'That's kinda rich': GOP lawmaker hits back at fellow Republican for dysfunction complaint

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) is unimpressed with the complaints from Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) about Congress being paralyzed by chaos and dysfunction as he moves to resign from his congressional seat.

Appearing on CNN Wednesday with Jake Tapper, Lawler pointed out that Buck, a longtime Freedom Caucus figure, was one of a small handful of lawmakers who voted to remove former Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) from the speakership, a move that divided the Republican Party even more than it had been and led to weeks of paralysis.

"It is the least productive Congress since the 1930s," said Tapper. "I've never seen it so dysfunctional. You have Ken Buck, Congressman Ken Buck quitting next week instead of even just sticking it out until the end of his term, he announced he was retiring because of how uncomfortable and awkward and dysfunctional it all is. You're not denying that?"

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"Well, respectfully, Ken Buck is one of the people that helped create some of the dysfunction by voting to remove Kevin McCarthy as Speaker of the House," said Lawler. "So that's kinda rich coming from him."

Lawler went on to defend the House GOP's record: "At the end of the day, we have passed a lot of bills through the House. I know a lot of times the focus is on the House. Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats who are in the majority down the hall have not passed much of anything. We have been focused on issues that impact the American people."

Notably, some analysts have suggested that Buck's early resignation is not just about congressional dysfunction, but to trigger a special election that would prevent Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) from carpetbagging into his seat. Boebert herself believes this is a possibility, blasting him as a "swampy" politician trying to "rig" the race against her.

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Mike Lawler slams Ken Buck for complaining about dysfunction youtu.be