Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) blasted Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and the House Republican Conference, whom she said “have been unable to govern” since they took control of the lower chamber of Congress last year.
The Washington congresswoman appeared Saturday on MSNBC’s The Weekend to comment on the lack of action on pressing matters such as border security and Ukraine aid.
“I’ve been saying for over a year that this is Republicans in ruin, and you know, they have been unable to govern,” Jayapal said. “We had three weeks without a speaker. Kevin McCarthy kind of sold out the whole notion of governing when he first said one member of the Republican caucus can get rid of him as speaker if they don’t like what he’s doing.”
Jayapal noted that Johnson is suffering from the same ailment as his predecessor — voting on legislation that Democrats support could cost him the speakership.
“It’s the same menu, different waiter,” Jayapal said.
Johnson could bring the Ukraine aid bill passed by the Senate this week to the House floor, but plenty of Republicans have voted against Ukraine aid in the past, and many do not support the bill because it does not contain any border security provisions. He previously said he would “certainly oppose it.”
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Following the death of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny on Friday, however, Johnson said the United States and its partners must use “every means available to cut off [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s ability to fund his unprovoked war in Ukraine.” It is not clear if that means bringing the $95 billion legislation to a vote.
“This is a real challenge for us in a time when we desperately need a functioning Congress, and Republicans are continuing to be in ruin,” Jayapal said.
