Members of Congress react to McCarthy winning House Speaker

“I am looking forward to finally beginning the 118^th Congress and getting to work on behalf of Virginia’s Third Congressional District and the American people.

“The dysfunction on display this week stands in stark contrast to the 117^th Congress, which was one of the most productive congresses in the modern era. Congressional Democrats passed the American Rescue Plan to put the pandemic behind us and to jumpstart our economic recovery, which has led to two record years of job growth under President Biden. We also passed the Inflation Reduction Act to cut the cost of health care and prescription drugs while also making the largest federal investment to date in combatting the climate crisis. We also worked across the aisle with Republicans to enact the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law – a once-in-a-generation investment in America’s roads, bridges, airports, ports, waterlines and rural broadband. We also worked in a bipartisan way to bring manufacturing jobs back to America with the CHIPS and Science Act, and we secured bipartisan support to reform the United States Postal Service and codify federal protections for same-sex and interracial marriages. We even got bipartisan support to pass the first federal gun safety legislation in three decades.

“I can only hope that this week’s chaos is not a forecast of how this Congress will proceed. I am grateful we can all finally move on to the people’s business.”

While our democracy can at times be difficult, it is by far the best form of representative government. Now moving forward, we will begin our work to deliver results for the American people. We will now address the onslaught of self-inflicted crises brought on by the Biden Administration and House Democrats. After two years of wasteful spending, record prices, pain at the pump, and a tragic southern border crisis, Republicans are united in tackling these issues and ending one-party rule.