Top GOP Senator: ‘Far-Left Democrats Are Driving The Bus And Joe Biden Is Just Along For The Ride’

CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: While Democrats are locked in a battle over spending priorities, Republicans are watching from the sidelines with an eye on next year’s midterms. Joining us now from Wyoming, the number three Republican in the Senate, John Barrasso. Senator, welcome back to FOX NEWS SUNDAY.

SEN. JOHN BARRASSO, (R-WY): Great to be with you, Chris. Thank you.

WALLACE: You just heard my conversations with Cedric Richmond and Congressman Ro Khanna. Your reaction?

BARRASSO: Well, what we’re seeing is like watching an episode of the twilight zone. I thought Joe Biden went to the Hill on Friday to try to get that bipartisan infrastructure bill passed, and instead he surrendered to the radical wing of his party. And now you have this big government socialism reckless spending bill being basically used to hold hostage the things that the American people want — are roads and bridges, highways, all of those things. When that bipartisan bill passed a 50/50 Senate, it had 69 votes. It was a lot of momentum on its side. In any kind of a normal world, that would’ve been signed into law by the president. This was two months ago. This was before Afghanistan, when the president lost a lot of political muscle. Now we’re at a point where the president is weak, and really, Bernie Sanders, the far-left Democrats are driving the bus and Joe Biden is just along for the ride.

WALLACE: Well, let’s talk about politics on both sides, though. As you point out, 19 of your fellow Republican senators voted for the bipartisan infrastructure plan in the Senate. You didn’t. You called the reconciliation bill a freight train to socialism. You and all of the Republicans are refusing the normal course, bipartisan passage of raising the debt limit. So I guess the question to you and a lot of Republicans is, are you viewing these issues on the merits or are you just playing partisan politics?

BARRASSO: Well, I think the American people want the sorts of things that are in that bipartisan bill, roads, bridges, ports, airports, all of those things are important. I had some concerns with some of the gimmicks that were used to fund it. I thought it spent too much. There were some issues that I didn’t like in terms of — I thought it was going to make energy more expensive and undermine our grid. But, look, you have a 50/50 Senate. Sixty-nine votes is a big number of votes to support something. But on this $3.5 trillion infrastructure proposal that the Democrats are focusing on right now with trillions of dollars of increased taxes and trillions of dollars of increased debt, every Republican is united against it. We’re a party that wants to grow the economy; the Democrats are a party that wants to grow the government. And you heard it right there, they’re continuing to try to mislead the public by saying it is free. It is not free. They said, oh, inflation — Cedric said, oh, inflation will go down. Inflation — people are feeling the bite of inflation right now when they buy groceries, when they buy gas, all of those things.

WALLACE: Right.

BARRASSO: And they think if this stuff passes, this massive spending and tax bill, that inflation is going to get much worse.

WALLACE: But let’s talk, senator, about some of the specific programs in this big social spending bill. As part of the Trump tax cuts in 2017, you voted to increase the child tax credit from $1,000 to $2,000. Now, as part of this bill, the Democrats would extend that to 2025 at a higher level. The fact is that your state of Wyoming is one of the states that benefits most from the increase in the child tax credit. Why oppose that?

BARRASSO: Well, what you’re talking about, though, a $3.5 trillion massive bill, lots of things —

WALLACE: Well, but no — but, forgive — forgive me, sir.

BARRASSO: Yes.

WALLACE: I’m — I’m — but I’m asking you about this specific part of the bill. I — I understand there are parts that you don’t like. But, for instance — I mean the — I guess part of the question is, could you have worked with them on this child tax credit, which you voted for in 2017? That’s one of the things that you’re voting against now. Why — why oppose that specific program?

BARRASSO: It’s part of the bigger bill. You know the issues for any member of the Senate or Congress, you have to look at the entire bill and say, are you for the bill or you’re not? And I would point out, Chris, the Democrats are not coming to talk with Republicans on any of these things. I mean, Bernie Sanders, the other day, said 48 people ought to be able to overrule two, but there are actually 100 members of the Senate. It’s 52 against a number of things that the Democrats are proposing here. And the content of this bill matters almost as much if not more than the cost. I’ve gotten more letters in the last two weeks on one component of this, which is the issue of giving a whole new army of IRS agents to rifle through your checking account, to look at any check that you either deposit or write for over $600. This is an invasion of privacy. Every senator is hearing about this. That’s included as well. So when you take a look at the entire bill, which is why, you know, Joe Manchin said, it’s time for a strategic pause. Well, it looks like there may be a long pause on both the real infrastructure bill and this big spending blowout bill.

WALLACE: You talk about things you don’t like, like the added IRS agents and added IRS intrusion. Let’s talk about another part of the bill, which is universal Pre-K. In the state of Wyoming, less than a quarter of children three to four, which is — who would be covered in the bill, are enrolled in publicly-funded preschool. Less than a quarter. Wouldn’t a lot of Wyoming families benefit from universal Pre-K?

BARRASSO: There are a number of things that will help the people of Wyoming. Overall, Joe Biden’s policies have been hurting the people of Wyoming. And I believe that there should be things means tested. You just don’t give things universally to everybody. I think there should be work requirements involved. The Democrats are trying to separate work requirements from just free government checks and programs. You heard the congressman from the Progressive Caucus say, everybody ought to get free community college, everybody ought to get free daycare, Pre-K, all of those things, and that’s not the way that our country has been founded and how we work together.

CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS ANCHOR: Right. I — I’ve got — I’ve got less than a minute left. Are you and your Republican colleagues thoroughly enjoying this divide inside the Democratic Party?

BARRASSO: Well, I’ll tell you, you know, the thing is, Joe Biden ran as a centrist and as competent. And what we’re seeing is that he is neither. And people across the country are feeling less safe with Joe Biden as president. Their paychecks are less safe because of the inflation. When you look at hundreds of thousands of people illegally coming to the country every month, they feel less safe.

WALLACE: Right.

BARRASSO: When the generals testify, as they did, that we are less safe to terrorism, Joe Biden has now walked the plank for the socialist Bernie Sanders budget. He’s man overboard and he can’t swim. He is sinking and he’s sunk (INAUDIBLE).