Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Friday said that while he has made efforts to work with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to deliver for the American people, House Republicans have been focused on creating “more chaos” and promoting “ultra MAGA proposals.”
In a letter to his fellow Senate Democrats, Schumer rebuked the House GOP for focusing on appeasing right-wing members of the party. McCarthy had to offer those members, including Reps. Matt Gaetz (Fla.) and Lauren Boebert (Colo.), concessions in order to win the speaker vote last week.
Advertisement
“It is my hope that the non-MAGA Republicans will reject the extremists in their party and work with us to deliver real results,” Schumer wrote.
He continued: “But if Republicans follow the extreme wing of their party off a cliff and continue caving to election deniers and those who threaten our democracy and help the wealthy at the expense … of the working class, Democrats must make clear to the American people that we will fight tooth and nail against these attacks.”
Republicans in the House approved their first bill Monday that would take away $71 billion in extra funding for the Internal Revenue Service. The Congressional Budget Office has warned this could end up costing the federal government a lot more than it saves in the long term, if the bill became law.
“Republicans perpetuate the myth they’re protecting the middle class, just as they did with the 2017 Trump tax bill. It didn’t work then and it won’t work now,” Schumer wrote, in reference to the tax cuts passed by former President Donald Trump during his time in office.
Advertisement
Schumer vowed not to allow House Republicans to reduce annual appropriations funding to 2022 levels, saying the cuts, including for law enforcement and public safety, would “put America’s security at risk.”
He also called out the House GOP for its intentions to slash funding for programs like Social Security and Medicare and pass a nationwide abortion ban, even though candidates’ anti-abortion stances appear to be partly responsible for Republicans’ poor showing in November’s midterm elections.
“Their extreme views are dangerously out of touch with mainstream America, and Senate Democrats will ensure women will have their health care strengthened, not undermined,” Schumer said.
