House GOP caucus walks out during Dems’ pushback of Trump agenda

SPRINGFIELD — The entire Republican caucus of the Illinois House of Representatives walked out during session Wednesday as several resolutions were brought to the floor by Democrats condemning actions taken by the federal government, specifically President Donald Trump.

HR stands for “House Resolution”:

• HR115: Calls on President Donald Trump to stop the actions of his administration that are making communities less safe, undermining the rule of law, and raising the cost of living. Urges federal lawmakers to instead prioritize comprehensive reforms, including a pathway to citizenship, and focus on the safety of every community, the economic security of every family, and the rights guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution.
• HR116: Condemns President Donald Trump’s cruel and lawless efforts to block lifesaving services that help people access healthcare, put food on the table, afford housing, and more. Urges the United States Congress to take clear and unequivocal action to check the undemocratic actions of the Trump Administration that violate the constitutional separation of power. Renews the commitment to helping Illinois families get ahead by supporting the services they need to be their best, expanding access to affordable healthcare, and reining in the cost of living.
• HR117: Condemns President Donald Trump’s efforts to undermine equal pay, make workplaces less fair, and limit opportunity. Condemns the false, hateful comments President Trump and his allies have used to impugn and demean working people. Renews commitment to prioritize equal pay for equal work, opportunities for all, and protections in our workplaces in Illinois.
• HR 118: Condemns President Donald Trump’s inexcusable pardons of his coconspirators and criminals convicted of attacking police officers, attacking our Capitol, and attacking our democracy.
• HR 119: Calls upon President Donald Trump to abandon his reckless tariff plans that would raise costs on Illinois families and businesses.

House Republicans called the resolutions “political grandstanding” and the caucus walked out in protest.

Statement from the Illinois GOP caucus:

“Democrats control the gavel in the Illinois House of Representatives. Their supermajority status gives them unprecedented power in the House Chamber to set the agenda and freeze out dissenting voices. For decades that has been their modus operandi. But, today set a new low. Instead of voting on actual legislation that would keep families safe, reduce the tax burden on hard working Illinoisan or end corruption in Illinois, the Democratic supermajority chose to waste taxpayer time and resources condemning the President. As part of their vendetta, they scurried to craft, debate and vote for toothless resolutions in an effort to give their legislative members the opportunity to pontificate.”

Rep. Kyle Moore (R-Quincy) was part of the walkout and appeared with the GOP caucus during the news conference. He issued the following statement:

“This General Assembly has been in session for a month. We’ve voted on a handful of resolutions, mostly setting up rules and honoring people. Yesterday, the opposition party decided to spend the day introducing resolutions condemning our President and focusing on national issues. The first resolution began with this wording, “President Donald Trump’s first day in office included no effort to address the cost of groceries to create economic security for working families, or to expand access to healthcare.

“As a caucus we decided to stand against this blatant hypocrisy since this General Assembly has been in session longer than our President has been in office, and the majority party has done nothing to address the rising cost of groceries, create economic security or expand Healthcare. Even worse, there’s been no discussion on how we’re going to address a $3.2 billion budget shortfall.

“I came to Springfield to get things done, to work with both sides of the aisle to address the rising costs for our Illinois families and businesses. I am hopeful after yesterday, our time in Springfield can be about those things and not about national issues we can’t control.”

From House Minority Leader Tony McCombie:

“Today, House Republicans stood together for working families across Illinois and against the petty political games of the majority party. We are here to promote economic growth, improve public safety, and deliver real relief to taxpayers. It’s time to do our jobs—offering solutions that benefit our state and the hardworking people we represent. House Republicans are here to work, not to waste time on political theater.”

From Speaker of the House Chris Welch:

“What’s been coming out of Washington, DC these last couple of weeks has been sad and concerning on many levels, and the people who elected you to be here would want you to be here, to speak for them… pardons to rioters who severely harmed law enforcement officials. We are here to speak up against that freezing legally mandated funding for state and local governments and blocking the services families need to keep a roof over their head, blocking the funding for Head Start programs to keep their doors open. We are here to speak up for those families who need those services.

“But there’s 40 people who were elected by people in this state who walked out on those people today, they should be here speaking out against issuing tariffs on our friends and allies in Canada and Mexico that will raise the cost of everything in our districts and their districts too, but they’re not here to speak up for those people. They’re not here to talk about President Trump taxing working families all across this country to pay for tax cuts for his billionaire friends. They’re not here to talk about a president who is doing everything except addressing our broken immigration system. They’re not here to talk about him leading by fear and intimidation, causing immigrant families to stay inside and not go to school, not go to church, not visit restaurants, not visit malls. They’re not here.

“They’re not here to talk about the president attacking workers rights and Diversity Equity and Inclusion programs that data proves work and make us all better, even people in their districts. They’re not here to talk about special government employees who no one elected using Nazi salutes and accessing America’s most personal and confidential information.

“They’re not here to talk about what’s coming out of Washington DC. What’s coming out of Washington DC can be summed up in one word, fascism. Fascism. Fascism.”