Republican whip of the House Tom Emmer fired back Monday at accusations from the White House that the GOP is working to “defund” the military amid a behind-the-scenes debate over the level of defense spending.
Republicans are arguing over whether defense spending cuts are needed for the new 118th Congress led by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Part of the reported deal between McCarthy and the GOP defectors, who refused to back his bid as speaker, was for fiscal year 2024 discretionary spending to be capped at FY 2022 levels for the next 10 years would.
Additionally, incoming House Judiciary Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan said R-Ohio that “everything” needs to be on the table to cut government spending, including the Department of Defense, while other Republicans said military funding shouldn’t be touched .
The White House seized on Republicans’ disagreement in a statement to Fox News Digital on Monday, in which a spokesman accused Republicans of pushing to “defund” the US military.
PROPOSED DEFENSE CUTS STIMP INTERNAL REPUBLICAN DISPUTES
Republican whip of the House Tom Emmer is firing back at White House allegations that the GOP is working to “defund” the military. (CQ Appeal/File)
“This attempt to disappoint our military in the name of politics is pointless and does not meet our national security needs,” said White House spokesman Andrew Bates.
“There is bipartisan opposition to defense cuts because to make us less able to keep the American people safe and advance our national security interests would be a grave mistake that our nation cannot afford,” he continued .
New GOP whip Emmer questioned the White House’s assessment of internal Republican politics, saying the Biden administration was “peddling lies” to distract from upcoming investigations.
“The Biden administration is spreading lies in fear that House Republicans will soon blame them for the bloated bureaucracy and reckless spending that have built up under single-party Democratic rule,” said Emmer, R-Minn. , in a statement to Fox News Digital.
Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images/File)
JORDAN SAYS CUTS IN MILITARY SPENDING SHOULD BE ‘ON THE TABLE’ AS THE MONEY SHOULD NOT GO TO ‘WAKE POLICY’
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said over the weekend that defense spending cuts “were never discussed” during GOP talks with McCarthy, R-Calif., on speakership and said Republicans are trying to pledge to the Pentagon cutting is a lie.”
McCarthy’s agreement to cut spending to 2022 levels is not included in the rules package and exists as a separate concession he made to Republicans on his way to becoming Speaker of the House.
Emmer predicted on Fox & Friends earlier Monday that GOP members who are upset about voting for the rules package will eventually “come around” when “they realize that the things they want to talk about are in contained in this separate agreement”.
President Joe Biden, right, shakes hands with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott after Abbott presented him with a border letter Sunday, January 8, 2023, at El Paso International Airport in El Paso, Texas. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
“And the argument is that that would affect defense spending, and I’m here to tell you guys Republicans aren’t going to affect defense spending,” Emmer said. “Aside from efficiency and waste, it’s domestic spending that we will be pursuing.”
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The first action of the House on Monday under McCarthy will be to vote on the rules package, which will require the support of 218 lawmakers to pass.
Kelly Laco is the politics editor at Fox News Digital.