Republican South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace called out Democratic New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries moments after he said on ABC’s “This Week” that there is a civil war in the Republican party.
ABC’s Jonathan Karl asked Jeffries about the Republican-led impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden, with Jeffries arguing Republicans are playing politics rather than focusing on issues.
“Let’s be clear, house Republicans are in middle of a civil war. Civil War has the following attributes, chaos, dysfunction and extremism, the house Republican Civil War is hurting hard-working American taxpayers and limiting our ability to be able to solve problems on their behalf,” Jeffries argued, adding Democrats would “try and find common ground” with Republicans and their colleagues to “end the partisan, political gamesmanship that has captured house Republicans.”
He later said the inquiry is a “product of the House Republicans’ Civil War.” (RELATED: ‘Everything’s On The Table’: Nancy Mace Won’t Rule Out Ousting McCarthy)
Mace was interviewed minutes later and called Jeffries out for his claim.
“You heard him say ‘Republican Civil War,’ it kind of looks that way in the House, how is McCarthy doing this? Does he have the confidence of Republicans in the House?” Karl asked.
“I mean using the phrase ‘Civil War’ over and over again in an interview, if that were a Republican, there would be outrage on the left, so I find it a little hypocritical that that is the divisive language that he used in his interview, and talking about people over politics, if Democrats and quite frankly Republicans wanted to put people over politics they would not have joined hands earlier this year to add $18.8 trillion to the debt which is saddling middle-America, the debt ceiling deal,” Mace fired back.
Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz has sparred with McCarthy, recently threatening to file a motion to vacate the chair if the Speaker does not adhere to a list of demands, such as a balanced budget, term limits and pressing full steam ahead on an impeachment inquiry into the president.