GOP memo urges lawmakers to blame White House ‘grinches’ for Christmas delays

If American children don’t receive their Christmas presents in time, Hill Republicans are trying to ensure that voters blame the “grinches” in the White House.

The Republican Study Committee (RSC), the largest GOP caucus on Capitol Hill, will send a new memo to lawmakers on Thursday detailing how they can sharpen their messaging on the supply chain crisis ahead of the holiday season, when consumers could face the sting of higher prices and empty store shelves. The conservative group is led by Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.).

“Many are saying the current supply chain crisis is ‘unparalleled in American history.’ How did we get here? … Bad luck? Nope. Bad politicians,” says the RSC memo obtained by The Hill. 

“The Biden administration caused it. And our job as Republicans is to explain to the American people what the grinches at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave did to ruin Christmas.”

The RSC memo argues there are four main reasons why the Biden administration is to blame for the supply chain snags: President Biden’s economic policies, including billions in extra unemployment aid, have dwindled the number of truckers, port workers and other personnel; Biden’s Green New Deal agenda has caused shipping prices to skyrocket; by pumping trillions of stimulus dollars into the economy, Biden is spurring inflation, which is accelerating spending and exacerbating the supply chain crisis; Biden’s “soft China policies” mean too many things are being manufactured in China, so “when the power goes out in China, Christmas is cancelled in America.”

Here’s the new @RepublicanStudy memo on how to message the supply chain snafus:

“Our job as Republicans is to explain to the American people what the grinches at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave did to ruin Christmas.” pic.twitter.com/GgUus7lgPb

— Scott Wong (@scottwongDC) October 21, 2021 

House Republicans see the stalled supply chain, along with inflation and high energy prices, as winning economic issues that could help propel them to the majority in 2022.  

“It’s more than fair to say that Joe Biden has caused the current supply chain crisis,” the memo says. “It’s our job — even our duty — to explain to the American people who is at fault for the skyrocketing cost of living.”

This month, the Biden administration has been struggling to respond to the record backlog. More than 100 cargo ships were still waiting to unload their containers at southern California ports as recently as this week.

Biden officials announced last week that the Port of Los Angeles was moving service to 24 hours a day to address the bottlenecks. 

And Cabinet officials like Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg have argued that passage of Biden’s infrastructure package could ease some of the supply chain delays; the House GOP leadership team, led by Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), is whipping members to oppose the legislation.

Responding to criticism from McCarthy about the supply chain, White House press secretary Jen Psaki rattled off a handful of economic victories that have occurred during Biden’s first nine months in office.

“Let’s do facts instead. Under @POTUS, job growth is up 10x over the end of the Trump-McCarthy economy, UI claims are down 60%+, and 5m more people are back to work,” Psaki tweeted Thursday. 

“If @GOPLeader wanted to help our economy, he would support our bill to invest in ports, roads, bridges, and jobs.”