Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.) made two cringeworthy claims in one sentence that critics tore apart online.
“We said when we come into office we’d do two things: We’d curb the spending, and we’d remove the woke. And we did,” the lawmaker said while encouraging the passage of appropriations bills in a clip posted online by both his account and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy’s.
The former Trump administration official faced scrutiny over spending in 2018 when the Interior Department, which he led, spent nearly $139,000 of taxpayer funds to upgrade three sets of doors in his office.
In 2017, he spent $53,000 on three helicopter rides, including one to go horseback riding with then-Vice President Mike Pence, according to The Associated Press.
He resigned from the Trump administration in 2019 following a flurry of ethics and corruption scandals that saw him rack up nearly 20 federal investigations.
Republican infighting has stalled the passage of spending bills, with just days left until the deadline for Congress to reach a solution to fund the government.
Critics quickly pointed to Zinke’s pricy door debacle following this week’s comments. And as for his claim about removing “the woke,” it’s not really clear what that even means.
See the reaction below: