Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tenn., told Newsmax on Saturday that a new Republican majority in Congress must take back the "power of the purse" after the midterms to keep failing Democratic policies in check until a Republican returns to the White House in 2024.
Congress — particularly, the House of Representatives — is invested with the "power of the purse," the ability to tax and spend public money for the national government.
"Let's be optimistic. What [Republicans] will do ... we will win the House, and we will win the Senate because the American people are totally, and should be totally, disgusted with this administration at every level," Fleischmann said during an appearance on "Wake Up America" on Saturday.
"But when we take that back, we're going to have to block and tackle, and play defense, and use the power of the purse."
Fleischmann said that as a member of Congress in charge of approving funding, he and fellow Republicans need to devote spending to the southern border and keep Democrats from using federal dollars to fund their agenda until the next presidential election in 2024.
"What we're going to have to start doing is funding those things and be very direct. That will protect our border and making absolutely certain that we keep dollars out of the hands of this radical left-wing administration for the next two years," he said. "Elect a Republican president and get America back on track."
Fleischmann said the Biden administration has done nothing to increase security at the southern border and has actually thwarted efforts to make the situation there safer for Americans.
"This administration, from the top down, Joe Biden down, have engaged in policies from day one that have done everything to thwart a safe southern border," he said. "Whether it's technology, whether it's people, whether it's resources, whether it's, in fact, the law. I passed a bill as an appropriator that funded [former] President Trump's border wall. It is funded. It is the law. Joe Biden will not build it."
He said the legal reasoning behind the U.S. Supreme Court striking down the remain in Mexico policy was "reasonable" and in line with the Constitution.
"The legal reasoning was correct," Fleischmann said. "Out of respect for the executive branch, we've got to make sure in a constitutional republic, and we've seen this from the court, not only from Dobbs, but also with the EPA decision, we're seeing a restoration of our constitutional balance of powers, and I think that's a good thing. Sometimes we're going to get a result that we don't particularly care for."
Fleischmann said the main issue Americans need to pay attention to is the large number of illegal migrants coming across the border and the impact it is having on the region and the country.
"The American people need to know this: Millions of illegal immigrants want to come streaming across our border unaccounted for, and into our cities and towns, and communities," he said. "It's going to be higher crime. It's going to be a higher cost right now to deal with this at a time when the economy is teetering due to the Biden's failed policies across the board domestically, so we've got to be cognizant of this."
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