A Georgia lawmaker went off at the government funding holdout members of the Republican Party as well as the House Democrats who vote in line with the GOP rebels.
Georgia Republican Rep. Austin Scott torched the ‘Chaos Caucus’ of the House Republicans that threatened to hold up the stopgap funding continuing resolution (CR) that would avoid a government shutdown.
Scott took to the House floor during the debate on the measure, which failed to pass on Friday.
Scott gave a pre-emptive response to Democrat Rep. Rosa DeLauro’s expected retort to him regarding ‘schoolteachers in Georgia,’ noting that his sister is a teacher and gets her salary from the county, like local law enforcement.
‘But how did we get here?’ Scott asked. ‘Now, I’ve heard the left talk about the Chaos Caucus that we have, candidly, as Republicans.’
‘And what gives them the power? Well, it only takes five of them to create a disruption,’ the Georgia Republican said. ‘And how do five get the power?’
‘The five in our party get the power because the 212 of you on the Democratic side are going to vote with them to shut down the government,’ Scott said.
Scott said he admits the 30-day resolution ‘is not perfect,’ but argued it beats ‘a shutdown or the chaos that comes with a shutdown.’
The Georgia Republican also said that the ‘idea that we as Republicans and the American citizens have to eat a $2 trillion deficit, or else you’re going to shut down the government, is absolutely ridiculous.’
‘We’re not at war, we’re not in a recession, and we’re in no health emergency,’ Scott said.
‘Show a little responsibility,’ he added.
DeLauro did not give a retort to Scott’s remarks on the floor, instead reserving her time.
Scott’s words came before the House Republican’s CR failed to pass on Friday with a vote of 198-232.
The bill was expected to cut government spending by about 8% for that duration and include measures from the House GOP’s H.R. 2 border security bill, minus its eVerify provision.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., told reporters on Thursday that the bill would also create a commission to study the federal debt.
Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind contributed reporting.