US Foreign Aid Spending Compared to Watering Neighbor’s Yard While Own House Burns
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., has criticized the US practice of providing aid to foreign countries by comparing it to a man watering his neighbor’s yard while his own house is on fire. Massie’s tweet featured an AI-generated image of House Speaker Mike Johnson holding a hose as flames emerge from a house behind him.
Massie’s colleague, Rep. Chip Roy of Texas, agreed with the comparison, stating, “He’s not wrong…” President-elect Donald Trump had previously chosen Ramaswamy and Elon Musk to advocate for government cost-cutting via the Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE).
However, getting Republicans on board with drastic spending cuts could be problematic. Massie warned during a radio interview, “I have Republican colleagues who’d rather run over their own mom with a car than to vote to cut spending.” Some Republicans, including Johnson, have spoken out in favor of a government spending proposal, despite criticism from conservatives.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., was particularly critical of the proposal, stating that it will lead to a growing debt and the failure of the US dollar. Johnson defended the proposal during an interview, citing the inclusion of disaster relief and aid to farmers. The spending measure is intended to kick the government funding issue until March, when Republicans will have control of Congress and the White House.
Massie was critical of Johnson’s change of heart, tweeting, “People call me ‘NostraThomas’ for accurately predicting @SpeakerJohnson would use the Christmas recess to force a massive spending bill through Congress.” Johnson had previously stated that there would not be a “Christmas omnibus.”