El-Sayed explains why he prefers Senate leadership change

[0:00] has chris van holland told you if he's running we've had a lot of conversations and i just want [0:04] to step back i mean this is somebody who's made his bones in both the senate but then also in [0:09] congress and also in his state legislature he is a legislator's legislator extremely well respected [0:16] by different groups in the democratic caucus and somebody i think would just be an incredible leader [0:23] for the senate which is why way back in the summer i was talking about why i thought he'd be [0:28] the right choice have you talked to him directly about this since you became a senator elect last [0:33] week well to tell him that i thought he'd be a great choice um you know obviously he's heard me [0:37] say it and um and in person i told him i just think he'd be a refreshing choice and you know i don't [0:42] want to take anything away from senator schumer uh he's put a lot of effort into helping to architect [0:47] the uh the majority that we are going to enjoy uh in the next two years and obviously has just a [0:53] wealth of knowledge um and uh and capacity but i do think that this moment calls for a different kind [0:58] of leadership you know when my state spoke up they were asking for money out of politics money in your [1:03] pocket medicare for all they wanted action and i think this is just a moment for us to be able to [1:08] pivot with uh what our our collective states have been telling us uh that they want and what do you [1:13] think chris van holland will do differently well i think number one i think he understands that this moment [1:19] calls for just a very different kind of leadership you know rather than the kind of omnibus bill [1:23] packages things like the inflation reduction act which had really really great legislation inside of [1:28] it but was almost impossible to message because it didn't brand on all of the incredible uh pieces [1:34] of legislation inside of it we need quick hits that really allow us to go out and talk about what [1:39] we're going to deliver what it is and then force the president to decide does he want to veto [1:43] legislation that's broadly popular that's the that's what the american public voted uh for or [1:49] does he want to actually work with us to try to address the challenges that people are facing you [1:53] know across the state i was meeting people were talking about look my kid's getting priced out of [1:56] playing baseball i can't afford a second bag of groceries i don't know if i fill up my tank if i'm [2:02] going to have enough to be able to go grocery shopping afterwards american public needs answers [2:06] they need action so we need to be able to do is address every single piece and i've been very clear [2:11] that starts with addressing the nuclear bomb that is about to go off in our health care system [2:15] and reversing these medicaid tax medicaid cuts that are about to go through and then we need to [2:20] end this ridiculous war that has we have no business fighting it's illegal immoral and unethical and [2:25] finally the tariffs that we're all paying huge amounts of money for that make no actual economic [2:29] sense we need to be able to hit those in quick succession and to lead the caucus in that direction [2:34] to deliver for the public and despite praising him for this new majority you don't think chuck [2:38] schumer can do that well i think it is a moment right now for us to be thinking about new leadership [2:43] i mean i just look you know we've seen the past and like i said uh senator schumer has led ably in [2:48] the past but this is a moment for a refresh you know i spent the last two days with a freshman class [2:53] that you know just represents america in a in a real way and each of them has spent the last 18 months [2:59] or so crisscrossing their own states uh when you get the kind of majorities that we saw uh in texas [3:06] in kansas uh in south carolina and of course in michigan uh what that says right now is that we [3:13] are so frustrated with the leadership of the republicans that we are willing to give you a [3:18] chance we haven't earned our mandate yet though and that is about what we do next and if what we [3:23] do next is too much like what we've done in the past i just think we might not be meeting the moment [3:28] and i'd like to see leadership that is willing to do that chris van holland has been in washington [3:32] since 2003 i believe that was the year you graduated high school actually he's 67 schumer 75. do you [3:38] think he's the generational change that some in your party are pushing for well like i said i you know [3:44] obviously a lot of the the new members represent a real generational change but there's also something [3:49] about the way the senate works and so i think he strikes a really uh great balance between the kind [3:54] of generational change that we're asking for in new leadership but also somebody who's been in and [3:59] around the senate and the house to understand how to shepherd legislation uh through the process and [4:04] i think you know he just represents that that unique ability both to have earned his statesmanship and [4:10] have earned uh his stripes as a legislator while also being really attuned uh to what folks now and [4:15] i'll just point to one uh want now i'll point to one uh instance of his leadership you know his work [4:21] when it came to kilmar abrigo garcia his willingness to go and fly down take a real risk uh to raise the [4:27] issue and force the conversation that's the kind of action i think people want now so you couple that [4:33] with his legislative acumen his time in washington and then also the fact that he represents a real [4:38] departure from the past i just think he'd be a phenomenal leader you mentioned the things that [4:42] you think democrats need to address on day one tariffs the medicaid cuts the iran war hegseth [4:48] secretary hegseth was on the verge of potentially facing an impeachment vote today but republican leaders [4:52] were successful in killing it is that something you want to see democrats revive you imagine [4:57] being pete hegseth right now like why are you still in your job i mean it's an open question [5:01] like pete like really just open question why are you still doing this job you are really bad at this [5:07] you are failing your responsibility you have mishandled this war and nobody really actually [5:12] understands what it is you're about every day you're talking about fighting a new cultural war [5:15] but like you're supposed to be waging an actual war that is actually illegal on its own terms [5:20] so just resign make it easy for everybody instead of in the end getting taken out because that [5:25] is clearly what's happening so pete just take it from me like you're not good at this [5:30] i mean you're talking directly to pete hegseth what do you say to those 11 democrats who didn't [5:33] show up to vote tonight you should show up and do your job i mean it's kind of surprising that [5:39] democrats are the reason he's not going to face that vote not republicans really look i mean look [5:43] there's no question everywhere i went in michigan the big questions were why does it cost me 80 to fill [5:49] up my truck and why can't i afford a second pound of ground beef at the grocery store and that goes back to [5:55] one issue which is this insane war that we have no business fighting and it's not just that but [6:01] it's that every step of the way pete hegseth has aided and abetted a president who we all know is [6:09] way out of his league and so you know i think it is important for us to be recognizing that pete [6:16] hegseth himself is the tie to the affordability that all of us crave uh when it comes to this [6:22] administration so look uh you know obviously i'm not going to be in a position to vote to impeach [6:28] and i will assess any impeachment that is done on its own merits but it's really quite clear that pete [6:33] hegseth is failing his responsibilities as secretary of defense there are democrats who say it's not [6:38] just hegseth that they want to go after and potentially impeach and potentially remove rfk jr [6:43] others in the cabinet do you believe that there are other cabinet members and can you do that and [6:48] also balance the other priorities that you mentioned you know the question of whether or not cabinet [6:52] members are doing their job well is a secondary question to how do we address the crisis in in [6:57] folks's life right now people are really struggling to be able to afford a tank of gas they're really [7:02] struggling at the grocery store they're struggling to see a doctor a lot of that goes back to policies [7:06] that have been perpetrated by folks like pete hegseth or rfk jr but if everything we're doing does [7:11] not actually address the problem in people's life i think we're missing the mandate so it's really [7:15] important for us as we investigate to make sure that every investigation that we pursue actually ties back [7:20] to the goal of making somebody's life a little bit easier out there in a place like detroit or [7:26] escanaba in michigan well you know medicare for all has been a big platform of yours that you have [7:31] pushed and you've said that you want to get it passed you've said that you would even call it trump [7:35] care for all if that's what it took donald if you're watching we can put your name on it i know [7:40] you like to put your name on stuff you can finally meet the unmet promise uh in america to [7:44] guarantee everybody health care so it's on the table if you want to do it but are you being serious [7:48] or are you being funny no i'm absolutely serious like i don't would totally vote for that i don't [7:52] care what it's called i want people to have health care in this country really like i really what you [7:56] call it is a secondary issue if we're able to guarantee everybody cradle to grave coverage without [8:01] a copay a premium or deductible the security of knowing that whatever happens in your life you're [8:05] going to be able to see a doctor without getting hit by a bill that is going to put you uh into arrears [8:11] where you're going to have to worry about medical debt 225 billion in this country uh already i think that [8:17] would be a win so if he wants to call it trump care for all like i'm gay do you think with democrats [8:23] having control of the senate and the house that that could actually get passed you know i'm really [8:28] interested i haven't i haven't talked to the president uh but i'm really interested in [8:33] understanding he said that he has made peace with the outcomes of the election he understands uh that [8:39] they lost now the question is do you want to actually try to get some things done over the next [8:43] two years when i look at his moves appointing stephen miller as white house chief of staff [8:48] it doesn't much feel like that's the direction they want to go appointing jim jordan in the house [8:53] as the the the next minority leader but he said that he's willing to take a posture to work with us [8:59] on the things that we can work on right now americans are struggling under the weight of very basic things [9:04] that they cannot afford healthcare is one of those things you know people right now are about to step into [9:09] or already have uh started to make their selections for insurance they're noticing premiums that have [9:14] gone up double digits that's on top of double digits last year one of the most important things [9:18] we can do to both address affordability and then the ability to see a doctor is to guarantee every [9:23] single person public health insurance in this country that's what medicare for all is so again what [9:28] you call it is secondary what it does in your life that's the whole point none of us ran to name things [9:33] except for donald trump most of us ran to actually solve problems in people's lives you need trump's [9:36] signature but to get it passed you need all dem you need democrats to lead on that do you think that [9:40] your party can lead on that i bet if the president came out and said you know i'm gonna sign this if [9:44] you call it trump fair for all i think i think we might be able to do it um you know i understand that [9:49] this is the end goal and i understand that not all my colleagues might be there and part of my job [9:55] is to have the conversation both broadly in with the public about why this is where we need to go and [9:59] then also uh more intimately with my colleagues both in the house and the senate about why we need to be doing [10:05] this i've been working on this question for my entire career um but i do think that this is a [10:11] moment right now where the public really is demanding some real answers to their problems [10:16] we saw that in an electoral outcome and what better way to answer the mandate that the american public [10:20] gave democrats but to say hey look we can finally once and for all solve the challenge of american [10:25] health care in this country we can undo medical debt we can address the challenges that people have [10:30] so often when it comes to just simply getting sick and being able to see a doctor