Outgoing Indiana Republican Victoria Spartz took aim at her GOP colleagues Monday, accusing them of "gamesmanship and circus" over the stopgap bill they're trying to get through the House while blasting House Speaker Kevin McCarthy for his lack of leadership.
Spartz, who announced in February that she would not seek reelection, made the comments in a statement posted to X on Monday afternoon, a scathing rebuke to the continuing resolution a GOP coalition unveiled Sunday night.
House leadership is trying to push the C.R. through a divided conference to avoid a government shutdown come Oct. 1.
"Unfortunately, real leadership takes courage and willingness to fight for the country, not for power and a picture on a wall," Spartz wrote in the statement. "The Republican House is failing the American people again and pursuing a path of gamesmanship and circus. Neither Republicans nor Democrats have the backbone to challenge the corrupt swamp that is bankrupting our children and grandchildren."
McCarthy is stuck between trying to avoid a shutdown and facing a motion to vacate by hardliners in his own party.
"It is a shame that our weak Speaker cannot even commit to having a commission to discuss our looming fiscal catastrophe. Our founding fathers would be rolling over in their graves to see how this institution is betraying our Republic for personal political ambitions and our children will be ashamed of another worthless Congress."
The C.R. was negotiated by the House Freedom Caucus and the Main Street Caucus. It was designed to appeal to hardliners through a 1% cut to last year's spending level and the inclusion of a border bill passed by the House in May, which would block federal dollars from being used by the Biden administration to transport illegal migrants while they wait for their asylum hearings.
However, The Hill reports that there aren't enough GOP votes to pass it in the House, forget the fact that it would be dead on arrival in the Senate even if House Republicans could come together on their slim majority.