GOP Rep. Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio called out President Trump on Twitter last night, saying “If @realDonaldTrump didn’t want money going to foreign countries, he shouldn’t have asked for it. 100% of the items he complained about last night were either a lie (i.e. illegals aren’t getting $1800) or things in HIS budget (all the foreign aid)”:
If @realDonaldTrump didn't want money going to foreign countries, he shouldn't have asked for it. 100% of the items he complained about last night were either a lie (i.e. illegals aren't getting $1800) or things in HIS budget (all the foreign aid).https://t.co/HE5WzCNFnx
— Anthony Gonzalez (@anthonygonzalez) December 24, 2020
Note: Rep. Gonzalez, a former Ohio State football star, isn’t some old guy on his way out the door. He was first elected in 2018:
Wow this is a young Republican congressman from Ohio throwing heat at Trump, not some older retiring Republican. https://t.co/HwRjQ1n6bq
— Henry J. Gomez (@HenryJGomez) December 24, 2020
And he questioned if throwing House Republicans under the bus at this late date is really his best strategy as he looks for allies on his voter fraud allegations:
Also, the @HouseGOP has stood by him for 4 years. If he thinks going on twitter and trashing the bill his team negotiated and we supported on his behalf is going to bring more people to his side in this election fiasco, I hope he's wrong, though I guess we'll see.
— Anthony Gonzalez (@anthonygonzalez) December 24, 2020
Rep. Gonzalez says people are confusing the Covid relief bill and the general spending bill, but. . .
Finally, people are conflating 2 things. The covid deal had none of the pork that is being discussed. It was, however, combined with the omnibus. The omni had tons of pork. Again, though, this was Trump's pork.
— Anthony Gonzalez (@anthonygonzalez) December 24, 2020
. . .as Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky notes, they were in the SAME bill:
I’ve seen a lot of people trying to argue that the omnibus and stimulus bills weren’t the same bill. They were IN the same bill. They were merged ON PURPOSE, not by mistake and not because it was quicker to vote that way.
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) December 24, 2020
Yes, it has backfired:
The swamp has been making bigger and bigger bills in an effort to force members to vote on them. A 5500+ page bill has something for everyone, and that’s the strategy. It backfired this time because they added too many things people didn’t want.
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) December 24, 2020
And we’ll agree with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: This is hostage-taking:
I didn’t vote for the bill but I respect the people who did vote for it.
We were given two bad choices. (1) Fund everything or
(2) Fund nothing.I hope my colleagues will be forthright and admit that this is legislative malpractice.
One bill should cover one topic not 1,000 !
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) December 24, 2020
***