California Republican: Conservatives who blocked Pentagon funding bill are ‘enabling’ China’s Xi

Rep. Mike Garcia (R-Calif.) said Tuesday that conservative House members who blocked a procedural vote on a Pentagon funding bill were in effect “enabling” Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Ta.

“What we saw with these five people is that they have a list of currently enabling President Xi,” Garcia told reporters Tuesday after a disappointing rules vote in which five Republicans voted in favor. “In effect, we are adding our name to it.” Democrats sink the rules.

Mr. Garcia, a former Navy fighter pilot, noted that President Xi “looks at this with relief that he couldn’t just deliver this Pentagon package.”

“The Republican Party is literally the only thing between this reckless administration and the well-being of our troops. So these five people who have decided to put their personal objectives above the basic requirements of our military. “It is very frustrating to us that we were not able to bring this package to a floor vote because of this person,” he added.

Early Tuesday, Republican Sens. Dan Bishop (North Carolina), Ralph Norman (South Carolina), Andy Biggs (Arizona), Matt Rosendale (Montena), and Ken Buck (Colorado) ) voted against the rule, preventing it from being considered in the House. Introducing a bill on the floor of the House – This is a necessary step before the House votes on the bill itself.

Lawmakers who voted against the rule were primarily frustrated by the fact that the totals for all 12 spending bills were not yet visible, and one funding bill (in this case, the Defense Department bill) had no votes. He insisted he didn’t want to. Without looking at the whole price tag. They claim to have made their position clear for months.

Garcia told reporters alongside military veterans that the vote was a “victory” for China, but said he was confident member states would ultimately find a way to overcome the setback. .

“I think they’re good Americans, but they’re confused, and with this vote, they just handed victory to the Chinese Communist Party,” Garcia said of the five members of Congress who voted against the rule. said. “And we’re going to do everything we can to keep people at the table and get people back in line.”

“I think our party’s conference will ultimately resolve this, and we’re going to win this,” Garcia added. “But this is not us versus the Democrats. This is not left versus right. This is about our national security, and the United States is out of step with a very real bear, China, who is outside the tent.” It’s matching.”