Erin Burnett Confronts House Republican With Barb From Colleagues: ‘They Say’ That ‘You’re Selfish’
CNN host Erin Burnett confronted Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) — one of the eight Republicans who voted to remove Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as speaker — with a compilation of harsh words from his colleagues on Wednesday.
“A lot of your Republican colleagues, congressman, are placing the blame at your feet. They are. At you and the other seven who voted to oust McCarthy,” said Burnett during an interview with Buck. “Here are a few of them.”
Burnett then played a compilation of clips showing Buck’s colleagues criticizing the ousting of McCarthy and the eight Republicans who voted to remove him.
Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) said, “You’ve got eight people over there that say they stand on principle and policy, and it’s really all about, you know, self-promotion,” while Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) told CNN, “I think there needs to be a reckoning within the conference. There needs to be accountability for the eight individuals who selfishly upended our House majority and put their own interests above the country.”
Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA) declared, “You had, in this case, eight — eight! — so-called Republicans that got together with 208 Democrats against the will of the remaining 210 Republican majority and forced this to happen. They handed over the reins. They got schooled and used.”
Burnett continued, “Congressman, those are your peers. They say you’re engaging in self-promotion, that you’re selfish, you put your own interests ahead of the country, you got schooled and used. What do you say to your own peers?”
“Well, first of all, I’m not going to engage in that kind of name-calling or accusation,” replied Buck:
I will say this. We have not passed a budget this year and that’s disgraceful. The very people who are blaming the eight who voted against Kevin McCarthy are the same people who have held up this process so that we don’t get to the point where we pass a budget, pass appropriations bills, and deal with the huge spending. At the end of President Biden’s first term in office, we will have $36 trillion of debt. The American people know that’s unsustainable.
I understand that the people who work and live in the swamp are very upset that the structure that has been set up with special interest groups has been upended, and for them, I hope they relax a little bit, but I am not going to step back from the position I took because the American people are squarely, squarely on our side in this issue.
Watch above via CNN.
