Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) complained on Fox News Thursday that American infrastructure is in disrepair. But as viewers pointed out, he was one of the Republican senators who voted against a massive bipartisan infrastructure bill that passed in 2021.
“It just strikes me that more and more, nothing really works in America anymore,” Hawley told Fox News host Laura Ingraham. “I mean, our roads are falling apart, our bridges are falling down right in front of our eyes. Pieces of airplanes are falling out of the sky.”
“And yet, at the same time, the Congress of the United States and the president, what do they want to do? Spend hundreds of billions of dollars more on foreign wars,” he continued.
He went on to complain that “things are falling apart all around us,” but all President Joe Biden wants to do is focus on “Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine.”
Hawley: Nothing really works in America anymore… Our bridges are falling down right in front of our eyes… yet at the same time the congress and the president want to spend more on foreign wars. If ever there was a moment to start investing in America… pic.twitter.com/sYyRWk4VCf
— Acyn (@Acyn) April 18, 2024
Hawley was one of 30 Republican senators who voted against a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill in 2021, which contained money for upgrades to highways, bridges, airports and other major projects.
The legislation, backed by President Joe Biden, passed with the support of 19 Republican senators and all Democrats.
At the time, Hawley called it a “radical left woke politics bill.”
Republicans in Congress are deeply divided on providing aid to Ukraine in its war against Russia. The House on Friday advanced a $95 billion foreign aid package for Ukraine, Israel and other allies, with Democrats helping House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) push ahead, in the face of fierce opposition from a hard-right contingent within his narrow majority.
Hawley’s disingenuous complaint on Fox News received swift backlash from critics, who brought receipts:
One bridge was hit by a barge, Josh. Breathe. 🙄🤦♀️
— Art Candee 🍿🥤 (@ArtCandee) April 18, 2024
When Donald Trump was in office
The idea of fixing our infrastructure was literally a joke
But President Biden’s infrastructure bill passed through the Senate by a robust 69-30 vote
Josh Hawley opposed the measure
Calling It “woke” and “leftist”
You can’t make it up https://t.co/HCDMtXz7Bdpic.twitter.com/LaFV43tN36
— Adam Cohen Lawyers for Good Government #DemCast (@axidentaliberal) April 19, 2024
Hawley talks as if he’s never heard of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) that’s rebuilding 1,000’s of bridges RIGHT NOW.
But he *has* heard of it; he voted *against* it.
So, he’s actually complaining about a crisis he tried to perpetuate, and hiding it!#Weasel. https://t.co/xPf4HnqlLO
— Monty Boa (@MontyBoa99) April 19, 2024