California’s Harder on shutdown: Democrats supported by constituents

(NEXSTAR) — As the government shutdown reaches day 28, Nexstar sat down with California Democratic Rep. Josh Harder to weigh in on what he thinks it will take to end the standstill.

Harder says Republicans and Democrats need to negotiate as the shutdown approaches the longest in history. 

“I think it’s pretty easy to come to a deal, to imagine what a solution would look like. What’s missing right now is the political will,” Harder said. 

The impasse centers on subsidies tied to the Affordable Care Act that expire at the end of the year. Democrats say without an extension, Americans’ health care costs will spike. Republicans say they’ll negotiate after Democrats vote to reopen the government. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson said earlier this month that GOP lawmakers would have those discussions if the government were kept open.

But Harder says this can’t wait. 

“I think the idea that you would give up all of your leverage and then hopefully get some sort of great deal coming down the pike is just a fool’s errand,” Harder said. “The fact is this is a crisis right now. People are already getting the notes in the mail, telling them how much more they’re going to pay in January.”

While Senate Democrats continue blocking Republicans’ funding bill, the House has been out of session for more than a month. 

Harder says constituents tell him they support what Democrats are doing. 

“What I hear from people in my district is they want this fight, they want us to fight,” he said. “But also, they’re frustrated that they’re not actually seeing a solution come as soon as they would have hoped.”

Harder also weighed in on the upcoming vote on California’s Proposition 50. 

It asks voters to temporarily change the state’s congressional map in an effort to gain five more Democratic seats in Congress. That’s in response to Texas’s new congressional map aimed at electing five more Republicans.

“I don’t want to have any say in that. I’m sort of taking myself out of it because I think it’s like picking which child you like more, which map you want to represent,” said Harder. “I’m going to leave that up to the voters. But I think we’d be a much better country, a much better Congress, if voters had a say in every single state.”

Harder says he’s concerned about the gerrymandering efforts now spanning several states, however. He added: “The fact that there is this tit-for-tat potential race to the bottom is very concerning.”