Trump To Congress: Come Back, Do Your Job, Dinner is On Me

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It is Tuesday, March 31st, and the president has extended an Easter Sunday dinner invitation

to members of Congress.

One catch.

You got to come back to DC to get it.

And with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ.

What do you think the chances are in hell of Congress coming back from there

two week Easter recess to come work in DC?

A snowball's chance.

Snowballs.

Okay.

You said in hell.

So it just was the right answer.

Yeah.

So this is that look.

There were positive signs as we start here on this Tuesday morning.

Positive signs.

Lines getting shorter at airport.

TSA workers getting paid.

We have to remember we are still in a shutdown.

And it is now a record one.

Yes.

And look, you can call it a partial shutdown, but there are still tens of thousands of folks

not getting paid.

And when we hear the words, I was reading what borders our Tom home and said.

And do we not remember?

Should we never forget the fact that we're actually at a critical time in the world

and our homeland security is of utmost importance, perhaps more so than before,

at least in recent years.

This is a critical crucial time where we need to make sure we fund the part of the government

that's in charge of securing our nation.

Because we're at war.

Because we're at war.

Babe, yes.

So of all the times to defund, unfund, refuse to fund, the Department of Homeland Security

now is probably not the greatest time.

So that continues.

So the president has said, I mean, he had mentioned several times before, right?

That they should not even take the break.

They shouldn't leave in the first place.

He has some threats about making it, not much you could do, but they all left.

So from the White House press room yesterday, and this is a big deal.

Carolyn Levitt, speaking on behalf of the president, essentially extended an offer

to all of the members of Congress who are, I don't know, like casinos and that Disney world,

wherever they may be right now, extended an offer.

That's right.

So she told the press that if Congress cancels their recess and comes back to the nation's

capital, President Trump will quote, host a big Easter dinner here at the White House.

If Congress will come back and fight the Democrats on this issue, which we should do

because again, the Democrat party is in the wrong here.

Here's where I would give Carolyn Levitt a little bit of just a suggestion.

Maybe if you're trying to bring lawmakers back to come to the table to negotiate,

don't extend the offer by pointing the finger at one side.

Just maybe in that moment, you could say, hey, could lawmakers come back,

come back to the table, work something out between the two parties,

and the president will celebrate and honor their hard work and service and their willingness

to sacrifice their families, Easter dinner plans to come together and fund the government.

Maybe not make it partisan in that offer.

Okay.

Your suggestion comes massed as sarcastic criticism of how she went about doing this.

I don't even think it was mass.

Of course.

This is what they do.

That's fine.

That's understandable.

Now, just as a point of clarity, I think only Republicans are invited to this dinner

on Easter Sunday.

Is that fair to say?

He's not talking about everybody.

Is it come back?

He's just Republican.

Oh, you know what?

It does look like that.

Wow.

Even worse.

No, I mean, we expect that.

Remember the whole, all the governors came to town and he didn't want a couple of the Democrats.

True.

But if you actually genuinely want to fund the government and you genuinely want there to be

a law passed.

I think they do.

Then you have to be willing to invite everyone to have everyone belong to have everyone

a part of the process.

Uh-huh.

You lost me there.

Of course.

All these things you described sound great if the things worked this way.

We know it's not.

But this has gotten now rose.

We thought we were getting to a better place.

TSA being paid.

That's wonderful.

TSA being paid.

We don't know how long is it part of the problem.

So rose, even though it seems like they got a reprieve.

It seems like we got them to for congresses feel like, okay, we can kick the can.

Because at least they're getting paid for now.

But here's the thing, Rose.

We don't know if they're going to continue getting paid.

This might be a one off to get them caught up on their back pay.

So quite frankly, it is important that they come back.

It is important that they cut this two week recess.

Wait a minute.

They're not back until mid April, correct?

Yes.

And that's just kind of mind blowing when you think about what's going on.

Yeah.

And Carolyn Levin also went on to say this.

And I actually love this was a really good statement because this is the truth.

She says the president can't just keep signing presidential memorandums and proclamations.

Every time congress fails to do its job.

Sure.

And every time Democrats are holding our entire country hostage picking and choosing which

programs and agencies they want to fund just because they don't like this administration's

policies.

That is not how it is supposed to work.

She is true there.

That is a true statement.

And I do think that what she said in that statement is important to actually let sink in.

That it isn't the president's job to try and fund or pay some of the workers who aren't

being paid because Congress can't figure something out after six weeks.

Six weeks, a record shutdown that has no son.

Okay, a six week shutdown is going to be an eight week because they're not working.

Correct.

Correct.

That's a very good point.

When they do come back, they're still in disagreement.

The House has passed a bill.

The Senate has passed a bill.

Democrats and Republicans in these houses is not just the Democrat Republican fight.

These two houses of Congress can't agree and Republicans are going at it.

Yes.

So yes, to your point, it was interesting.

There were a couple of reactions from lawmakers.

Well, I have one from each side of the aisle about this notion of coming back and cutting their

recent short.

So Chris Coon's Democrat said it wouldn't solve anything for the president to call Congress

back.

He says the House needs to pass the Senate's funding deal.

All right.

And then you've got Senator Tom Cotton from your great state of Arkansas.

The Republican says the Senate would be eager to pass the House's stopgack version.

We could come back promptly to pass that bill.

He says the House version.

Yes.

And Democrats have a problem with that.

Again, this whole fight is over ice funding.

Ice who has not been defunded at all.

They have money that runs through next year.

This all started in Minneapolis.

So Democrats saw what was happening on the streets of Minneapolis.

They say, hey, we got we got an issue here.

So we won't let this one go.

We are going to demand that ice has reforms before we fund it again.

This is where we are.

And that is fine.

So the House version.

They fund everything for how many weeks?

Six weeks.

I think it's like six, eight weeks so that they can get them time to figure it out.

Yes, but they fund everything.

But they fund everything temporarily.

Just to give them more time to negotiate.

The Senate doesn't like the idea of even temporarily funding.

So the Democrats say note of that.

And then the Democrats passed a bill where they fund everything.

But they fund everything temporarily.

Just to give them more time to negotiate.

And then the Democrats passed a bill where they fund everything.

But ice and the House Republicans don't like that because they want ice funded

just from a symbolic standpoint.

So it's hilarious.

It's the Senate Democrats who don't like the House bill.

And it's the House Republicans who don't like the Senate bill.

This is getting more complicated.

This is this is.

Yes.

Can I read what Tom Homan said?

He's become one of our new favorite administration heroes.

Sean Duffy, you love him too.

If the next ticket was Duffy Homan, I would vote for that probably.

All right.

Yes.

They are the voices of reason.

And they tend to do so with just a plain speech that resonates with everyone.

Yes.

I feel like that's been our reaction to what they've had to say.

I admit a lot of significant crises that they're dealing with here.

It helps.

They're not running for anything.

It does.

You know what?

That is such a difference.

What a difference that makes.

All right.

So he says he hopes that Trump compels lawmakers to come back and fund DHS saying this.

I hope so.

We're in an increased threat posture because of what's going on around the world.

We've got to keep this country safe.

We just need to get this department funded.

They want to talk about immigration policies.

We can talk about that.

But why do you got to hold the rest of the DHS hostage to be able to do that?

Let's sit down and talk.

There's been a lot of talk of holding people funding hostage.

Whether it's the American people, whether it's Department of Homeland Security employees.

But that is the truth.

That is what lawmakers are doing.

They are holding people, positions hostage to try and get what they want done.

Instead of just negotiating.

Imagine every day you go to work.

Every day you go to work.

Wherever it has been, everybody's done this over the years.

You go into an office and you not doing your job that day.

Cost somebody their paycheck.

You go in the next day.

You know what?

I'm not going to do my job again today.

And it's costing not me, but somebody else their paycheck.

Can you repeatedly do that for six weeks and then go on vacation for two weeks in the summer?

And go, while I'm gone, I'm not doing any work.

And because I'm not doing my work, these people in the office aren't getting paid for these weeks.

How can you sit with that?

But let me go on space mountain.

Yes, that's a real thing.

Robes, how can you do that?

These folks are making 50,000 in Atlanta, in New York, in Chicago, in Houston.

Not the cheapest of cities and raising families.

And you're with...

I don't know how they sit with it.

It's not just a matter of we didn't get some piece of legislation passed.

This is the stuff that's necessary for us to say safe and to keep folks fed.

Yes.

And they're chilling for two weeks.

Chillin.

It's...

I don't understand.

But you know what?

We said yesterday, babe.

The reason they can do it is because they can blame somebody else.

They can say it's a Republicans fault or Democrats fault.

Yes.

That's how you can sleep at night.

Absolutely. That's exactly how I voted.

Sorry.

Look, if you all want to hear our outright, maybe mostly my outrage, please, please, please,

listen to the podcast episode before this one because we go into the what congressmen

and women are doing or have been caught doing on their easter recess.

I'll get specific.

We talk about two dudes.

Lindsey Graham.

Yes.

Robert Garcia.

Robert Garcia, one of them in Vegas, the other in Disney World.

But yes, we, well, I voice my opinion about their choices.

When you hear those two names, if you don't know the story, Robert Garcia, Lindsey Graham,

one was at Space Mountain, one was at a casino.

Like, which one would you put where?

I wonder.

Ah, that's interesting.

Well, just check out the previous episode.

All right.

Well, when we come back, we're going to talk about, yes, the fact that TSA workers, some of them

got their first paychecks yesterday.

But do you know how many other people have been without pay for six weeks and counting?

All right, we continue here on this Tuesday morning, things getting better at the airports.

TSA agents being paid.

How have they?

There might still be more trouble on the horizon.

This is not over yet, just because lines are getting shorter, just because TSA workers

are getting paid.

This is still a shutdown that will continue roads.

It's seen, I haven't seen anything that suggests a solution is going to be found within the next

two weeks.

And even if it is, are you really going to, are they going to all come back?

Are they all, they can be called back, I guess, in order to come back by the second speaker's

house.

But they're not, this is going to go on for two weeks.

Is it not?

It seems like it is.

Now, look, I don't know.

Easter is this coming Sunday.

And so, look, I'm sure people, a lot of them have vacations planned, kids are on spring

break.

But my God, once you have, maybe even after you have Easter dinner, come back.

Like, I think all of them, look there, who is proud of their congressman or woman?

Who is saying, where to go?

I think it's probably an incredibly, incredibly slim percentage of folks.

Imagine if those lawmakers, those same lawmakers, did make this sacrifice and did come back

to D.C., the capital they would gain, the political capital they would gain from the folks

who they represent would far outweigh, I'm sorry, any downtime they may claim to want

or need with their families.

This is the point in which you sacrifice for your country.

I feel like this is the moment our founding fathers would say, you get your butts back to

D.C. and you figure this out.

I just, to me, there's only an upside for them to come back and try to do something right.

Look, we talk about this, tens of thousands of employees who we don't discuss every day,

aren't getting paid.

Everyone who works at FEMA, unpaid for six weeks and counting.

Cybersecurity and infrastructure security agency.

I'm not that familiar with that agency, but it exists and no one is getting paid.

Say the name of it again.

Cybersecurity and infrastructure security agency.

Sounds important.

It does, right?

I feel like I need those folks to be making sure my stuff isn't getting hacked.

All right.

And then all the civilian employees who work in the Coast Guard.

So, again, tens of thousands of folks are looking at at least now two months guaranteed

unless Congress came back without pay.

And that's assuming that they would somehow come up with a deal as soon as they came back.

Probably not going to happen.

And we don't know how long TSA workers are going to be paid.

It seems as though the way the president worded it, that they'll be paid continuing on.

But who knows where that money's coming from.

Where is that?

Because I saw like opposite language.

Not a language he had in there was about something about a crude.

It was some language he had in there that is the thing that is raising questions about whether or not this will continue.

They might get a one time.

Here's all the money you were owed.

Okay.

Let's start over again of you not getting paid.

So we'll know in a couple of weeks.

We'll know in a month maybe when they stop receiving checks again.

Are they going to get their wreck?

Are they back on a regular pay schedule?

No one has answered that question.

And when it gets asked, no one seems to actually know.

So wrote wrote they this is great relief for the time being even for spring breaks for Easter and all that stuff.

But wrote they're coming back to the same damn uncertainty.

What a terrible feeling to be going into work and to not know how long you're going to be paid.

Even when you finally get repaid after six weeks.

And for the folks who are in those other agencies, we just mentioned they have no idea when their next paycheck is coming.

Who was it?

And it was nice.

One of the TSA, I think a union leader or something would say, hey, this is great.

But remember the other like remember the other workers at DHS.

There are others that are suffering and that is true, Robes.

And I'm sure they're looking over it.

What about us?

Yeah, hey, we're coming to work too.

And I know we're not causing long lines for anybody.

But the moment anything goes wrong in any of those other agencies.

And we don't know what they're call out, right?

We're not getting those updates or those details because it doesn't affect directly the American people on a daily basis.

So we have no idea if they're going to work or not.

Or if we're at risk in any way for these folks not getting paid and having to take on other jobs.

Because they can't do what they're supposed to do to protect our nation during a time of war.

And those call out numbers are still up.

Even though we got word last week in the president signed that order, Robes.

They still say over the weekend reporting 10 plus percentage call out rates nationally.

That's the average.

Some places, of course, he 30, 40 plus percent call out but rose.

These folks, these call out rates aren't necessarily improving as quickly as they thought.

And a reminder, call out rates before the shutdown.

We're about 2%.

And I would say that makes a lot of sense because they can't trust how long they're getting paid.

So they got to keep those other gigs going.

That makes sense.

That is a very good one.

They can't bet on the fact that Congress is going to do their job.

They haven't proven that to us that they're willing to do it.

Certainly not right now.

And here it is, the language from the Trump's order that he signed said that the compensation and benefits that would have accrued to them if not for the Democrat-led DHS shut down.

Accrued.

What does that mean?

Accrued.

Accrued was back pay up until now.

But who knows?

Because it's going to keep accruing if they stop getting paid.

So you could argue that it, yeah, that's ambiguous.

Still not clear where this money is coming from.

I think big, beautiful bill.

Money that was already set.

But is that money still there?

Is there more to be done?

I don't know.

Call Elon. Do whatever you got to do.

But this is, the law needs to be passed to make sure this never happens.

Agreed. And hopefully there's a silver lining that comes out of this.

It's that because that bill needs to happen.

All right, folks.

We'll keep an eye on this one today.

The upside at least robs.

Lines of God's shorter TSA workers have gotten some relief.

We'll end on an upside.

So with that, we always appreciate you spending some time with us.

We'll have the morning run up for you in our feed here in just a little bit.

But as always, we appreciate you spending time with us on TJ Holmes on behalf of my dear Amy Robot Talks.

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