Last Updated on December 13, 2022
Former Fox News host Lou Dobbs slammed McCarthy and House Republicans for voting against the banning of earmarks at their conference meeting earlier this month. Dobbs slammed current House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) — who is facing growing difficulties in his quest to reclaim his House Speaker position — as “gutless,” adding that the longtime House GOP leader is unfit to remain in that role going forward.
“Republicans—yes, Republicans—voted yesterday in our conference meeting 158-52 AGAINST banning earmarks,” U.S. Rep. Bob Good wrote in a tweet on December 1. “The silence from leadership is deafening. We cannot continue the status quo. We must have change!”
Rep. Good has been one of McCarthy’s most vocal opponents as debate continues over who should lead the Republican majority U.S. House of Representatives this January. Like Good, U.S. Reps. Matt Rosendale (R-MT) and Ralph Norman (R-SC) have pointed to McCarthy’s inability to ban earmarks as primary factors in planning to vote “no” on McCarthy on January 3.
Earmarking is a longstanding and controversial practice in the U.S. Congress where parties gain support for certain bills by threatening to revoke or insert specific funding requirements in bills. Critics of the practice argue that earmarking enables corruption and financial mismanagement while torpedoing bills that would otherwise pass. This ultimately undercuts the will of the voters, critics say,
“Kevin McCarthy ran on curbing wasteful government spending, but he sat back while establishment Republicans voted to keep earmarks,” Rep. Rosendale wrote in a tweet on December 2. “We need a Republican Speaker who will challenge the status quo.”
Lou Dobbs — an early supporter of Donald Trump — blasted McCarthy and other Republicans who voted against banning earmarks as “gutless” in a tweet Tuesday. “What a gutless act by the GOP–shame on McCarthy who in no way is qualified to be Speaker,” Dobbs wrote while quoting Rep. Good’s statement on the GOP conference vote. “The Swamp will be safe and secure in the hands of McCarthy and his RINO collaborators with the Marxist Dems.”
What a gutless act by the GOP–shame on McCarthy who in no way is qualified to be Speaker. The Swamp will be safe and secure in the hands of McCarthy and his RINO collaborators with the Marxist Dems.#TheGreatAmericaShow https://t.co/4OJq3stNTv
— Lou Dobbs (@LouDobbs) December 13, 2022
Dobbs — who currently hosts The Great America show — recently interviewed U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) on the topic of McCarthy’s bid for speaker, who has repeatedly stated that the Republican party needs new leadership. “I think there are 221 members of Congress out of the 222 I’d be open minded, to at least listen to; and see if there’s a vision to bring us together and to, win, against the Democrats,” Gaetz told Dobbs.
“Because what I recall out of Kevin McCarthy, when he was Paul Ryan’s majority leader and we actually had subpoena power, and Jim Jordan, Ron DeSantis, Mark Meadows and I were asking for it to expose a-lot of these deep state lies before they manifested into what we see today, Kevin McCarthy sat on his hands,” the Florida congressman said. “He wasn’t an advocate for strenuous oversight, he was right there to do the bidding of Paul Ryan,” he continued.
“I just don’t think that he has passed the leadership test in the time that he’s served in these various roles, and I think if we had somebody new, we’d be far more effective,” Gaetz concluded.
Kevin McCarthy sat on his hands & wasn’t an advocate for strenuous oversight when he served as House Majority Leader, says @RepMattGaetz. He says McCarthy did nothing more than the bidding of RINO Paul Ryan. Join us today on #TheGreatAmericaShow at https://t.co/xDV7kvDCzV! pic.twitter.com/JMpeLI681B
— Lou Dobbs (@LouDobbs) December 8, 2022