Dent likens GOP to ‘a dysfunctional family’ on tackling difficult issues

A retiring Republican lawmaker took shots at his own party’s ability to discuss difficult issues in a new interview, likening the GOP to “a dysfunctional family.”

Rep. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) told Politico that internal divides in the party make tough issues like immigration reform and long-term government funding bills nearly impossible.

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“DACA, debt ceiling, budget, agreement, omnibus? There aren’t 218 votes on those. Are we united on issues? No. We never are. It’s not going to change now,” he said, referring to the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival (DACA) program.

Dent, an outspoken Republican from the party’s moderate wing, likened GOP efforts to not talk about difficult issues “a dysfunctional family. Dad’s drunk again but we don’t talk about it.”

His comments come as Republican lawmakers gather for their retreat at The Greenbrier resort in West Virginia, with the party planning its legislative priorities ahead of November’s midterm elections.

The House GOP is currently considering yet another short-term funding bill which would fund the federal government through March in hopes that a deal on the DACA program and funding for a border wall can be reached.

“What I’ve heard is later March, sometime around the 23rd, so enough time to hopefully come to a deal to actually get an omnibus,” one GOP lawmaker said Thursday. “I think they want to give themselves some breathing room, but no final decisions have been made.”

GOP leaders are optimistic that Congress can avoid another fight leading to a government shutdown, after Democrats’ push for an immigration agreement in a stopgap spending measure prompted a three-day shutdown in January.

“I don’t think we’ll see a threat [of a] government shutdown again. … One of my favorite old Kentucky country sayings is ‘there’s no education in the second kick of a mule,’ and so I think there will be a new level of seriousness here trying to resolve these issues,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) told reporters at the Republican retreat.