Michael Steele, former chair of the Republican National Committee, tore into Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) for insisting she wouldn’t vote to raise the debt limit.
The Treasury Department needs Congress to raise that limit so it can borrow money to pay off the country’s obligations. Democrats want a “clean” bill, increasing that limit with no strings attached, but Greene and other Republicans say they want major spending cuts in return.
“I for one will not sign a clean bill raising the debt limit,” Greene insisted during a Fox News interview.
House members do not “sign” bills, as MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle pointed out on Wednesday night, causing Steele to erupt.
“She doesn’t know what the hell she’s talking about,” he said in disbelief as Ruhle did a face-palm. “This woman has no clue.”
Steele took Greene to school:
“If you understand how this works, Marjorie, then you know that this is about bills that have already been created, not new spending. So this is not a spending question. This is just paying the damn credit card of the country for the $8 trillion your president ran up between 2016 and 2020. So stop with the stupid.”
Steele called the refusal by Greene and others to raise the limit “Kevin’s problem,” referring to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).
“He’s gotta figure it out,” he said.
See the full discussion, which also includes former Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate in Kentucky Amy McGrath, below: