GOP Rep. Waltz rips Republicans for opposing Kevin McCarthy: 'We're empowering Democrats'

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Americans don't care about House Republicans' 'swamp talk': Rep. Mike Waltz

Florida Rep. Mike Waltz calls on Republicans to unite in support of Kevin McCarthy's bid for speaker and warns the ongoing standoff within the party is empowering Democrats.

Florida Rep. Mike Waltz called for unity among House Republicans as Kevin McCarthy faced a standoff in his bid for speaker. On "The Faulkner Focus" Tuesday, Waltz explained that Americans don't care about the infighting or "swamp talk" and, instead, Republicans should focus on establishing their majority. 

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REP. MIKE WALTZ: The thing I think so many of us are so frustrated about is that this standoff is over a lot of procedural gobbledygook, frankly. … Every American that I talked to when I was back home in Florida doesn't understand this stuff. It's a bunch of procedural Washington swamp talk. … We can't get sworn in. We can't establish committees. We can't put the first bill on the floor, which, by the way, is to defund the 87,000 IRS agents. We can't do any of that until we have a vote for speaker. 

So my message is now is the time to be united. We voted as a conference for Kevin McCarthy, and we need to stand firm against the Biden administration, against the Democrats in the Senate, and against our adversaries around the world that want to take down America. Enough is enough. Let's get on with the people's business. That's what they elected this Republican majority to do. …  And by the way, the House will be presided over – while we can't establish ourselves – by an appointee of Nancy Pelosi. The House clerk will be overseeing Nancy Pelosi. So actually, this holdout and the standoff is empowering them. 

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