House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) argued that families in the United States would be dealt with the brunt of the port strike, and that President Joe Biden is opting not to interfere with this issue.
The strike by the International Longshoremen’s Association, impacting ports along the East and Gulf coast, could be deterred if the president chooses to use the federal Taft-Hartley Act to force workers back to work for 80 days. Biden, who is a pro-union president, has stated he will not use this act, with Scalise blaming the president and the union members for choosing to “wreck the economy” with this strike.
“But they’re already making, with overtime, over $200,000 a year in some cases, and they want to shut the economy down to get more,” Scalise said on Fox News’s Fox and Friends. “Who pays for this? And this will add even more to inflation. There are a lot of families making $50,000 a year and saying, please stop adding to cost, and Biden and Harris won’t do anything because they want to see those prices keep going up.”
When asked if there is anything Congress can do to lessen the blow that this port strike could have on the United States, Scalise expressed doubt due to how Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) will not want to work with congressional Republicans. Scalise also said he would not support any legislation that would ban automation for port workers, claiming the workers want to “go back to the Flintstones.”
The House majority leader was also critical of Biden’s handling of containing Iran even after the country launched roughly 200 ballistic missiles at Israel. While the latter country’s military was able to stop most of the assault thanks to help from the U.S., Scalise made the case that Biden’s approach to Iran has been much weaker than former President Donald Trump, blaming the current president for removing the sanctions that Trump implemented on Iran.
Scalise concluded that the U.S.’s current leadership is “a really scary thought” right now.
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House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has similarly been critical of Biden for not involving himself in the port strike, stating that the administration’s inaction will “only exacerbate the economic pain” that residents have felt under its leadership.
Like Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris has spoken in favor of the port strike, stating that the workers “deserve a fair share” of what the shipping companies have been making. She also criticized former President Donald Trump, her opponent in the 2024 presidential election, for never delivering on the “empty promises” he makes to union members.