A House Rules Committee hearing on Tuesday became the stage for a fiery confrontation between Republicans and Democrats over the bill to end the government shutdown, as Rep. Michelle Fischbach (R-MN) and Democratic colleague, Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), traded bitter accusations about who was to blame and what priorities were being ignored.

‘Democrat Shutdown’ Claim Leads to Heated Exchange

Rep. Fischbach centered her argument on a clean continuing resolution (CR), stating that a simple six-week funding extension could have been passed to keep the government open while negotiations continued. She contrasted this with what she called the “Democrat alternative,” which she claimed involved “$1.5 trillion worth of spending.”

“The simple fact is there was a vote on September 19th,” Rep. Fischb

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