Shutdown Coming. GOP Response: Let’s Reignite the Gas Stove Issue!

Tori Otten
·2 min read
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The United States is a little more than one week away from a government shutdown, and Republicans are responding by … talking about gas stoves.

The House Committee on Small Business is holding a hearing this week on the effects of supposedly “burdensome” energy regulations, part of the GOP’s ongoing insistence that Democrats are unfairly trying to ban gas stoves. Republican Representative Roger Williams lashed out Tuesday at his own party for its mismatched priorities.

“It’s almost embarrassing that we’re going to have a hearing tomorrow on gas stoves and ceiling fans when we’ve got everything happening in this world,” Williams said on Fox Business.

The House managed to pass a continuing resolution in September to keep the government open. That deal ultimately resulted in Kevin McCarthy getting ousted as speaker.

His successor, Mike Johnson, said Tuesday that he has a plan to keep the government funded, but Republicans are once again struggling to come together. Their inability to agree on a budget is what brought the U.S. to the brink of a shutdown multiple times this year alone.

Congress has 11 days to figure out the budget. If it hasn’t passed a solution by 12:01 a.m. on November 18, then the government will shut down.

If this exact situation seems familiar, that’s because it has somehow already happened. In May, as the country hurtled toward a national default, the House Oversight and Accountability subcommittee held a hearing on … gas stoves. During the hearing, Democratic Representative Jared Moskowitz called out Republicans on their weird priorities.

“I got it, I get the bravado. We can pry your gas stoves from your cold, dead hands,” Moskowitz deadpanned during the hearing. “I have a six-burner, double-oven range. It sits on legs. I mean, I miss her, right now, as we’re talking about it.”

“You might own a small business, and you are worried about how you’re going to pay your employees if we default. The good news for you today is that, if you have to shut your business because the country defaults, your gas stove will still be there.”