Lawrence O’Donnell ripped congressional Republicans Tuesday night over their conduct during the ongoing government shutdown, which is expected to surpass the 30-day mark this week. He specifically mentioned how many vacations right-wing politicians have taken during the impasse.
Initially, O’Donnell directed his ire at House Speaker Mike Johnson and the “vacation” he allowed Republicans to take during the shutdown. “House Speaker Mike Johnson has rewarded House Republicans for shutting down the government by giving them a permanent paid vacation that is now in its sixth week and could last for months,” O’Donnell said on Tuesday’s “The Last Word.”
“Johnson sent them on vacation more than a week before the government shutdown,” the MSNBC host explained. Notably, he is not the only prominent public figure who has criticized Republicans for taking a “vacation” during the shutdown. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries also condemned some of his Republican counterparts for not working around the clock to resolve the shutdown.
“They’ve had more vacations this year than most Americans have in three years,” O’Donnell lamented. “Republican members of the House have not worked a day since Mike Johnson led them to shut down the government.” You can watch the entire “Last Word” segment for yourself in the video below.
In the second half of the segment, O’Donnell expanded his disdain to include President Trump. The “Last Word” host criticized Trump and Republicans for not ending the shutdown in time to prevent Americans’ SNAP benefits from running out.
“After starting the year by allowing the richest person in the world, Elon Musk, to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development, thereby taking away the American food supply from hungry children in the midst of famine in Africa,” O’Donnell recalled, “Republicans have (now) chosen to bring home the spirit of that policy and take food away from children who rely on those food stamp benefits.”
“40% of the people fed by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program are children,” O’Donnell concluded. “We are now on the verge, for the first time in the 21st century, of millions of people in America and children in America actually knowing what it feels like to starve. The Republicans did this.”
The post Lawrence O’Donnell criticizes Republicans for taking more vacations during lockdown than ‘most Americans in 3 years’ | The video first appeared on TheWrap.