On "Forbes Newsroom," Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL) discussed the "massive divide" between House Republicans on spending and Speaker Johnson.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 Former President Donald Trump said this about Speaker Johnson, quote, "We have a majority of one, okay?
00:06 It's not like he can go and do whatever he wants to do."
00:09 What do you think of his take?
00:10 I mean, I think that he holds the exact same sentiments.
00:13 And I think President Trump had actually seen a podcast that I did with Representative Gates on his show Firebrand,
00:21 where we actually discussed this.
00:23 And again, you know, I wouldn't put it past some of my colleagues who are making only $175,000 a year
00:28 to say, "Maybe a lobbying position looks good at maybe double or triple that amount.
00:33 Maybe I should resign early," in an effort to, I think, further their own careers doing something that's not exactly good for the American people.
00:41 It feels like there's a fracture in the Republican Party right now, especially when it comes into the House.
00:47 Those who voted for the aid package, saying they have confidence in Mike Johnson's leadership,
00:53 they think he really was a leader.
00:55 And then the camp that you were in, where you feel almost like he sold you out a bit here.
01:00 Do you feel that divide in conversations with your colleagues?
01:05 I think that there is a massive divide, but I don't think it just stops with the foreign aid packages.
01:10 I think that it's a fundamental ideology that's really, I think, infiltrating, taking over the GOP right now.
01:16 So you have people like myself who are not from Washington, we're not career politicians,
01:21 and we're not individuals who are funded by special interests.
01:23 And then you have my other colleagues who are essentially the lobbyist mouthpiece that will basically advocate for special interests that ultimately hurt the American people.
01:33 And when you have individuals that are saying that Johnson is really doing great by sending billions of dollars to Ukraine,
01:41 and yet we have some of the highest inflation ever reported, the economy's in the crapper right now, excuse my language.
01:48 And then you have, you know, let's take, for example, issues of student loans or the fact that there's veteran homelessness.
01:53 All these issues, and yet they're still finding reasons and ways to advocate for Ukraine funding.
01:58 Meanwhile, lying to the American people. I mean, take Taiwan, for example.
02:01 They said that that funding would go to Taiwan, right? Wrong.
02:04 They wrote in a loophole to where they could actually allocate all of that funding we're giving to Taiwan to Ukraine.
02:09 So I think that it's just a disingenuous and dishonest argument.
02:13 But I will also say this, that we're seeing a number, I think a record number of resignations and/or retirements this cycle from people who would be considered more establishment.
02:22 And the general consensus is that President Trump is going to be going back into the White House in 2024.
02:28 And I think as a result of that, you're seeing this new wave of candidates kind of come into Washington, but then also to take over the GOP.
02:36 And I think that that's needed. So what the American people are seeing is growing pains right now.
02:40 I think that this issue predates my time in Congress.
02:43 I think there was a lot of bad blood, probably going back to maybe about 10 years of grudges and people that have had personal vendettas among each other in Washington.
02:52 And like I told the American people, you know, last week, tempers were pretty flaring.
02:57 And I think the best thing that the speaker could have done was sent people home, but they didn't want to send people home.
03:01 They wanted to keep them in Washington. I think that that's part of the problem. Too much time in Washington.
03:06 Where do you think the Republican Party goes from here? Because you're saying these problems are a decade old.
03:12 So what do conversations look like? And then where do you see it going? Because we're in an election year right now.
03:18 Yeah. So I think right now, again, you're seeing a lot of these more establishment individuals not seeking re-election.
03:26 And I think that that's an opportunity for the more populist candidate to get in and ultimately a member of Congress that advocates on behalf of the American people.
03:34 So I think that you're seeing a change really occur within the GOP.
03:39 But I do think that moving forward, you know, we have to get people into office that are going to look at what's best for the American people and not what's best for a corporation and or for other countries, because we are basically hemorrhaging cash.
03:54 Right. A lot of people my age and your age, we can't afford to buy homes right now because of what's happening with interest rate.
04:01 Inflation's at an all time high. And I think a lot of people understand that even just four years ago, the economy was a lot better and more affordable.
04:08 And so when you're seeing people advocate for all of these things that are best for Washington, just understand that they're not good for the rest of the country.
04:16 And I think that it shows that especially with this foreign aid package, that you had more Democrats voting for it than Republicans.
04:22 And so if Speaker Johnson really was advocating for the American people, why is it that Democrats were pushing it, that there was massive, I believe that they got earmarks in exchange for this.
04:32 And then yet the American people are kind of left, you know, holding holding the receipt for all of this and really picking up the check.
04:39 And that's that's simply not acceptable.