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House Democrats facing tough re-elections in the upcoming midterm elections are refusing to say whether there are portions of the GOP’s newly released “Commitment to America” package that they would support.
The agenda places focus on efforts that are routinely touted within the Republican Party, including policies to combat inflation and illegal immigration, but it also features initiatives that Democrats have largely championed over the last decade, including the safety and strengthening of Social Security and Medicare, as well as the “production of reliable, cleaner, American-made energy.”
The outline of commitments, announced formally in a speech on Friday by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, represent how Republicans would govern should they retake the majority in the House or Senate in the November midterm elections. The general policy recommendations from the agenda are categorized into four broad categories titled “An Economy That’s Strong,” “A Nation That’s Safe,” “A Future That’s Built on Freedom,” and “A Government That’s Accountable.”
“We want an economy that is strong. That means you can fill up your tank. You can buy the groceries. You have enough money left over to go to Disneyland and save for a future — that the paychecks grow, they no longer shrink,” McCarthy said as he announced the Republican agenda, which included input from Republicans across the nation.
MCCARTHY, HOUSE REPUBLICANS HIGHLIGHT ECONOMY, EDUCATION IN ‘COMMITMENT TO AMERICA’ AGENDA
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., outlined the GOP’s “Commitment to America” plan in a speech on Friday. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
“We have a plan for a nation that’s safe,” he added. “That means your community will be protected, your law enforcement will be respected. Your criminals will be prosecuted. We believe in a future that’s built on freedom — that your children come first.”
Fox News Digital reached out to each of the 21 Democrats running for re-election in districts considered “toss-ups,” as well as “lean” and “likely Republican,” and asked them whether there are any tenets of the GOP agenda that they would be willing to support or potentially support. None of them responded.
Other portions of the agenda, which have received bipartisan support from many Americans, include the elimination of “wasteful government spending that is raising the price of groceries, gas, cars, and housing, and growing our national debt,” as well as efforts to “increase take-home pay, create good-paying jobs, and bring stability to the economy through pro-growth tax and deregulatory policies.”
In addition to the previously mentioned calls for American independence as it relates to the clean production of energy, the Republican agenda also aims to “move supply chains away from China, expand U.S. manufacturing, and enhance America’s economic competitiveness and cyber resiliency,” as well as “invest in an efficient, effective military, establish a Select Committee on China, and exercise peace through strength with our allies to counter increasing global threats.”
From left to right: Rep. Tom Malinowski, D-N.J., Rep. Cindy Axne, D-Iowa, Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-Pa., and Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich. (Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/LightRocket, Mark Kauzlarich/Bloomberg, Caroline Brehman/CQ-Roll Call, Inc., Zach Gibson)
The agenda follows the playbook of the “Contract With America” that helped former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., win a GOP majority in the 1990s.
Following the announcement of the agenda, several Democrats started their attacks on McCarthy’s plan, calling it an “extreme MAGA agenda” and a “political stunt.”
“House Republicans are doubling down on an extreme MAGA agenda: to criminalize women’s health care, to slash seniors’ Medicare (including with the repeal of the lower drug prices for seniors in the Inflation Reduction Act), and to attack our democracy,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., speaks during her weekly news conference on Capitol Hill September 22, 2022 in Washington, DC. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
Similarly, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), which works to elect Democrats to the House, said the GOP plan is a “political stunt.”
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“Republicans are mistaken if they think their political stunt less than 7 weeks before the election will be enough to distract voters from their toxic record,” DCCC spokesperson Chris Taylor said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
“While Democrats deliver critical investments, bring jobs back home from China, and fight to lower costs, Republicans stoke fear for power, obstruct popular legislation that will help everyday families, defend MAGA extremism, and push to ban abortion nationwide,” he added.
Fox News’ Tyler Olson contributed to this article.
