Congressional leaders previewed tensions expected to be on display for the next two years of divided government this week as the House after last week’s speaker battle raced to approve a list of controversial legislative priorities that are likely doomed in the Senate.
While Republicans celebrated their string of victories this week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called House Republicans’ first week “extreme” in a statement on Thursday, vowing to position the Senate as a “firewall” to their “MAGA Republican” agenda.
“Americans should look at how extreme the House Republicans have become as they undercut working families on issue after issue,” Schumer said.
The New York Democrat cited a bill that would cut the IRS budget allocated in the Inflation Reduction Act, warning that the new legislation would give a “free pass to wealthy tax cheats,” along with criticizing the new committee investigating “weaponization” of the federal government. He went on to insist that the abortion policies approved by the House earlier this week would “undercut women’s health care” and chastised a pledge to cap spending levels, calling it a “draconian budget plan that will lead to cuts to Medicare and Social Security and defunding the police.”
The comments came as the Senate has been away from the Capitol since its members were sworn in last week. McCarthy joked on Thursday, as he held the second news conference of his speakership to exuberantly list his party’s accomplishments this week, asking reporters “is the Senate even in this week?”
“What did they do this week? Oh, yeah, they haven’t done anything,” McCarthy said. “So, I think the House has been very productive in the first five days.”
He touted the House rules package, which opened the week, the IRS bill, legislation that “protects the unborn,” and a measure to prevent the sale of some petroleum to China.
“That’s just the first five days,” McCarthy said. “And we’re just getting started.”
Source: US News