At Monday's House Rules Committee hearing, Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM) warned of citizens concerns about President Trump's agenda.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:01Gentleman yields back.
00:02Now recognize Ms. Ledger-Fernandez for her time of question.
00:09Well, thank you.
00:11So, you know, for months, my phones have been ringing off the hook,
00:16and I know everybody's phones have been ringing off the hook
00:19because Americans have been calling us because they are freaked out.
00:23In fact, Americans have been calling us so much
00:26that they have shut down the phone system at times
00:30because they're so upset about what Trump is doing,
00:33what Doge is doing, what Musk is doing,
00:35and, you know, I don't think,
00:38I've not fielded a single call asking for this name change,
00:44but Americans really disapprove of what Donald Trump
00:48and the Republican leaders are doing to their pocketbooks,
00:52their Social Security, their health care.
00:54They don't like the fact that Trump is ignoring the Constitution
00:58and doesn't believe in the basic value of due process.
01:02Hell, on the interview on NBC,
01:06he didn't even seem to know that due process
01:09was guaranteed under the Constitution
01:12and had to be honored.
01:15And the reality is Americans thought that Trump,
01:19and they voted for him, and they feel betrayed
01:20because they thought he was going to address costs on day one.
01:26But what have we seen instead of Trump addressing costs on day one?
01:30We've already had the first quarter of negative growth.
01:37That's the beginning of a recession,
01:39and everybody says a recession is coming
01:42because of Trump's policies, because of Trump's tariffs.
01:46You know, Madam President asked for unanimous consent
01:49to enter into the record, the Fox News poll.
01:52The Fox News poll.
01:53There's lots of other news polls out there,
01:55but just so that people know,
01:57this is coming from the Republicans.
01:59The Fox News poll that shows 56% of Americans
02:02disapprove of Trump's handling of the economy,
02:0558% disapprove of his tariffs,
02:08and 59% disapprove of how he's handling or not inflation.
02:15And it's this idea that he's not handling what's important
02:18that has Americans upset.
02:21Mr. Chairman, I'm sorry, I said Madam Chair.
02:23The gentle ladies asked to have the Fox polling
02:25put into the record without objection.
02:27So ordered.
02:29So according to a poll published by the Washington Post newspaper
02:33and ABC News, only 39% of Americans approve
02:37of how Trump is handling his presidency,
02:40and they think he is going too far
02:42because he keeps doing things like this,
02:46and like the tariffs, which are serious.
02:49I mean, I'm sorry if I reacted to the idea
02:52that part of this may have come out of a comedian,
02:56but the tariffs are hurting people.
02:59And most Republicans, not all,
03:02I recognize that Representative Hageman
03:04has had a town hall.
03:06Most Republicans don't even want to hold town halls
03:09because their voters are so mad at them.
03:12I did a town hall in one of Ken Calvert's towns on Saturday.
03:17They were so disappointed that he hadn't showed up
03:20to answer their questions about Medicaid,
03:23about Social Security.
03:24But you know who was particularly upset in that audience?
03:27The veterans.
03:29We had multiple veterans get up and say,
03:31he's not showing up to answer our questions.
03:34And you know what else is upsetting?
03:36The idea that he could just say,
03:39we are going to rename Veterans Day Victory Day.
03:43We're going to rename the Gulf of Mexico,
03:47the Gulf of America.
03:48We're going to rename things.
03:50The fact that he is acting like a tyrant
03:52and saying we're going to do, you know,
03:54we're going to do things that I want because I want them to
03:58and that Republicans are then going to go along.
04:02So these are just a bunch of ego trips.
04:04His birthday parade,
04:05$45 million that he says it's going to cost,
04:08but we should all be happy.
04:09Another idea about this is about ego,
04:13not about caring for your community.
04:17And you know what?
04:18The Gulf of Mexico doesn't need a new name.
04:19It's been that name for a long time.
04:23Yes, it may have been, have other ideas,
04:25but over from 1552.
04:29And let me tell you, I'm from New Mexico.
04:32I am from New Mexico.
04:35New Mexico doesn't need a new name either.
04:38New Mexico, our name reflects that there is a complex history
04:42and that when you understand the complexity of history,
04:46the diversity of history, you are better off for it.
04:50So let's leave the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of Mexico.
04:54But if you want to rename it,
04:56since we're not doing what everybody wants us to do,
04:59how about naming it the Gulf of Plunder?
05:02Because you're here from natural resources,
05:05but we know that tomorrow,
05:07we're going to take a bill tomorrow, aren't we?
05:09And it's going to be about plundering the Gulf of Mexico.
05:14It's going to be about giving oil and gas companies more,
05:19more power, more money,
05:21and more control over our lives without any consequences.
05:27It's going to let them lower the royalty rates,
05:31take more money of our resources
05:33that belong to the American people.
05:35Let them have them for cheap, on the cheap.
05:38Let them not have to be accountable
05:40for the pollution they leave.
05:42That is called plundering America's resources.
05:46And we should be protecting those resources
05:49in the Gulf of Mexico.
05:52And with that, I don't know if Representative Hoyle,
05:55you want to add anything to anything you've heard today?
05:58I am the last Democrat.
06:00So this is your last chance
06:02if you want to just add anything.
06:04Thank you, Mr. Chair, and Ms. Leisure-Fernandez.
06:11I think that you said it exactly right.
06:14Again, I have done 12 town halls
06:18throughout my district in the most conservative
06:21and in the most progressive,
06:23and they're standing room only,
06:26and people are concerned about NOAA,
06:28about tariffs, about veterans care,
06:31about FEMA, about wildfire response,
06:36about all the things they want government to work,
06:40and yes, we should work on waste, fraud, and abuse.
06:42Absolutely.
06:44And that's not what this is.
06:46And this is going to,
06:48the costs are going to be borne by our local schools.
06:52And you may say it's just a little bit,
06:55but every little bit counts,
06:57especially in our rural communities.
06:59So I think you and Ms. Scanlon said it well,
07:02and I really wish we could be focusing on things
07:05that we could do together.
07:08And there's a lot that can be done,
07:10and this seems like a waste of time and taxpayer dollars.
07:15Thank you very much, and it is absolutely true.
07:18The voters want us to be taking up those tariffs,
07:20and I keep saying it.
07:22If they believe the tariffs are great,
07:23take them up, debate them,
07:25but that's our job.
07:27That's what we should be doing,
07:28not renaming the Gulf of Mexico.
07:32So thank you very much,
07:34and with that, Mr. Chairman, I yield back.
07:36General A yields back now,
07:37recognizing Ms. Fischbach for her time of question.
07:40Thank you, Mr. Chair,
07:41and I just have a question.
07:43You're so concerned about the money.