Where is the Gop?

Floor Speech

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Mr. GALLEGO. Mr. Speaker, it is an honor to follow Mr. Rush, who was my Congressman growing up all through high school and actually in elementary school.

Mr. Speaker, at this very moment, House Republicans are racing out of Washington. Families are being torn apart; children are being ripped from the arms of their mothers; and women who have fled horrific violence are being deported back to their abusers. Yet my Republican colleagues are nowhere to be found.

Where are they, Mr. Speaker?

House Republicans are fleeing the scene of an accident. They are running from the shame and embarrassment of yesterday's vote on the GOP immigration bill. They are headed for the exits while thousands of kids cry in cages at our borders tonight.

That is right, with the world watching and with a humanitarian crisis unfolding right here in America, Speaker Ryan and the House Republicans simply just gave up and went home.

The other party fought for weeks behind closed doors. They traded accusations and insults, many of which were quickly leaked to the press. Yesterday, they finally put an immigration bill on the House floor, and it failed by the largest margin in recent memory.

But instead of allowing a vote on a true compromise, like the Aguilar-Hurd legislation, Speaker Ryan and his leadership team decided to call it quits. They chose to put their fingers in their ears while thousands of kids are crying out for their mothers.

Mr. Speaker, 121-301. That was the vote yesterday, and 121-301 tells the story of a Republican Conference in crisis. When he officially retires, 121-301 should be in the first line of any story written about Paul Ryan's speakership.

If Republicans aren't interested in governing, they should at least step aside and let Democrats take over. If Speaker Ryan isn't interested in actually solving problems, he should get an early start on his retirement, because right now, it sure looks like House Republicans are more interested in fighting each other than fighting for the American people.

Mr. Speaker, we have been hearing a lot about civility as of late. Republicans are upset that Members of this body have said mean things about the President. Republicans whine on FOX News about the White House press secretary being turned away from a restaurant. Republicans writing in the opinion pages are wringing their hands about the deterioration of our public discourse. Give me a break already.

Isn't it time that we worried less about the lack of civility in our politics and more about the lack of humanity in our government?

Here is all I ask: When my Republic colleagues are enjoying their fireworks and barbecues with their loved ones next week, I hope they will spare a thought for the mothers separated from their loved ones because of Donald Trump's outrageous cruelty. And I hope, just for a minute, that my Republican friends will pause and think about their own responsibility for this tragedy.

I hope, just for a moment, that they will stop to wonder what future generations of Americans will say about the leaders of today who opted for silence or civility in the face of so much human suffering.

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