The White House responded to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s epic eight-hour floor speech that temporarily delayed passage of the Build Back Better Act, criticizing him for omitting references to the bill’s more popular provisions.
When asked about it, White House press secretary Jen Psaki mentioned a few highlights of McCarthy’s talkathon before plugging some of the legislation’s biggest programs.
“What he did not talk about was cutting the cost of child care, cutting the cost of elder care, what we were going to do around the country to bring more women into the workforce, to protect our climate for generations to come,” Psaki said on Friday. “That, in our view, tells you all you need to know about Kevin McCarthy’s agenda and what he supports.”
FIVE MEMORABLE MOMENTS FROM MCCARTHY’S EIGHT-HOUR HOUSE FLOOR SPEECH
The House passed the $1.85 trillion Build Back Better bill on Friday morning along party lines, but not before McCarthy spent more than eight hours delaying the vote and setting a new record for the longest consecutive House speech in modern history.
“Kevin McCarthy said a lot of words — a lot of words, I just want to emphasize that — over the course of 8 1/2 hours,” she said. “For those of you who didn’t watch all of it, he shared his wish that he could have been in Tiananmen Square, he mused about whether or not Abraham Lincoln was actually assassinated, he shared his thought or dream, I’m not sure, about picturing America in a swim meet after World War II against every other country.”
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Though the speech only delayed the inevitable vote of approval, McCarthy made headlines with comments lasting eight hours and 32 minutes, including statements about baby carrots, gas prices, and how he can “look anywhere I want.”
