Congresswoman Kaptur Statement On Chaos In The Republican Conference And Inability To Hold An Election For A New Speaker Of The House
Washington, DC — Today, Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur (OH-09), Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy & Water, senior member of the House Appropriations Subcommittees on Defense and Agriculture, and longest serving woman in the history of Congress released the following statement on the chaos in the Republican Conference amidst their inability to hold a vote to elect a new Speaker of the House:
“Today is day nine of internal chaos inside the Republican Conference. Their disorder and indecision to elect a Speaker of the House of Representatives imperils the national security of our nation. On the other side of the US Capitol—for which millions of our citizens have fought and died to preserve—one Republican Senator has made it his mission to hold up hundreds of confirmations of nominees to fill key positions at the US Department of Defense. Enemies abroad pay attention to these dangerous and unpatriotic acts of irresponsibility.
“The House cannot allow such partisan warfare to cripple the operations of the government of the United States, and passing of a budget comprised of 12 appropriations bills for 2024. Those 12 bills should have passed the House before September 30th to operate the government of the United States and they now hang in limbo. The total of those bills must conform to the 2024 Budget agreement, which the Republican Party failed to prepare in a timely manner last spring.
“Even though chaos reigns on the other side of the aisle due to a small band of malcontents, our House must gravitate to the Big Middle to rescue our Republic from radical extremists who only disrupt and create chaos. These fringe extremists have not demonstrated any will nor inclination to compromise to produce bipartisan bills that can pass both the House and Senate to yield progress for the American people. Our first responsibility is to ‘protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic,’ and the US House of Representatives must restore regular Order for the sake of our Republic.”
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