California Republican Opposes Far-Right ‘Burn It Down’ Calls

(UnitedHeadlines.com) – On June 16, California Rep. Tom McClintock pushed back against his fellow Republican lawmakers who want to “burn it down” when fighting for conservative principles instead of working within the system.

McClintock’s comments come as those on the far right of the Republican party, known as the Freedom Caucus, seek to limit the size and scope of the federal government, balance the federal budget, fortify the southern border, and dismantle the Internal Revenue Service. The legislators are attempting to rewrite the rules of Congress to make their policy goals happen, pushing for individual rank-and-file members of the House to have more influence over what legislation is considered.

During his interview on “The Hill Sunday,” McClintock said the far-right legislators are not advancing conservative principles through their tactics but, rather, they are impeding the principles, pointing to the ousting of former House Speaker and former California Rep. Kevin McCarthy as an example.

McClintock noted that despite some of McCarthy’s “absolutely remarkable accomplishments” with a slim majority, “eight Republican malcontents” joined Democrats in voting to destroy all McCarthy had accomplished. Removing McCarthy as House speaker came after Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz led the charge to remove him from the position by filing a motion to vacate in October 2023 following the House passing a 45-day continuing resolution that prevented a government shutdown. Before the vote on the motion to vacate, McClintock had urged the eight Republicans to “have the wisdom” to see what they were doing to the country and to have “the courage to set things right.”

The United States “is at a pivotal moment in its history,” according to McClintock. He believes it will take “all of us doing whatever we can to bring our country through.”

McClintock has not always voted with his party and was one of the three House Republicans, including Colorado Rep. Ken Buck and Wisconsin Rep. Mike Gallagher, who voted against impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for his handling of the crisis at the southern border. Both Buck and Gallagher retired early from Congress.