CNN Newsroom: Interview with Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA)

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"If we have a government shutdown, which I'm sad to say at this point looks likely, it will be because there are a couple dozen Republican members at least who want a government shutdown. And I have the quotes. I have cited them before in Budget Committee hearings, various House Republicans have outright said they want a government shutdown. They think it would be a good thing.

And Kevin McCarthy, let me say, he was actually honest over this weekend when he admitted that he has several members who in his own words want to burn the place down. So the problem with this Republican civil war is, as long as they're in the majority in the House of Representatives, all of us are being held hostage, as well as the American people by the Republican chaos and confusion.

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Yes. That is the scenario that I am most hopeful for. We have all 213 House Democrats. So we just need five House Republicans. And I know there are more than five who come election time in their districts always like to call themselves moderate and independent. Well, here is a chance for them to prove it. Join with the House Democrats. Let's pass a 30 to 60-day continuing resolution.

Let's make sure it's not loaded up, there isn't anything in there that tilts toward one side or the other. It just would give us more time and ensure that we don't suffer the damage of a shutdown because the previous guest that was on couldn't cite these details, the reality is with every previous government shutdown, nonpartisan analysis has shown we lose billions and billions of dollars in terms of productivity to the economy.

Congressional Budget Office said the last government shutdown led to 120,000 fewer jobs as a result of that shutdown. So there is a real cost to shutdowns. We can prevent it if they're just willing to join us and actually strike out in a bipartisan way.

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So the only way to get it done is exactly what we did in June, Jim, if you remember to raise the debt ceiling. That was the one and only time Kevin McCarthy was willing to stand up to his Freedom Caucus members and work with the Democratic president, the Democratic Senate, as well as Democratic House members. And look at the result. The bill that passed in June to raise the debt ceiling? 80 percent of House Democrats and 67 percent of House Republicans voted for that legislation.

So we know it's not a hypothetical that if there is willingness on the leadership on the other side to strike a fair compromise, it's there for the taking. The challenges that Kevin McCarthy is still not willing again to stand up to his Freedom Caucus members.

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Well, I do fear that, frankly, it does seem as if Kevin McCarthy is more concerned with his own job rather than the over 100,000 lost jobs that would take place to the nation if we were to have a government shutdown. I hope and would urge him to recognize that constantly attempting to appease and bend over backwards to his own most extreme members is a losing proposition because, frankly, they never take yes for an answer.

They're always no because I get to where -- exactly where I began. They actually want a government shutdown. That is the major reason why for that crowd they will never get to yes.

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No. I think in the end this is very simple, and only Bob Menendez can really answer this question. If he is innocent, he should stay and fight the charges and explain publicly why the evidence that has been presented, at least according to media reports I've read, because I have not read the indictment. I've been dealing with budget issues. But he should address them publicly. And if he believes in his innocence and is innocent, then I think he should stay and fight it.

He is entitled to due process. Now of course, if he actually did that to which, you know, he's been accused of, then obviously the answer to that would be no.

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Yes, you know, and I recognize that I'm probably on the unpopular side of this, Jim. But I am increasingly concerned over the last five or seven years there has been a tendency in a number of various kind of cases that any time an accusation comes out, the person is immediately forced out, whether it's an industry or an office. And I'm kind of an old-fashioned civil libertarian, an old- fashioned liberal in the sense that I believe in due process that he deserves his day in court. If the evidence against him is as it has been presented in the indictment, and it's pretty clear what the end result will be in this case.

But that said, he is entitled to that due process. Every citizen is as well, even if frankly it's probably not the most popular thing to say.

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Thank you.

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