The escalating fight between the White House and Congress over how much money to dedicate to combat the Zika virus led White House spokesman Josh Earnest on Wednesday to question why Republicans want to control Congress at all.
House Republicans have complained that the administration isn’t providing enough details about its $1.9 billion plan. In countering their criticism, Earnest said House Republicans, in particular, would rather “throw sand in the gears” than lead.
“This is not that complicated,” Earnest said. “It’s a pretty straightforward policy decision” yet, Republicans are “still throwing sand in the gears” of government, despite being in charge of the legislative branch, he said.
“It raises questions, frankly, about why they chose to run in the first place,” he said, noting their intransigence on other issues, such as passing legislation to help Puerto Rico restructure its debt to stave off insolvency.
