Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida on Monday criticized his fellow Republicans on Capitol Hill for an unwillingness to fight for the principles so many of them run on — such as fiscal responsibility, law and order, and securing the border.
Along those lines, Gaetz argued that House Republicans should push to shut down the government, if necessary, to compel the Biden administration to do something to secure the southern border.
Former Donald Trump adviser Sebastian Gorka urged the Fort Walton Beach Republican to support a shutdown.
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“Look, I am not a cheerleader for government shutdowns. But if we don’t shut down the border, then we have to utilize our leverage and not allow the remaining elements of this Biden Administration to continue” on its current path,” Gaetz said during an interview on Gorka’s podcast.
“I’m disappointed that there doesn’t seem to be sufficient support among Republicans to fight on the spending cuts we really need, on the border policies we must demand. And it feels like we’re going to have yet another punt, yet another extension of the spending of [President} Joe Biden, the policy choices of [Rep.] Nancy Pelosi.”
“It’s just not good enough,” he added.
Gaetz added that the GOP must get “better people” into Congress “in order to have a more fighting spirit.”
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Gaetz identified two such “America First” candidates: J.R. Majewski in Ohio and Brandon Gill in Texas, both of whom are up for seats in special elections next week.
Their victories, said Gaetz, would free up resources for those who “don’t wanna start more foreign wars or let more illegal immigrants into the country, or continue spending in the absence of real demands.”
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