Hatch: Congress has some ‘really stupid people’

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) knocked Democrats on Friday for holding up a House-passed government funding bill, noting the Senate has “some really stupid people.”

“This is the greatest country in the world, but we do have some really stupid people representing it from time to time, and with that, I probably have gone too far saying that, but it’s true and it’s disappointing to me,” he said from the Senate floor. {mosads}

Democrats have pledged to block the House bill to fund the government until mid-February as they look for leverage on a myriad of issues including health care spending and immigration. {mosads}

The legislation includes a six-year extension of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), a key issue for Hatch. But Democrats want a 10-year extension. 

Hatch added that Senate leadership should get together and said, “let’s quit playing these silly games … to do it on the CHIP bill, my gosh, it’s incredible to me.”

The government is scheduled to shut down at the end of Friday if Congress isn’t able to come to an agreement.