Representative Mike Haridopolos (R-FL) discussed President Donald Trump's plans to reduce the size of government during the shutdown in a recent appearance on Fox and Friends First, suggesting that overseas funding is most likely to be targeted.
Rep. Haridopolos shared that he disliked using the shutdown as a means of reducing the government's size, yet "with this reality, we are going to have to look at tough decisions moving forward, and this is why it is so important that the OMB [Office of Management and Budget] Director gets it right."
"Fortunately, he knows the budget from A to Z, and maybe we will look at some opportunities with the DOGE [Department of Government Efficiency] to look for ways to cut wasteful spending," Rep. Haridopolos added.
Host Carley Shimkus noted that President Trump announced he had met with OMB Director Russell Vought to discuss where to make cuts to "many Democrat agencies," prompting questions about agencies that will be targeted.
"One I think is really ripe for this is some of the foreign policy money that we spent," Haridopolos answered. "Marco Rubio has done a remarkable job as Secretary of State, but there are a lot of these programs that we spend money on overseas that do not really give benefits to Americans right here at home."
The Florida Republican criticized Democrats for stalling an economic upturn by shutting down the government, explaining that "the economy is growing at 3.8%, a number a lot of people never thought possible; We know about the record stock market right now booming, we know about the interest rates coming down and the trillions, not billions, but trillions of dollars being invested here in America."
"And what did the Democrats choose to do?" he questioned. "To shut down this economic roll. I hope that the Democrats will find the votes today to finally open up the government."
As of the latest vote that took place on Friday, October 3rd, they did not.
