Rep. Hill sees little movement in government shutdown impasse

U.S. Rep. French Hill, R-Little Rock, hasn’t changed his tune since the federal government shutdown began three weeks ago. He’s calling on Congressional Democrats to give up their demands and concede to the Republican House continuing resolution (CR).

“[Sen.] John Thune today (Thursday, Oct. 16) held the 10th vote to reopen government that did not get the 60 votes they need from the Senate to break the filibuster and reopen government. So for example, he offered the Minority Leader Chuck Schumer if you’ll vote to reopen the government, we’ll be happy to take a vote on things that you’re concerned about, such as extending the Biden era insurance tax credits for some in the expansion population. And Schumer turned him down,” said Hill.

The Second District Republican said while the government is closed, Congress can’t really convene and conduct additional business.

“From the standpoint of Speaker Mike Johnson, we’ve done our part on the spending piece and if we bring people back to the House for votes, what would we be voting on if the government at large is shut down? So his view is, let’s wait, and of course you don’t know in any day, let’s wait for the Senate to do their work,” he said.

“In the meantime, you have Congressional staffs and Congressional members working on projects, but we’re not formally doing committee hearings, which puts me behind on my schedule. So I’m really urging senators to let’s get the government reopened to continue these appropriation negotiations,” he added.

Hill does not think President Donald Trump is practicing retribution despite his social media calls for the prosecution of political foes Letitia James, John Bolton, and James Comey.

“I do think the Department of Justice has a high standard for its actions. There’s no doubt in these instances. Just like the James Comey case, I’ve been in Congress over the past few years and I’ve seen both Democrats and Republicans accuse him of failure in his duties and of unethical behavior, both Democrats and Republicans. They accused him of unethical behavior about how he treated Mrs. Clinton when she was a candidate. And then the same for Trump when he was actually elected in 2016. And that was a grand jury verdict. He’ll have his time in court and if he’s innocent, he’ll be found innocent,” said Hill.

When asked again about Trump’s social media posts calling for the prosecutions of Comey, James and Bolton, Hill said Obama and Biden oversaw Justice Departments that investigated and prosecuted Trump.

“What did Obama and Biden do to Trump? I mean this is what’s been happening in Washington the last decade as you’ve had political leadership appear to be opposed to political opponents and use aspects of the Justice Department in their bidding,” he said. “Trump was the biggest victim of that. And I think he is. You’re right. He’s fired up. He is acting out on that. That may or may not be what I would’ve done, but the bottom line is in the case of Comey as a people’s Exhibit A, it’s a grand jury indictment.”

Watch Rep. Hill’s full interview in the video below.