Comedian and former host of The Daily Show Jon Stewart praised the Trump administration and implored Congress to support 9/11 first responders while on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on Monday.
“The Trump Justice Department is doing an excellent job administering this program,” Jon Stewart said while urging federal lawmakers to make the 9/11 Victims’ Compensation Fund permanent.
“I don’t know about anything else, I’m not going to comment on anything else,” he added. “But that’s why we’re in the problem we’re in if the program works exactly like it’s supposed to. Now it’s Congress’ job to fund it properly and let these people live in peace.”
Stewart added that “we can cut through the nonsense,” pointing out that 12 Senate Republicans would make the difference in the bill getting passed.
In an MSNBC interview with Andrea Mitchell earlier in the day, Stewart refrained from criticizing President Donald Trump and stressed that his cause was not partisan.
“This isn’t about the president,” he told Mitchell. “This isn’t about ideology, and it’s not about partisanship.”
The former Daily Show host urged lawmakers to pass permanent funding for 9/11 first responders on Monday because the current compensation fund will expire in 2020.
The bill Stewart advocated for, known as the Never Forget the Heroes Act, would provide permanent funding to the Victims’ Compensation Fund if it passes Congress.