Republican brands Freedom Caucus members 'Chinese sympathizers' after they block defense bill

Members of the House Freedom Caucus were called "Chinese sympathizers" after they blocked a defense spending bill on Tuesday.

Rep. Mike Garcia (R-CA) made the remarks on the Capitol steps moments after Reps. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), Ken Buck (R-CO), Matt Rosendale (R-MT), Ralph Norman (R-SC), and Dan Bishop (R-NC) voted with Democrats to oppose debate on the bill.

"Out of fear, they decided to vote against the rule to even allow this to come to the floor for debate," Garcia explained. "This city, Washington DC, is riddled with Chinese sympathizers."

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"There's a reason why China is now a peer adversary instead of what they were relative to the United States 10 years ago, and it's because politicians have given China a pass for the last ten years," he added. "What we just saw with these five individuals was them adding effectively their name to that list that are enabling Chairman Xi right now, looking at this with a sigh of relief."

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The remarks came as Republicans have been in disarray ahead of a Sept. 30 deadline to fund the government.

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