Republicans are turning on one another as they scramble to secure one final legislative victory following their devastating midterm election losses, with one GOP senator delivering a particularly blunt message to colleagues reluctant to press ahead.
“If your conclusion is that we shouldn’t try reconciliation because it might be hard to get the votes, then congratulations, you’re stupid,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) declared.
The fiery remarks come as Republicans struggle to agree on a third budget reconciliation bill before Democrats take control of both chambers of Congress in January, according to a Wednesday report from The Washington Sun.
“However, they are finding the road and the timetable treacherous,” the outlet reported.
The legislation could include billions in additional military funding, but disagreements over the Iran war and competing priorities have left Republican leaders uncertain whether they can gather enough support.
“We need to be realistic about whether or not we can get the votes,” Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) warned.
“The problem is, it’s for their version of reconciliation and there are probably four or five different versions out there, and none of the Venn diagrams work to get to 51, in my judgment, right now,” Tillis added.
Kennedy, however, insisted Republicans should press ahead despite the obstacles.
“You can’t put 12 things into a four-thing box,” he said, arguing the party should at least find common ground on defense spending and another policy priority.
But Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) warned that pursuing additional funding for Trump’s Iran war could demonstrate that Republicans had learned nothing from their election defeat.
“For Republicans to immediately come back and, by sheer might with just Republicans, finance [the] Iran war, I think, seems to me like they didn’t listen,” Paul told The Washington Sun.
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