Using Democratic Votes is a Speaker Deal-Breaker, Says Rep. Burchett

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., made a deal to address appropriations in separate bills, so running out the clock and falling back into another Continuing Resolution (C.R.) using Democrat votes might spark a notice to vacate, according to Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn.

“That would be something I would look strongly at, ma’am, if we do away with our duty that we said we’re going to do,” Burchett told CNN “State of the Union” host Dana Bash on Sunday.

McCarthy made a deal with Republican holdouts in January to not only force the House to address government appropriations in separate bills, but he also allowed merely one member to call to a notice to vacate the speaker. It took 15 rounds of votes to make McCarthy speaker, which has allowed Democrats and the media to disparage Republicans.

“They’re all talking about this promise that he made with Biden a year ago,” Burchett said. “What about the promise we made to the American public that we were going to be responsible Americans?

“We are going to be governing over a pile of rubble if we’re not careful.”

The House must stick to its authority over the government purse and keep Democrats from continuing to outspend its income, like everyday Americans have to budget, according to Burchett.

“Our financial ship is sinking,” he continued. “And the American public needs to realize, all these fancy titles, C.R.s and omnibus, to confuse the American public is not working. The curtain’s off. We need to do our duty. We should be back in Washington right now and dealing with it.

“But what are we doing? Well, they sent us home.”

Republicans might be the target of ire right now, particularly with Democrats talking with McCarthy about a government shutdown, but “this dysfunctional Washington cannot continue,” Burchett said.

“We’re going to get the blame because we’re trying to do our job, it’s what the rest of them were supposed to be doing,” he added.

“And now they’re going to take the easy route out by buying — by borrowing more money from China. Ma’am, that just doesn’t work, by any stretch of the imagination.”

Americans are tired of the politics, dysfunction, and the spending.

“The American public knows what we’re up to, and they’re sick and tired of it,” Burchett said. “That’s why folks like me, we’re sticking to our guns. And, all of a sudden, we’re the bad guys because we want to balance our budget. I mean, imagine that we have come to Washington, we represent our constituents.

“We say what we’re going to do, and then we come to Washington and do it. Now, you have folks that come to Washington and say, ‘oh, I’m going to be a fiscal conservative, I’m going to be tough on this,’ and then they’re not.”

The spending hypocrisy is not just the fault of Democrats, Burchett concluded.

“You close those doors, ma’am, the only color they see is green,” he said. “That’s why they love an omnibus package, because it’s like Speaker Pelosi said, we got to pass it to know what’s in it; 2,000 pages, they read down until they find their district, and they see the funding for all their special pet projects, and then they stop.”

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