In a recent interview with Fox News, former United Nations ambassador Nikki Haley criticized Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell’s upcoming appearance with President Joe Biden as nothing more than a “publicity stunt.”
The two are set to promote the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which was passed in 2021 with the help of 19 Republican senators, including McConnell. However, Haley called the legislation a “woke, bloated infrastructure law full of waste, labor union handouts, and green giveaways.”
It’s no surprise that Haley, a passionate Republican, would take issue with the IIJA. The legislation, which has a price tag of $1.2 trillion, has already funneled tens of billions of taxpayer dollars into environmental projects such as retrofitting, weatherization, and electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
The White House has also celebrated the fact that over $7 billion has been spent on environmental cleanup projects, $1.6 billion has been used to buy “no emission transit buses,” and $2.8 billion has gone to “clean energy and advanced batteries” companies that have committed to Biden’s diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility agenda.
Despite the White House’s claims that the IIJA is creating good-paying jobs and revitalizing communities, Haley argues that there is nothing to celebrate about this “woke” legislation.
In fact, she believes that Republicans like McConnell should not be participating in Biden’s PR campaign to tout the law’s supposed accomplishments.
It’s clear that Haley and other Republicans believe that the IIJA is nothing more than a way for Democrats to funnel billions of dollars into their pet projects, rather than actually addressing the country’s infrastructure needs.