WATCH: Senator Blunt Rochester Calls out Republicans for Skipping Town Instead of Avoiding Shutdown on MSNBC

"If you're serious, you would be listening to the people and you would not be canceling out their health care. You would not be doing memes. This is a serious moment, and what we need is for them to come to the table, seriously, on behalf of the American people."

October 1, 2025

Click here to watch the full interview.

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) today joined MSNBC's Ana Cabrera Reports to call out Republicans for skipping town instead of working to avoid a shutdown. Last night, just before the Republican shutdown began, Blunt Rochester released a statement decrying Republicans' refusal to engage in good faith, bipartisan negotiations with Democrats on behalf of the American people.

Below are excerpts of the interview.

On President Trump's Broken Promises to Lower Costs

"On day one, the President promised to lower costs. We're 254 days in. And not only are energy costs up, food costs are up, but we are on the precipice of health care costs going up. So, those workers are already feeling the pain. And then, you know, I was former Secretary of Labor in Delaware. It doesn't take a Secretary of Labor to know that when you fire and furlough people, they're going to be hurting, and our unemployment numbers are going to go up. And so, in this moment, it was important for Democrats to say this is not business as usual. We are on the bridge, the brink of a health care crisis. And so that's what we're standing up for. And we are standing up for those American workers."

On Republicans' Refusal to Come to the Negotiating Table

"Literally, [this] 4th of July, this administration and the Republicans in Congress took away health care from folks. And so, what we are saying is restore that health care before this becomes a catastrophe and people are hurt even more. I think it's also important to remember that the White House, the Senate, and the House are controlled by Republicans. And so, I was a House member. When I was in the House, we negotiated. And what we're seeing here is not a level of seriousness. If you're serious, you don't go home, you would be here. And that's what we say to the House of Representatives. If you're serious, you would be listening to the people and you would not be canceling out their health care. You would not be doing memes. This is a serious moment, and what we need is for them to come to the table, seriously, on behalf of the American people."

On the Impact of the Republican-Manufactured Health Care Crisis

"And what I'm seeing and feeling at home in Delaware, I have a businessperson, Jan, who actually suffered from cancer. When I was in the House, she told me if it were not for the Affordable Care Act, she would not have been able to have health care. She is concerned. She represents the half of small business owners on the Affordable Care Act. When you look at farmers and ranchers in this country, one quarter on the Affordable Care Act, when you look at moms and babies and the number of births…We're not saying we have a perfect health care system, but what we are saying is that we don't want to break it even more, and we don't want people's prices to skyrocket. And they have the power. They have the ability. And I don't know if people are telling the President, you know, maybe he's not hearing what this really means to people, but people are already hurting and we have a chance, an opportunity, if they just come back to work and get to the negotiating table."

On Fighting for Delawareans

"You know, I guess I'm not the kind of person that frets over [polling] right now. Right now, I'm fretting over people's health care. And I can tell you, my constituents, I just had a resource fair in my state where hundreds of people showed up to find out how they could get help on things. People weren't walking up to me saying they read a poll. What they are saying is they're reading their bills, and they are hurting. And so that's why we got to continue to stay on this. We've got to continue to make sure that people know we're fighting for them. And that's why I'm here."

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Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester represents Delaware in the United States Senate where she serves on the Committees on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; Commerce, Science, and Transportation; Environment and Public Works; and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.