CNN’s Dana Bash was stunned by House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-LA) reasoning behind not calling Republican lawmakers back to Washington, D.C. during the government shutdown.

During a press conference Monday, Johnson said GOP representatives told him “they are having some of the most meaningful interactions at a time of great crisis with their constituents they’ve ever had. And that’s really, really important. So, I don’t want to pull them away from that work right now when their insight and their counsel and their assistance…that is most essentially needed back home.”

“I have so many questions!” Bash exclaimed after playing the clip. “I mean, they’re literally called representatives. They are elected by people not to stay in their districts — although they do, of course, meaningful work in their districts and their staff do as well — but they’re elected to be representing their districts here in Washington.”

Reporter Manu Raju, who asked Johnson at the press conference why he didn’t recall the lawmakers, called it a “very strategic decision” by Johnson “to try to pressure Senate Democrats to pass the House’s bill.”

“But the House has been out of session for more than five weeks, and they could do any number of things unrelated to the government shutdown,” Raju said.

“Well, they could be preparing the spending bills as they’re supposed to be — 12 or 13 — as it’s supposed to happen,” Bash interjected.

Raju continued, “Absolutely. And they could also — committees could be — any, all the committees could be having hearings. They can have votes on bills. They can actually bring those bills to the floor that are not related to government funding, passing an agenda that kind of drives their messaging forward. And they’ve chosen not to do it!”

Bash mentioned that they could be swearing in Adelita Grijalva (D-AZ), “a Democrat who was just elected a month ago.”

“And that’s another question about why he’s not doing it, but also, bringing those members back would take Johnson off message on this,” she said.

Watch the clip above via CNN.

The post Dana Bash Stunned by Mike Johnson’s Reason for Not Calling Lawmakers Back to DC first appeared on Mediaite.

from Mediaite https://ift.tt/LI0XJxN