Rep. Donalds slams Democrats' COVID relief plan as 'liberal agenda' without GOP support

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Rep. Byron Donalds slams Democrats seeking to ram through COVID bill

Freshman Florida Republican tells 'America Reports' price tag is extreme, given unspent funds remaining

House Democratic leaders plan to ram a "liberal agenda" through Congress via budget reconciliation in the form a COVID-19 relief bill, Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., told "America Reports" Thursday. 

Donalds asserted that the proposed legislation would increase the federal budget defict, creating "devastating impacts" on national security, the economy, and the middle class. 

On Tuesday, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., bowed to immense pressure and voted to advance a Democratic budget resolution meant to lay the groundwork for passing President Biden’s proposed $1.9 trillion COVID relief package.

Through the resolution, House and Senate committees would be able to draft parts of a filibuster-proof budget reconciliation bill. It’s not clear that Manchin will vote for the final bill Democrats come up with, but if he does, a final bill could pass without any Republican support. Manchin vowed Tuesday on "Special Report" that Congress would make coronavirus aid "work in a bipartisan way."

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REP. BYRON DONALDS, R-FLA.: "There’s a trillion dollars that was appropriated last year, during the 116th Congress, that has yet to be spent on anything that was appropriated for dealing with COVID-19. So, if we’re going to do anything up here on Capitol Hill, it’s making sure that $1 trillion is actually spent to buy more vaccines, to manufacture more vaccines and to help small businesses, and to reopen our schools.

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Number two, by them going [for] this two trillion dollar package, what we’re going to see are larger deficits, more debt for our nation, which does bring national security interests into play. We have to get serious here on Capitol Hill and not just go down these political wish lists like the Democratic leadership is doing right now ...

We haven’t had discussion with the majority in either chamber, really, about what’s going on, whether it’s COVID relief or anything else. The only thing that the president has actually done since his unity speech when he got inaugurated two weeks ago is sign executive order after executive order and he’s not consulting Congress on just about anything."

Fox News' Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.