MSNBC "All In with Chris Hayes" - Transcript: Interview with Rep. Ilhan Omar

Interview

HAYES: Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar of Minnesota is the whip for the Congressional Progressive Caucus. And she joins me now. So, Congresswoman, what are you hearing -- what is the guidance you`re getting from leadership right now? What is your understanding of what is unfolding right now?

REP. ILHAN OMAR (D-MN): Yes, well, it`s great to be with you, Chris. I think it`s along the same lines as what the senator was just expressing, that there is some real progress that`s being made. There are conversations that are being had. The White House has been working around the clock. The speaker and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer have been in conversations with these two senators. And the questions that we`ve been asking for these last couple of days of what do they want what are they willing to compromise on, what are they willing to invest on might soon get answered and then we will move from there.

HAYES: So, right now, there was this vote that was going to happen today on that on the -- on the sort of heart infrastructure bill which is really -- people should understand, it`s basically a surface transit, like a highway bill that has other stuff in it, but that`s the kind of vehicle for it.

That bill, the plan and something that I think Sinema and Manchin and some of the moderates your caucus wanted was, let`s just pass that and then we`ll -- then we`ll figure out the rest. And what -- the Progressive Caucus said, not so fast. We let that go, we are afraid the rest dies on the vine. Which brings us to this point. I mean, my understanding is you guys are all still have enough votes -- no votes such that the speaker can`t just walk to the floor and bring the bipartisan bill up, right?

OMAR: I mean, the reality that we are faced with is that this bipartisan infrastructure bill was sent to the House. It is not -- we are not allowed to amend it. There is no, you know, work that we can do with it. And many of us don`t fully agree with it. But we`re willing to support it because it was negotiated as part of a deal to be included as part of the agenda that the President has that includes the Build Back Better Act.

And what we have said is that we are committed to passing these two pieces of legislation together so that we can implement that that full agenda. We have made a promise to the American people that if you elect Biden, if you get us the House, if you get us the Senate, that we are going to make real investments in childcare, in climate resiliency, in expanding healthcare, and addressing the shortage of affordable housing. These were the kinds of promises that we made to people and we must fulfill them.

Now, 96 percent of the Democratic caucus within the House and the Senate agrees with this agenda. It`s ready to vote as is right now. We have four percent, less than four percent that are losing progress on behalf of the American people, and are blocking the, you know, agenda of the President. And you know, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us to make these kinds of investments, and we`re willing to fight for it.

HAYES: It`s funny you say that because having covered the version of this 10 years ago -- not exactly 10 years, a decade ago, the last time Democrats controlled both houses of Congress and have the White House, the block of people in the house in the Senate that were more aligned kind of ideologically with Manchin and Sinema and given Josh Gottheimer who`s in the House with you, was much, much bigger.

I mean, it`s -- what`s striking to me, actually, is when you`re talking about the scope of the agenda, climate investments, childcare, huge changes to ObamaCare that would expand subsidies, make health care cheaper for people, more affordable, more accessible is a huge part of the bill, that you don`t actually have a ton of internal fissures in the Democratic Party, which is somewhat surprising, honestly, because if you ran this 10 years ago, it would be all-out Civil War.

OMAR: I mean, that is the thing that we can be optimistic about. You know, in regards to the fate of the Democratic Party, these policies that used to be fringe are now very popular, not just with our base, but with our colleagues as well. It`s been really surprising to see that the folks who are leading the charge in childcare, and others are, you know, frontline members, members who have won Trump districts and members who, you know, understand from their own personal experiences, and the experiences that their constituents are having that these kinds of investments are needed right now.

And they are investments that are needed now, because we have neglected for many years to make these kinds of investments. The last time we`ve been able to do anything as bold and as transformative was in the 1930s. What, you know, Sinema and Manchin seem to forget is that these investments are also going to help their constituents.

They were sent to Congress to represent the voices of their constituents and speak up for those that are being left behind in the policies that are made in Washington. Folks who believe Washington doesn`t work for them, that government doesn`t work for them, and people who believe that, you know, once you elect politicians to office, that they are going to listen to lobbyists and not you.

And so, I do hope that they don`t prove their constituents right, that they do the right thing, and they help us bring these investments into people`s lives.

HAYES: Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, thank you so much for taking time in a very busy night. I appreciate it.

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