The hosts of MSNBC’s “The Weekend” burst out laughing Saturday after host Jonathan Capehart cheered a far-right GOP lawmaker for breaking with party leadership amid the ongoing government shutdown.
On its 11th day as of Saturday, the government shutdown kicked off after disagreements on health care policy; namely, a debate around whether to fund an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies which, if left unfunded, could result in 4.8 million Americans losing coverage and 22 million having their premiums increase.
Republicans have pressed for adopting what’s known as a continuing resolution – a temporary funding bill that would grant lawmakers more time to debate on extending the subsidies – but Democrats have held firm in refusing to back any spending bill that doesn’t include their extension.
One notable outlier has been Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who has been a fierce critic of House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) amid the shutdown fight, particularly over the damage it may cause Americans as it relates to health care.
“I'm not putting the blame on the president, I'm actually putting the blame on the speaker and Leader Thune in the Senate,” Greene told CNN on Thursday in a clip the MSNBC panel played Saturday. “This should not be happening!”
“The Weekend” hosts Jonathan Capehart and Eugene Daniels immediately burst out laughing after the clip was played, with Capehart excitedly shouting “Yes, Marjorie Taylor Greene!”
Still laughing, Daniels noted: “that’s the first time this man has ever said that!”
Capehart shouted “ever!” in response before noting his praise for Greene “might be the last.
Jacqueline Alemany, the third host of MSNBC’s “The Weekend,” noted the shifting rhetoric around the shutdown fight, as made evident by Greene’s growing dissent.
“It does seem like the conversation has shifted already from the beginning of the shutdown to where we are now,” Alemany said. “Republicans are agreeing that something needs to be done about health care, it's just a matter of timing.”
