Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) attacked House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on the floor of the House on Thursday, saying that his caucus is a “circus” and can’t gather enough votes to pass any significant legislation.
“So America, in 15 days from now when our country comes to a halt, remember who did this to you,” Frost said. “Speaker Kevin McCarthy and the extremist House Republicans, who care more about themselves and their politics than you.”
Frost, the House’s youngest member, also railed against Republican attempts to impeach President Biden over his son’s business deals. McCarthy announced he would back plans for an impeachment inquiry this week.
“And the cherry on top of all of this is that instead of getting to work on funding the government, they’re trying to impeach Hunter Biden, I think, who — spoiler alert — is not the president of the United States,” he added.
McCarthy has also been under fire from members of his own party over the impeachment inquiry, including from Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, who has pushed McCarthy to go farther on going after Biden. Gaetz has floated votes to oust McCarthy in recent days.
“This speaker doesn’t even have the votes for impeachment, doesn’t even have the votes to fund the government,” Frost said. “It’s unclear if he even has the votes to keep his own job.”
The House has struggled to move forward on bills crucial for government funding, including a bill on defense funding measures that sank after opposition from far-right Republicans. Government funding expires at the end of the month.
“We are 15 days from a government shutdown that will impact millions of working people, and Speaker McCarthy can’t get his own party to pass any significant pieces of legislation,” Frost said.