A Democrat yelled “your bills are racist!” while Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) spoke in the House chamber on Thursday.
The moment happened after the GOP-led House passed the first of 12 annual appropriations bills, as reported by The Hill, and Scalise announced the lower chamber would be heading into summer recess at the end of the day.
During a back-and-forth with House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA), Scalise got interrupted by someone who shouted, “Your bills are racist!”
As Rep. @SteveScalise speaks, @RepCori Bush yells in House chamber: "Your bills are racist!" pic.twitter.com/JNxh9lfL8M
— CSPAN (@cspan) July 27, 2023
The chamber quickly erupted with a chorus of boos and calls for the House to get back to order. It was pointed out by multiple news outlets that Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) was the one who shouted.
Bush owned up to the disruption with an unapologetic post to X, saying, “I said what I said,” along with shrugging emoji.
I said what I said 🤷🏾♀️ https://t.co/ZTjfUfJ24K
— Congresswoman Cori Bush (@RepCori) July 27, 2023
Clark went on to speak about the effort to pass spending legislation.
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“We hope that you will say no to extremism, to hatred, to bigotry that is put into these appropriation bills, and say yes to solutions and fairness for the American people and to build an economy where they can see themselves,” she said in her remarks.
WATCH: U.S. House colloquy between @SteveScalise and @WhipKClark as members prepare to depart for August recess. pic.twitter.com/uU5kdDo3WO
— CSPAN (@cspan) July 27, 2023
The House approved by a 219-211 vote a spending bill to fund military construction, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and related agencies in fiscal year 2024. The tally was virtually on party lines, although two Republicans voted against the measure.
“Every single House Democrat just voted AGAINST funding the Veterans Affairs Department and veterans’ benefits,” Scalise said in a post to X. “Thankfully Republicans were there to pass the bill to fully fund the VA and give our veterans the benefits they deserve.”
The House’s summer recess is poised to last for six weeks, unless leadership calls members back to Capitol Hill sooner. When lawmakers return, they will be hard-pressed to pass remaining spending legislation — particularly bills that the Democrat-led Senate will accept — as the end of the fiscal year is the last day of September.
If there is a failure to reach an agreement in the appropriations process, federal employees may be staring down the prospect of a government shutdown.