Counterpoint from Rep. Betty McCollum: GOP has only self to blame for House madness

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In "Dems share blame for mess in the House" (Oct. 7), former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg argued that Democrats should do more to help save Republicans from their "descent into dysfunction and extremism." While I share Bloomberg's grave concern about the impact of this Republican chaos on our nation, he perpetuates a myth that Democrats can save Republicans from their current House leadership crisis — one of many the GOP have created during their short time in the majority.

On Oct. 3, when a Republican member of Congress introduced a motion to vacate the office of the speaker, I voted yes, and here's why.

Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy never once asked for my vote, much less offered to listen to the priorities of the Minnesotans I represent. To the contrary, he systematically silenced and disparaged my constituents and more than 160 million Americans who are represented by Democrats in Congress. The speaker of the House has a responsibility to govern for all Americans. How could I have voted to enable the madness and chaos that have consumed the U.S. House since January?

Only a handful of votes separate the number of Republicans and Democrats in the House. Yet Republicans cite an oath to a made-up "Hastert Rule" named for the disgraced former Republican speaker — wherein a "majority of the majority" get to force their extreme agenda onto the American people.

Former Speaker McCarthy swore allegiance to Donald Trump and extreme MAGA Republicans even before assuming the speakership, when he voted against certifying the Electoral College vote on Jan. 6, 2021, and as minority leader he actively worked to discredit the committee investigating the attack on our Capitol. Following his election for speaker, which took 15 ballots, his failure to govern included pursuing baseless attacks against President Joe Biden and betraying his word by appeasing the most radical members of his party, with their extreme anti-women and anti-LGBT agenda.

The chaos and crisis gripping the House is about the Republicans' own internal war. As the majority in the House, they must figure out how to pass their own bills. If their agenda is so extreme that they cannot pass it with Republican votes, they must recognize that they lack a working majority. It is their responsibility to reach out to Democrats to forge a bipartisan path forward that reflects the will and the values of the American people.

Let me be clear: Democrats stand united. Twice, when Republicans led the nation to crisis, House Democrats stood up to be the adults in the room: to pass both the Fiscal Responsibility Act to avoid a catastrophic default, and the Continuing Resolution to keep the government open — both times to spare Americans and our economy devastating consequences. Each time, the former speaker maligned both Democrats and the very institution he led.

The Fiscal Responsibility Act was McCarthy's own deal, negotiated with President Biden and passed by Congress. After it became law, McCarthy promptly broke his word: Instead of doing the serious work of moving bipartisan funding bills, he pursued devastating cuts to services Americans rely on. They slashed investments in keeping people and our planet healthy — all while loading up their appropriations bills with toxic culture war provisions.

And when McCarthy couldn't move these extreme bills with his majority, he held up passing a bipartisan temporary funding deal and instead tried and failed to advance an extreme bill to cut 30% overall federal funding, including a 74% cut to the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) — cuts that would have literally left Minnesota families in the cold. McCarthy's repeated inability to bring his majority together led to the government shutdown crisis on Sept. 30.

Democrats once again stepped up to fulfill our responsibility to pass a clean continuing resolution to avoid a government shutdown. In the end, 90 Republican members voted against the continuing resolution. Without Democratic votes, the government would have shut down. Now, with just over a month of temporary funding left, and with the threat of war in the Middle East, the clock is ticking for Republicans to get their house in order and do the serious work of governing.

This latest Republican crisis is about their own failed leadership. As speaker, McCarthy denigrated the institution, lied about his commitment to a bipartisan funding agreement, and then ignored or blamed Democrats for coming to his rescue. This madness cannot continue. The American people deserve better. Democrats will always put our nation's families and communities first.

Betty McCollum, a Democrat, represents Minnesota's Fourth Congressional District in the U.S. House.