Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene on Tuesday called for mass U.S. government layoffs in response to cutbacks made in Argentina by Javier Milei, the country's new president.
The Georgia Republican was among GOP lawmakers opposing House Speaker Mike Johnson's plan to fund the government in November when Congress had less than a week to avoid a shutdown. Conservative GOP leaders such as Greene have also been calling for spending cuts as a step to boost the government's dwindling finances and reduce the soaring debt. "Bidenomics," the economic policy pursued by President Joe Biden, is alternatively focused on narrowing the deficit by measures such as taxing the rich and reducing drug prescription costs to boost income through the Inflation Reduction Act.
Reacting to a post on X, formerly Twitter, which said the Argentinian government under Milei was laying off 5,000 government employees, Greene said on Tuesday, "This is the way and we should do the same. Release them to the private sector, there are plenty of jobs."
Newsweek reached out to Greene via email for comment on Wednesday.
Some social media users have pushed back on Greene's suggestion, while others have called for her to be among those ousted from the federal government.
"Great idea! Let's start with you and the rest of the House," X user Miz Anthrope wrote.
Another X user, 4HumanUnity, said the cuts would have the opposite effect, adding that it is "naïve to overlook the current economic crisis in Argentina as a mere footnote," as the South American nation struggles with a "crumbling economy with draining reserves and soaring foreign debt."
"To suggest that such drastic measures should be emulated is to be blind to their far-reaching, destructive consequences. Administratively, trivializing the role of civil servants is a gross oversight. These individuals are not disposable cogs in a machine; they are the backbone of government operations, essential to the implementation of policies and the smooth functioning of our society. Proposing to toss them into the private sector disregards their indispensable contribution to governance," 4HumanUnity wrote on X.
However, others agreed with Greene's suggestion.
"We could lose 70% of the federal workforce and be just fine. So much administrative bloat that adds no value to the country at taxpayer expense," X user Rudolph Troha wrote.
Another X user, Billschwandt1, simply said, "The ONLY way."
Greene's comments come after House Republicans struggled to reach a deal to pass a series of appropriations bills to fund the federal government through the fiscal year, as they remain divided over key issues, including funding for Ukraine amid the Russian invasion, the national debt and concerns over the Justice Department's investigations into former President Donald Trump.
More recently, Greene has also warned that a "national divorce" between red and blue states is imminent amid another key issue dividing the House, border security.
Greene has been a vocal critic of the Biden administration's job on border security amid the influx of migrants from Mexico. Greene and other Republicans in Congress have been pushing for tougher immigration policy to combat what they call an "invasion" of migrants at the southern border.
"America is in a constitutional crisis," Greene wrote last week on X. "The admin is enabling a full scale border invasion and harboring illegal migrants. The courts are engaging in judicial tyranny. The government is politically weaponized against the people. Soon national divorce may be our only option."
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Natalie Venegas is a Weekend Reporter at Newsweek based in New York. Her focus is reporting on education, social justice ... Read more
