Even Fox News had to ask Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) on Sunday: Why do you want to shut down the government?
Gaetz appeared on Sunday Morning Futures with Maria Bartiromo, where she uncharacteristically pressed the Republican congressman on whether his opposition to a short-term stopgap bill to avert a shutdown was a continuance of his personal vendetta against House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA).
She pointed out that McCarthy had already caved to Gaetz’s demand to split up spending bills by allowing the House Appropriations Committee to bring up four separate bills this week.
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“He’s doing it!” she said. “So to blow up all of the wins that you all have had now—”
“Which ones?” Gaetz pushed back. “Please enumerate them.”
Bartiromo then seemed to take on the role of McCarthy apologist, noting examples of Republican accomplishments like the House Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee on the “weaponization of the federal government” and McCarthy’s pledge to subpoena Hunter Biden.
“Is that not what you want?” she asked him.
“None of those things are deliverables,” Gaetz shot back. “Setting up a committee is an end unto itself only in Washington, D.C. The American people demand results. These committees have done nothing to reduce inflation. They’ve done nothing to actually constrain the Biden government. We can set up committees and have hearings and yell at people, but at the end of the day, if we still send the check to fund a weaponized government, having a weaponization subcommittee is little relief to the American people.”
Gaetz took his frustration with Bartiromo onto Twitter just after the interview, labeling the Fox host a “shill” for the Speaker.
“@MariaBartiromo tried to shill for her friend @SpeakerMcCarthy this morning,” he posted. “This is how that went.”
Bartiromo wrote in a response that she would address the interview on her Fox Business show on Monday. “Thanks so much for joining me today,” she said.
With a shutdown looming on Oct. 1, House Republicans have descended into a civil war over how drastic the spending cuts must be in a bill to fund the government. Some hardline GOP members have continually refused to back a bill without major spending limits, and the infighting even led to a defense bill, one traditionally approved easily, failing twice on the House floor last week.
