House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy lambasted Democrat leaders from the House floor Wednesday for putting politics before country and vacationing during the shutdown.

“Mister Speaker. I rise in opposition of House Resolution 79 – a glorified press release that this majority is having this chamber spend time on at another yet underwhelming legislative week,” McCarthy began.

“At a time when the country expects its leaders in Washington to look forward, this house majority is looking backward,” he charged. “When our country expects solutions, they’re using this chamber to settle political scores.”

The Minority Leader pointed to those “painfully” affected by the 35-day partial government shutdown, calling the shutdown a “shameful record under this [Democrat] majority’s watch.”

“It’s a shutdown that never had to happen,” he contended. McCarthy referenced an appropriations bill the House passed in December to fund the government, secure the border, and provide disaster assistance to Americans affected by hurricanes and fires. McCarthy blamed Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for blocking the bill from passing and thus shutting down the government.

McCarthy recalled the “four reasonable solutions to end the shutdown and secure the shutdown” President Donald Trump offered since the bill was blocked compared to Democrats who “never offered one.” He went on, “In fact [Democrats] went on vacation and political fundraisers to Puerto Rico. They littered this chamber with messaging bills that didn’t come close to solving the problem and would never be signed into law.”

The House minority leader then focused on the president’s fourth offer to end the shutdown and secure the border. “It met Democrats half way,” he said.

“It tells you all you need to know about who they truly want to help….themselves,” McCarthy said of House Democrats. He pointed to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s gloating after the shutdown ended and the gloating of those in media. “They were celebrating achieving nothing.”

“They were celebrating the status quo that suits their political interest and political pursuits of self-righteousness,” McCarthy declared. “A status quo that causes pain and suffering for Americans across this country.”

In the past two years, 266,000 criminal aliens have been arrested, according to McCarthy. He then broke down that group to number the 100,000 assault convictions, nearly 30,000 sex crimes, and 4,000 violent killings. “Three hundred Americans die every week from heroin and more than 90 percent of heroin comes from across the southern border,” said McCarthy.

“Roughly 10,000 children are being smuggled into the U.S. every year to be sold for human trafficking,” he went on. “They are celebrating a status quo that leaves 700,000 DACA-designated individuals unsure about their future.”

He then listed 50 of the many Americans killed by illegal aliens, “They no longer have their voice, but we can and must be their voice today.”

“I implore my colleagues to take some time and think deeply about these individuals, their families, and what our country stands for,” said McCarthy. “It certainly isn’t this political stunt by this majority and it certainly isn’t this status quo they are so proud to protect.”

“Let us not let these political distractions get in the way of our duty. Instead let’s actually work together to give the voice to the voiceless,” McCarthy concluded.

 

Michelle Moons is a White House Correspondent for Breitbart News — follow on Twitter @MichelleDiana and Facebook