DALLAS — The U.S. House of Representatives has been in recess since the dramatic removal of then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
And they won’t get back to work before Oct. 10 at the earliest.
Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) says no work was getting done anyway, because until lawmakers elect a new Speaker, they’re prevented from doing anything -- from holding Committee hearings to moving bills to the floor.
As for some Republican accusations that Democrats are to blame for the chaos because they didn’t back McCarthy…
“It’s a joke,” Crockett said, laughing. “I mean, he lost his job because he had members of his party that didn’t like the fact that Democrats have been helping in a bipartisan way to pass legislation that benefits the country. It’s an absolute joke.”
The Dallas Democrat says McCarthy caused his own downfall because he’s the one who agreed to the rule that allowed only one member of Congress to force a vote to remove him, known as a “motion to vacate.”
Rep. Patrick McHenry from North Carolina is the interim Speaker of the House. And Republicans hope to vote on a new Speaker on Wednesday, Oct. 11.
Crockett claims the small group of Republicans, led by Congressman Matt Gaetz from Florida, who took down McCarthy don’t even want to govern.
She argues the only way for any Republican to be successful in the future is if they actually ask Democrats for help.
“The idea that we were supposed to save Kevin McCarthy and he didn’t even pick up the phone and say ‘hey, can you save me?’ that’s absolutely ludicrous,” she said.
And the congressional chaos is reigniting fears that the federal government may shut down next month.
Lawmakers passed a 45-day stopgap funding bill at the last possible moment to keep the government running until Nov. 17.
“I said the government would shut down before. I believe the government will shut down again,” said Crockett. “I still have my buttons that say no government shutdown, no republican government shutdown. I have not thrown those buttons away because I think that they are going to be necessary.”