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Chaffetz Slams GOP, Says They've Lost All Credibility on This Issue

Leah Barkoukis
Leah Barkoukis  |  February 09, 2018 2:51 PM

Former Congressman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) slammed the Republican Party Friday for agreeing to the $400 billion budget deal to avoid a government shutdown. 

“Republicans have lost every single bit of credibility on the idea that they care at all about debts and deficits,” he said on Fox Business’s “Mornings with Maria.”

"They can talk all they want, but when they had the chance to do it, they caved and they spent so much money it's stunning," Chaffetz told host Maria Bartiromo. 

The measure passed the Senate by a vote of 71-28 early Friday morning and was later approved in the House 240-186.

Not all Republicans were on board, however. Fiscal hawks in the House Freedom Caucus as well as Sen. Rand Paul, who sought to delay the bill by demanding a vote on his amendment to restore the budget caps, were opposed to the deal.

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The 652-page measure includes roughly $300 billion in additional funds for military and nonmilitary programs over the next two years, nearly $90 billion in disaster relief, a higher statutory debt ceiling, $3 billion to tackle the opioid epidemic, $10 billion on infrastructure, $2 billion on higher education, $2.9 billion on childcare, and much, much more.

After President Trump signed the bill into law he said Republicans were “forced to increase spending” on many items they did not want to and the only way to remedy the situation is by getting more Republicans elected to Congress.