Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy warns that a government shutdown could give President Joe Biden more power.
During an appearance on “The Truth with Lisa Boothe” podcast, McCarthy spoke about the upcoming September 30 deadline for the House and Senate to avoid a government shutdown.
“If you shut down [the government], you really cede the power to the government,” McCarthy told host Lisa Boothe, a Republican strategist and commentator on Fox News since 2016.
“Say you don’t fund [the government], you go to a government shutdown. You know what happens then?” he continued. “The border is wide open. Do you not want to fund the border agents?”
This comes as Republicans are threatening to call a motion to vacate if McCarthy does not uphold the promises that secured his position. Among those spearheading such an effort is Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz.
“Instead of emotionally cursing, maybe the Speaker should just keep his word from January on balanced budgets, term limits and single-subject spending bills,” he said.
Earlier this month, the Florida congressman was reportedly frustrated with McCarthy’s failure to follow through on a number of priorities that his detractors had promised in January.
Gaetz later doubled down on his attack on McCarthy in a post on the social media platform X, saying that he feels vindicated after previously calling out the Republican leader.
“I warned everybody in December of last year. Speaker McCarthy believes in NOTHING except money and power. In football, when the team isn’t winning the games it’s supposed to, they fire the coach. In business, when a company does not match its projected earnings, then the board gets rid of the CEO. I’ve had enough McFailure. Have you?” Gaetz wrote.
With less than two weeks until the deadline, McCarthy’s comments on the podcast appeared to be a message to those opposing members, such as Gaetz.
“So the way I look at it is, we want government to function, but we want it to be limited government. We want it to be honest; we want it to be accountable,” the Republican leader said. “We can show government can govern that way. That’s why we’ve been moving our appropriation bills. We’ve got to finish that job.”
