Republican National Committee (RNC) chair Ronna McDaniel doubted in an interview with Breitbart News Daily if House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) could pass trillions of dollars in infrastructure spending.
McDaniel spoke to Breitbart News Daily host Alex Marlow as 19 Senate Republicans voted last week to pass a $1.2 trillion so-called bipartisan infrastructure bill, granting President Joe Biden a significant victory.
Senate conservatives such as Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) slammed the bill as the “first installment” of Biden’s “massive leftwing agenda.” Hawley and other Senate conservatives noted that the bill contains many provisions advancing critical race theory (CRT), climate change provisions, and tax increases on cryptocurrencies. The bill would add $256 billion to the deficit, and the Penn-Wharton Budget Model found that the legislation would grant no “significant” economic growth.
McDaniel told Breitbart News the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill included “not nearly enough infrastructure” in the legislation. She also said she does not know whether Senate Republicans’ support for the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill was part of a strategy to prevent Sens. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) from nuking the legislative filibuster.
U.S. Rep. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., goes over the rules in a television studio prior to a televised debate with U.S. Rep. Martha McSally, R-Ariz., Monday, Oct. 15, 2018, in Phoenix. Both ladies are seeking to fill the seat of U.S. Sen. Jake Flake, R-Ariz. who is retiring. The Arizona Senate contest is one of the most closely-watched in the nation. (AP Photo/Matt York)
Committee Ranking Member Sen. Joe Manchin, D-WVa., speaks during a hearing to examine the nomination of former Gov. Jennifer Granholm, D-Mich., as she testifies before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee during a hearing to examine her nomination to be Secretary of Energy, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021 on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Jim Watson/Pool via AP)
McDaniel said that Congress could not keep passing bills that add to the deficit while Americans are “feeling the pain of inflation.”
“This is absolutely something that would add to that if passed, and we need to put a stop to this at the House,” she said.
McDaniel argued that Pelosi might not be able to pass either the $1.2 trillion or $3.5 trillion infrastructure bills. She said that the $1.2 trillion bill might not get enough support from progressives, while moderate Democrats may scoff at the large price tag of the $3.5 trillion bill.
“I don’t think Nancy Pelosi is going to take any of this up, frankly. The $1.2 trillion isn’t progressive enough, and I think the $3.5 trillion will have pushback from moderate Democrats who are in trouble ahead of the midterms,” she said.
WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 09: RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel speaks during a press conference at the Republican National Committee headquarters on November 9, 2020 in Washington, DC. Trump campaign and Republican Party officials continued to push theories of voter intimidation, fraud, and illegal votes but were unable to provide proof at the time of the press conference. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and other House moderate Democrats have urged Pelosi to take up the $1.2 trillion infrastructure independently of the $3.5 trillion bill. However, Pelosi said in a statement this week that Biden backed a House rule that would allow for joint consideration of the $3.5 trillion budget resolution and the $1.2 infrastructure bill.
“Today, President Biden endorsed the House Rule which will allow us to consider the budget resolution, H.R. 4 and the bipartisan infrastructure bill next week,” Pelosi wrote in a Dear Colleague letter to House Democrats.
Marlow noted that many Breitbart News Daily listeners were “absolutely appalled” by the 19 Senate Republicans that voted to pass the $1.2 trillion bill last week.
Breitbart News Daily airs on SiriusXM Patriot 125 Monday through Friday from 6:00 A.M. to 9:00 A.M. Eastern.
Sean Moran is a congressional reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.