Steny Hoyer on Stimulus Talks: Mark Meadows Is the Problem, If It Were Mnuchin and Pelosi, We’d Have a Deal

EXCERPT:

JANSING: “So Republicans also say — I don’t know if you -- I don't know if you heard Secretary Mnuchin say yesterday they want to go back to the table. If you want to go back to the table and they want to go back to the table, help the American people understand why this isn’t getting done.”
HOYER: “Well, I -- I don’t know the answer to that question, but Mark Meadows may be the answer to that question. Mark Meadows was not in the first four deals that we put together. Mnuchin, the speaker, Schumer and others participated. And we got a deal on four bills to confront the crisis, to confront the economic downturn and to help families. We did that in a bipartisan way with overwhelming votes from Republicans and Democrats. The only thing that’s new is Mark Meadows who helped shut down the government, who opposed his own Republican speakers often and who simply does not want to get to yes. He’s got some very strong feelings about state and local governments. We think that is absolutely essential. If you let the states go down and local governments go down, the economy is going to further tank. The health care fight will be weakened. So that I think, frankly, if it were Secretary Mnuchin and Speaker Pelosi, we’d have a deal. But I think the fact that we’re not getting together, not getting — moving forward, I think is largely the responsibility of one man, and that’s Mark Meadows. It’s a shame because I think Secretary Mnuchin and Speaker Pelosi would, in fact, have reached a deal by this point in time. And we need to keep doing so and trying to do so. And I know, I just spoke to the speaker half an hour ago, she is ready to do that.”