6: matter of days, and it's going to be a shock
22:33
Speaker 6: to the system of everyday Americans who are already struggling
22:37
Speaker 6: to get by. Life is already too expensive. People are
22:40
Speaker 6: already living paycheck to paycheck, and we're talking about so.
22:44
Speaker 10: Today you could say, you know, let's let's compromise, and
22:47
Speaker 10: those notices wouldn't go out, right, Well.
22:49
Speaker 6: We actually need to enact legislation to ensure that the
22:54
Speaker 6: Affordable Care Act tax credits are extended and The challenge
22:57
Speaker 6: that we have in this particular instance is had several
23:00
Speaker 6: times over the last few months. Republicans in the House
23:04
Speaker 6: have had the opportunity to vote with Democrats to extend
23:07
Speaker 6: the Affordable Care Act tax credits, and they've repeatedly and
23:11
Speaker 6: consistently declined to do it. They've voted no, over and
23:15
Speaker 6: over and over again. And we know that Republicans have
23:18
Speaker 6: basically relentlessly attacked the healthcare of the American people, not
23:21
Speaker 6: simply this year in the context of the one big
23:24
Speaker 6: Ugly bill, and hospitals and nursing homes and community based
23:27
Speaker 6: health clinics all across the country, including in Royal America
23:30
Speaker 6: is shutting down. But they've been after the Affordable Care
23:32
Speaker 6: Act since two thousand and ten. They are obsessed with
23:36
Speaker 6: canceling the health care of the American people. We actually
23:39
Speaker 6: are working to save the healthcare.
23:41
Speaker 8: Let me talk about the American people.
23:43
Speaker 10: I want to play what you were saying back in December,
23:47
Speaker 10: after then President elect Trump came out against the bill
23:50
Speaker 10: Congress was working to pass to keep the government open.
23:53
Speaker 10: This is what you said would be the result of
23:55
Speaker 10: a shutdown.
23:56
Speaker 9: Families will be hurt, farmers will be hurt, border security
24:02
Speaker 9: and Border patrol agents will not be paid. TSA agents
24:09
Speaker 9: will not be paid. Small businesses will be hurt in
24:13
Speaker 9: every single community, and.
24:18
Speaker 10: This time the threat of mass firings basically and telling
24:21
Speaker 10: people they may not be able to come back.
24:23
Speaker 8: To work at all.
24:24
Speaker 10: So do you still believe a shutdown would broadly hurt
24:27
Speaker 10: the American people?
24:28
Speaker 6: We are always of the view that we need to
24:30
Speaker 6: fund the government and make sure that the services that
24:33
Speaker 6: the American people rely upon can continue to be received,
24:37
Speaker 6: and also that we stand by our federal civil service.
24:41
Speaker 6: We've seen since January twentieth mass firings already taking place
24:46
Speaker 6: by the Trump administration in the absence of government shut down,
24:49
Speaker 6: because this is what they've determined to do hurt everyday Americans.
24:54
Speaker 6: We consistently have made the point we want to find
24:57
Speaker 6: a bi partisan path for and reach a spending agreement
25:02
Speaker 6: with our Republican colleagues that actually meets an easy American people,
25:05
Speaker 6: but that also addresses the Republican healthcare crisis that is
25:10
Speaker 6: harming every day Americans all across the country. Rural America,
25:14
Speaker 6: urban America, the heartland of America, suburban America, small town America,
25:19
Speaker 6: and black and brown communities throughout America.
25:22
Speaker 10: If there is a shutdown, then what do you do?
25:26
Speaker 10: We have about thirty seconds left here.
25:28
Speaker 6: Well, we've seen during the Trump administration the first time around,
25:32
Speaker 6: a thirty five day government shutdown that was way too long. Ultimately,
25:36
Speaker 6: Donald Trump and Republicans came to their senses. Hopefully we
25:39
Speaker 6: avoided shutdown this time around, and if we're in one,
25:42
Speaker 6: we find a quick path out.
25:44
Speaker 8: Are you more optimistic this morning? I'm hopeful. Okay, thanks
25:47
Speaker 8: very much for joining us.
25:48
Speaker 1: By the way, it's very clear, and the reason why
25:51
Speaker 1: I played that audio for you is because it's obvious
25:54
Speaker 1: that Jeffries is weaponizing this wanting it to happen. He said,
25:59
Speaker 1: they're Donald Trump has taken a go to loan approach
26:02
Speaker 1: from the very beginning of this Congress, and unfortunately, my
26:05
Speaker 1: colleagues in the Republican side of the aisle have behaved
26:07
Speaker 1: not as a separate and co equal branch of government
26:09
Speaker 1: and a check and balance on an out of control
26:12
Speaker 1: executive branch, but as a consistent rubber stamp. By the way,
26:15
Speaker 1: Donald Trump ran off of all of the things that
26:18
Speaker 1: he is doing right now. Many of his Republican colleagues,
26:22
Speaker 1: especially in the House ran on saying they were going
26:26
Speaker 1: to get this done, so the idea that there's a
26:30
Speaker 1: rubber stamp there. I don't think he's that stupid. I
26:34
Speaker 1: want to be clear about that. I really don't. I
26:36
Speaker 1: don't think he's that dumb. I think what he's doing
26:39
Speaker 1: now is he's clearly playing politics and he's gearing up
26:42
Speaker 1: for what very well could be a government shut down.
26:46
Speaker 1: Now why does he want it? So he can point
26:48
Speaker 1: the finger and say this is the Republican's fault. That
26:51
Speaker 1: is what this is completely about, like totally about that.
26:56
Speaker 1: This is I want people to get hurt. I want
27:00
Speaker 1: there to be a government shutdown, and I want you
27:02
Speaker 1: to blame Donald Trump. Now they're floating this idea to
27:07
Speaker 1: see what the response will be, to see how people
27:11
Speaker 1: respond to this, to see what it looks like and
27:16
Speaker 1: if people are a little angry or if they're very
27:20
Speaker 1: angry over it. And this is all about that, nothing
27:26
Speaker 1: else but that. Don't forget. Share this podcast wherever you
27:31
Speaker 1: can with your family and your friends, and I'll see
27:33
Speaker 1: you back here tomorrow