Washington, D.C. – House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (CA-23) appeared on Fox News’ America’s Newsroom to discuss the House’s crackdown on sanctuary cities and why newly elected Representative Jimmy Gomez from California refuses to represent his constituents in Congress.
Excerpts from the interview are below, or watch online here.
On how we will get repeal and replace done:
“This is not the end. Remember in the House, we had set an internal deadline. And we didn’t make that deadline. But we worked together and we found the ability to come together and move it through. The same thing will happen in the Senate, and it has to because every day we learn of a new failure of Obamacare. Just this week we found the 19th co-op out of 23 has collapsed. And they were given $2 billion under Obamacare and they have just not been able to make it…. We can’t sit and watch people’s health deteriorate this way. We have to keep our promise, just as we did in the House. I expect the Senate to keep theirs and for us to get this done and move it through to the President’s desk.”
On the House’s crackdown on sanctuary cities
“We all know what happened to Kate Steinle, that she was murdered by an illegal individual that had come into this country, [was] arrested five times, multiple felonies, released. He then steals a gun, shoots, and kills Kate. That cannot happen again. What this bill will do will empower the ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] authorities, withhold some cities that think they become sanctuary cities, not abide by the laws of America. But even more importantly will allow the families to sue those municipalities if they want to break the law and not uphold the federal laws of America.”
On Leader McCarthy’s call for no-show Representative Jimmy Gomez to resign:
“[Jimmy Gomez] got elected more than three weeks ago. We’ve had other special elections just last week in South Carolina, then Karen Handel in Georgia. They got elected last week. They’re already sworn into Congress. I don’t know what’s going on with Mr. Gomez, but he is neglecting his own constituents…. He was in Sacramento working, because he is an assemblyman. He got elected as a Congressman. He should come here and work. And what’s interesting, he told the LA Times, or the press ahead of time that he wanted to stay to vote for cap-and-trade because the Democrats have a two-thirds majority there. They have already increased the gas tax on California citizens and now they want to increase it even higher? I think he is neglecting is job. Either he wants to be a member of Congress, or he should be honest with his constituents and we should elect somebody who wants to come here and work day one.”