GOP lawmaker gets upset after Maxine Waters turns the tables on House hearing
The House Rules Committee hearing denouncing socialism was upended when longtime Representative Maxine Waters (D-CA) redirected a series of questions from Representative Nick Langworthy (R-NY) about the prevalence and adoption of socialism in the United States.
“We will not have cradle-to-grave dependency,” Langworthy said at the hearing. “This country is not going to be all things to all people. We can’t create the expectation that government is all things to all people. ”
Langworthy then put his questions to Waters, who was testifying as a witness at the hearing.
“Do you agree with Donald Trump’s 2019 State of the Union statement that America will never be a socialist country,” Langworthy asked Waters.
Waters then took control of the dialogue, first referring to the high level of debt spending that has occurred under the Trump administration, then questioning the validity of Langworthy and the Republican Party’s stance against socialism. Waters also spoke about the “myth of Democratic spending.”.
“There are industries [Republicans] support, and now you think they’re ripping people off,” Waters said.
Waters then asked Langworthy if he believed the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) was a socialist initiative, citing the number of Republicans in Congress who have taken funds from the PPP program. Langworthy stated that this was not a socialist initiative, as it was done during “an extraordinary period when we closed the government”.
Langworthy then repeated whether Waters agreed with Trump‘s 2019 State of the Union statement on socialism.
“President Trump said a lot of things,” Waters said. “He said he thought Hitler did some good things. For those of you who continue to embrace Trump and everything he has done and said, I reject all of it. Trump has proven to be someone who is in line with dictators, admires them and claims to love them, so I reject anything Trump has to say. ”
Waters then took the time to question the GOP’s position on socialism once again.
“Sometimes you like socialism, sometimes you act like you don’t,” said Waters.
Langworthy eventually yielded his time.
“We’re talking about things you don’t want to talk about,” Waters said to end the discussion.