‘Why the Hell Did You Vote for This Bill?’ Democrat Baffled by Republican Senator’s Explanation for ‘Aye’ Vote on Trump-Backed Legislation
Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) had some harsh words for Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) after she voted for a massive spending bill backed by President Donald Trump.
The Senate on Tuesday narrowly passed the legislation, which will cut Medicaid funding while expanding the 2017 tax cuts that are set to expire at the end of the year. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that the legislation will add more than $3 trillion to the national debt over the next 10 years and it will boot about 11 million people off of Medicaid.
After the senators deadlocked at 50-50, Vice President JD Vance broke the tie. Republican Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Rand Paul (R-KY), and Thom Tillis (R-NC) joined all 47 Democrats in voting against the bill.
Despite expressing reservations on the bill, Murkowski voted for it after securing for Alaska 70% of the royalties from forthcoming oil and gas drilling in her state. However, Murkowski nonetheless said she wants the House to make substantial changes to the Senate version.
During a meeting of the House Rules Committee on Tuesday, McGovern seized on her comments and unloaded:
Many of the Republicans who voted for this bill acknowledged that in it’s current form, it is seriously flawed. And listen to this quote from Senator Murkowski, who just caved and voted for this. You’re gonna love this. She said, “My hope is that the House is gonna look at this and recognize that we’re not there yet.”
I mean, my question to her is, if you really believe that, then why the hell did you vote for this bill? It doesn’t make any sense! It’s a dereliction of your duty as United States senator and as a representative for the people in Alaska. When was the last time this current House of Representatives has fixed or solved anything? Where have you been, Senator Murkowski? This Republican House is dysfunction on steroids.
Earlier in the day, Murkowski had an awkward exchange with Ryan Nobles of NBC News.
“Senator Paul said that this was… that your vote was a bailout for Alaska at the expense of the rest of the country,” he noted.
“Oh my!” Murkowski replied before defending her vote. “My response is, I have an obligation to the people of the state of Alaska.”
Watch above via C-SPAN.
