Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) raised objections Friday to part of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s “Commitment to America” agenda.
The Florida congressman believes the federal government should not be involved with funding local law enforcement, which is a bullet point in McCarthy’s agenda.
California cop policies seem anathema to Gaetz, who has rejected Speaker Pelosi’s calls for defunding police and Minority Leader McCarthy’s steps towards federalization of law enforcement.
The Daily Caller further reported:
Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz slammed House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s “Commitment to America” agenda in an exclusive interview with the Daily Caller on Friday, focusing specifically on one bullet point that suggests the GOP should subsidize the hiring of 200,000 new police officers through recruitment bonuses.
McCarthy presented his “Commitment to America” agenda to the House GOP conference on Thursday, laying out a series of priorities for Republicans to pursue if they retake the House in 2022.
“So if you see, like, the third bullet point in whatever this is suggests that the federal government needs to fund incentives for 200,000 new law enforcement. I do not believe in the federal government being excessively entangled in state and local law enforcement. It is not practical,” Gaetz told the Caller.
Gaetz also suggested that McCarthy may have gotten the idea from ex-GOP pollster and communications consultant Frank Luntz, noting that McCarthy rented a room in Washington, D.C., from Luntz and called him his “roommate.”
“It is unsound constitutionally. And it is disappointing to see something that doesn’t align with traditional Republican principles on federalism emerging out of some, you know, poll tested focus groups from the roommate of the minority leader,” Gaetz said.
McCarthy’s agenda is a roadmap of what he thinks the GOP should focus on in 2023 and includes policies to fight inflation, make America energy independent, secure the border, reduce crime and more. McCarthy told the Caller on Thursday that his plan is “a promise to the American people to fight for an economy that’s strong, a nation that’s safe, a future that’s built on freedom, and a government that’s finally held accountable.”
“Publicly, the day the minority leader released his palm card calling for excessive federal involvement in local law enforcement, I stood on the floor and lambasted federal involvement in local law enforcement,” Gaetz added. “And what I’m telling you on the record is I’m against the federal government utilizing money as a way to impact behavior at the local level in the public safety space, and I’m against it whether Californian Nancy Pelosi pushes it or whether Californian Kevin McCarthy pushes it.”
McCarthy’s office did not immediately respond to the Caller’s inquiries about Gaetz’s comments.
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