'Extremely unhelpful': Republicans lash out at GOP rep who predicted majority loss

One member of the House Republican Conference isn't bullish on his party's chances to keep the speaker's gavel in Republican hands. Now, his colleagues are blasting him over his public pessimism about the November election.

The Hill reported Saturday that comments Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas) made during the Texas Tribune Festival are "making waves" among House Republicans. Multiple unnamed Republican lawmakers from swing districts that President Joe Biden won in 2020 say they wish Gonzales kept his prediction to himself.

“Even if you believe that, it’s extremely unhelpful and counterproductive to the cause,” one of the lawmakers told the Hill. “[T]he Members and seats that will decide the outcomes, are not going to be determined by the handful of folks who have undermined the majority. It’ll be determined by the members and the work they have done in their own district.”

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On Thursday, Gonzales told Punchbowl News during a live Q&A session that his party's inability to govern despite being in the majority would cost them dearly this fall. He referenced House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer's (R-Kentucky) failed effort to impeach Biden as one example of his party squandering its control over the lower chamber of Congress.

"What’s frustrating me is I firmly believe that House Republicans are going to lose the majority — and we’re going to lose it because of ourselves," Gonzales said.

Another lawmaker speaking anonymously to the Hill said the Texas Republican's remarks were "entirely unnecessary and not at all what we feel on the ground." A third cast doubt on Gonzales' ability to be a "team player."

"Have you ever heard someone on a sports TEAM say that about their TEAM," the GOP member of Congress told the Hill in a text message. "Just disappointing."

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"Are we talking about some of these kind of kitchen table issues? No — it’s all about who we’re going to impeach," he continued. "I get that part of our job is oversight — but it’s not the entire job."

Gonzales — a more moderate Republican who fended off a MAGA-aligned challenger in the spring — has been a consistent thorn in the side of the far-right faction of his party since he was elected in 2020. He has publicly criticized former House Freedom Caucus chairman Bob Good (R-Virginia) and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Florida) over their efforts to primary him.

""It's my absolute honor to be in Congress, but I serve with some real scumbags," Gonzales said in a CNN interview earlier this year. "Matt Gaetz, he paid minors to have sex with them at drug parties. Bob Good endorsed my opponent, a known neo-Nazi. These people used to walk around with white hoods at night. Now, they're walking around with white hoods in the daytime."

Click here to read the Hill's report in full.