Last week news broke that more than two dozen Republicans in Congress have signed on to a draft letter to House Minority Leader McCarthy and Senate Minority Leader McConnell stating the members "refuse to consider supporting any federal government funding vehicle, be it a continuing resolution or an omnibus appropriations measure, that funds the enforcement of COVID-19 vaccine mandates at any level of government." One of the signers of this letter is David Schweikert. Government funding runs out on February 18. This puts lawmakers on the record, showing that they would rather hold the government hostage over vaccine requirements than get things done.
The Democratic chairs and Republican ranking members of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees said they are negotiating omnibus funding legislation to meet the funding deadline. While Republicans do not have the votes to block a government funding measure in the House, 10 Senate Republicans would have to join Democrats to overcome a filibuster in the Senate to pass a funding bill.
Ginger Sykes Torres made the following statement:
“A clear distinction between myself and David Schweikert is leadership. Representation matters and he is simply choosing to ignore his constituents. His cavalier attitude is dangerous and hurts thousands of people. Once again, Schweikert has chosen to obstruct rather than legislate. He is apparently more willing to shut our government down, hurting thousands of people and damaging the economy, in order to score political points.
“The mandate issues that are being litigated in the courts should play out there. Congress should responsibly allocate and secure our funding in the meantime without delay. When I am elected, these charades will end and we’ll get back to the business of governing for the people.”
A full list of members signing the letter appears to include Rep. David Schweikert, Rep. Chip Roy, Rep. Rand Paul, Rep. Scott Perry, Rep. Warren Davidson, Boebert, Rep. Bob Good, Rep. Dan Bishop, Rep. Andy Biggs, Rep. Jody Hice, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Rep. Jeff Duncan, Rep. Mary Miller, Rep. Louie Gohmert, Rep. Alex Mooney, Rep. Matt Rosendale, Rep. Ralph Norman, Rep. Bill Posey, Rep. Clay Higgins, Rep. Randy Weber, Rep. Andrew Clyde, Rep. Paul Gosar, Rep. Russ Fulcher, Rep. Thomas Massie, Rep. Barry Moore, Rep. Brian Mast, Rep. Troy Nehls, Rep. Michael Cloud.
Original source can be found here.
