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Politics April 13,2024 | Independence Journal Editorial Team

McGovern: House GOP ‘Most Ineffective, Incompetent Majority’ In US History

As Republican lawmakers continue infighting, Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) has pointed out that the House Republicans are the “most ineffective, incompetent majority” in U.S. history.

While McGovern is a Democrat, it is safe to say that the vast majority of conservative voters agree with his sentiment — though they may disagree with the reasoning behind his comments.

During a House Rules Committee meeting on Thursday, where lawmakers were discussing four pieces of important legislation, McGovern stated: “This is the most ineffective, incompetent majority, I think, in American history. Full stop. It has been nearly an entire year, an entire year almost, since anything that we have done in the Rules Committee has gone to the president’s desk.”

“And the last time it did happen, it was with Democratic votes,” the ranking member of the Rules Committee added.

“Republicans have tried and failed to pass their own rules seven times this Congress. Seven times. This House has been stuck at a standstill because of their infighting. And Republicans have done it seven times. One or two, three times, maybe that’s just incompetence,” McGovern continued. By “rules,” the Democrat congressman is referring to resolutions that the House must pass before debating legislation — as the rules set the parameters for the debate, including how long the debate can be and whether amendments are allowed.

“But seven? Seven is a disaster. Seven is paralysis. It means weeks and weeks of sitting around doing nothing because Republicans can’t get their house in order and do their job,” he argued.

One of the measures being considered during the House Rules Committee meeting was the reauthorization of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). Currently, conservatives are at odds with the establishment Republicans and Democrats over FISA — as they want to include protections to prevent warrantless spying on American citizens, while RINOs and Democrats are perfectly fine with Americans being spied on.

The Republican majority has been notoriously ineffective throughout this session of Congress, as they have repeatedly compromised with Democrats. As the majority, there should be no need for House Republicans to “compromise” by pushing through bills that are opposed by the vast majority of conservative voters. Democrats would never do the same if they were in the majority. Nearly every Democrat would march in lockstep with leadership to push through their priorities regardless of Republican pushback — but the GOP would never do the same.

One major example is the expulsion of Rep. George Santos (R-NY) from Congress without due process. Republicans willingly diminished their majority in the House before Santos could even face a trial for his supposed crimes. Meanwhile, Democrats won’t even attempt to push out Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) when it is clear he has committed bribery or Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY)

when he was caught on camera pulling a fire alarm to stall a vote.

While the Republican Party under former president and presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump has been moving toward a more populist, America First agenda, the establishment within the party has refused to budge on its pro-war, pro-big government ideals. Meanwhile, Democrats have willingly moved forward with their party’s lurch leftward — with even President Joe Biden pushing far-left talking points.

The ineffectiveness and incompetence of the Republican Party could be viewed through two lenses — the establishment GOP’s refusal to listen to conservative voters, or the “insurgent” America First movement’s takeover of the party and refusal to continue with the status quo. Either way, McGovern is right — the party is ineffective and incompetent, failing to come together to do what is necessary to make America better.

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