Suggesting his relationship with Congress — and members of his own party — has been irrevocably damaged, Rep. Peter King (R-NY) on Friday once again blasted Republicans such as Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) for voting against disaster relief for victims of Superstorm Sandy.
“My relationship with Congress will never be the same again. They made us wait 90 to 100 days to give the most basic human aid that is required. It’s absolutely disgraceful,” King said during an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “And when I see these Republicans, we slap each other on the back, all the camaraderie, ‘hey, we’re great friends.’ All I know is there were people who were close to dying in my district and no one gave a damn.”
King told host Joe Scarborough that he’ll never forgive and forget the Republicans who opposed the relief bill.
The fiery New York lawmaker then accused Republicans of engaging hypocrisy for voting against Sandy aid and then leaning on northeastern donors — and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) — to raise money. King singled out Rubio, who quietly courted Wall Street donors earlier this year. In February, King said Rubio had some “balls” to seek cash from New York donors after voting against Sandy relief, and on Friday the congressman continued to take the Florida Republican to task.
“And by the way, guys like Marco Rubio in Florida. All the money that your people have gotten in Florida over the years from every hurricane that came along,” King said. “And this guy has the nerve to vote against money for New York and then come up here and try to raise money. You know, he can forget it.”
King has been extremely critical of his fellow Republicans from the beginning of debate over Sandy aid. When House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) delayed a vote on a relief package in January, King railed against GOP leaders.
