'What The Hell Is This Republican Majority Doing?': Jim McGovern Tears Into GOP's Legislative Agenda

2 days ago

During debate on the House floor, Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) tore into a package of bills put forth by House Republicans.

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Transcript

00:00I'd like to ask, Mr. Speaker, what the hell is this Republican majority doing?

00:04I mean, last week these guys canceled Congress.

00:06They went home, all because they don't want new moms and dads to be able to vote.

00:11So much for being the party of family values.

00:15The gentlelady just said that the Speaker is very much in support of family values,

00:22but yet he has a problem with allowing new moms and dads to be able to vote by proxy,

00:28but he seems to have no problem with Republican members flying to the West Coast,

00:33filming comedy shows in Hollywood, and voting by proxy.

00:38I mean, I don't get it.

00:40That's what family values means to my Republican friends.

00:44It took the Speaker a week, it took the Speaker a whole week,

00:48to buy off a few votes by offering a pretend deal.

00:53And now Republicans are ready to move forward on the important legislative business of

00:57wait for it, passing the same bills they rejected last week.

01:01Not that these bills are any better the second time around,

01:05a bill that will make it harder for women to vote,

01:08a bill to let the Trump administration break the law,

01:12and two resolutions that stick it to consumers.

01:15Honest to God, Mr. Speaker, who asked for these?

01:19Which Trump donor wrote these measures?

01:21And meanwhile, what aren't we talking about on the floor right now?

01:28The tariffs.

01:30The tariffs.

01:31Not a peep about the tariffs.

01:33Not a peep about the chaos in the markets.

01:36Not a peep about the uncertainty this is causing.

01:39Not a peep about how this is going to screw over middle America.

01:44Never in my life have I seen anything like this.

01:48The president promised lower prices and a boomy economy.

01:52And we're going to get higher prices and a recession.

01:55This is nuts.

01:57Trump isn't using tariffs strategically.

02:00He's launching an economic nuclear war.

02:03And we're all in the blast zone.

02:06This is a disaster.

02:07And even if you agree with these tariffs, which is nuts, put that aside.

02:13Even if you're a fan, can just one Republican admit that it's insane that one guy is making this call alone?

02:22Our founders fought a revolution to stop one person from having this much power.

02:29And so-called conservatives are rewriting the rules to dodge a vote in Congress.

02:34This is crazy.

02:36They're totally fine giving Trump unlimited power to do whatever the hell he wants.

02:41And they won't even let us vote.

02:43They won't even let us vote.

02:45You know, a few minutes ago, I sought recognition for a motion allowed under the law

02:50to bring a joint resolution to the floor to end just one of Trump's tariffs.

02:55And that request was denied because Republicans have rigged the rules.

03:00Let me repeat that.

03:02Republicans have rigged the rules.

03:04And I'll talk more about that during this debate.

03:06This is all because Republicans know what's coming and they're scared.

03:12They know people are going to lose their jobs.

03:14They know paychecks are going to shrivel.

03:16They know prices will go up and retirement plans will go down

03:20and businesses are going to stop investing.

03:23And they don't want to have to go home and explain it.

03:25They don't want to have to put their names on that.

03:28So they're rigging the rules so we don't have a vote.

03:32Well, guess what?

03:33They can run from accountability, but they can't hide from the consequences.

03:37You guys own this.

03:39You own the tariffs.

03:40You own the fallout.

03:41There's no plan here, no strategy, just economic self-sabotage.

03:45And regular Americans are going to pay the price for these tariffs.

03:49This is a disaster for our country.

03:52And you guys are too chicken to even vote yes or no whether you support the tariffs.

03:57I reserve my time.

'What The Hell Is This Republican Majority Doing?': Jim McGovern Tears Into GOP's Legislative Agenda

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